A Merchant House Dated by Its Ridge Tag
The Shioya Main House (塩屋主屋) is a merchant house of 1865 in Honmachi, Taketamachi, Taketa City, Oita Prefecture, and was registered as a Registered Tangible Cultural Property (structure) on December 1, 2003 (Agency for Cultural Affairs).
The Agency records a two-storey timber building with a tiled roof and a building area of 93 square metres; registration number 44-0098.
The date comes from a Munafuda, the ridge tag placed in the roof at construction. Taketa City groups the house with the two storehouses behind it under the name Shioya Dozo.
A Gable Front Angled to the Street
The Shioya Main House is a two-storey building entered from its gable end, a Tsumairi plan, with a hip-and-gable roof at the front, a plain gable at the back and interlocking Sangawara-buki tiles (Agency for Cultural Affairs). The front wall runs at a slant to follow the line of the street, and the pent roof over the ground floor turns the corner and continues along the side.
Small windows sit under narrow drip hoods at key points, and lime plaster covers the walls right up into the soffits of the eaves (Agency for Cultural Affairs). The Agency records the structure as timber; Taketa City's plan describes it as Dozo-zukuri, the thick-walled storehouse method.
Why It Was Registered
The Agency singles out the firm date given by the ridge tag and calls the house a fine example of local merchant architecture; it was registered as a model of design.
When the Timber Structures Laboratory at Oita University visited in 2004, the owner recalled that tenant farmers were once invited to the upper floor at New Year and served a meal there.
What to Look For
Stand across the street and take in the front of the Shioya Main House. Notice how the wall is set at an angle to match the road, how the ground-floor pent roof wraps round the corner onto the side, and where the small hooded windows are placed.
Because the plaster is carried up into the eaves, the white surface seems to run unbroken to the roof. The roof itself changes shape from front to back: hip-and-gable towards the street, a simple gable behind.
Visiting
The Shioya Main House is privately owned, and no official information on interior access was found. The front can be seen from Honmachi street. There is no published guidance on photography, so view it from the street with the owners' privacy in mind.
Q&A
- When was the Shioya Main House built?
- In 1865, a date confirmed by its ridge tag (Agency for Cultural Affairs).
- What does the Shioya Main House look like?
- A two-storey, gable-entry merchant house with a hip-and-gable front, a gabled back and plaster carried up into the eaves.
- Can I go inside the Shioya Main House?
- It is privately owned and no interior access has been announced; the front can be seen from Honmachi street.
- Where is the Shioya Main House?
- At 503 Honmachi, Taketamachi, in the old castle town of Taketa, Oita Prefecture.
- When was the Shioya Main House registered?
- On December 1, 2003 (Agency for Cultural Affairs).
Basic Information
| Name | Shioya Main House (塩屋主屋) |
|---|---|
| Location | 503 Honmachi, Taketamachi, Taketa City, Oita Prefecture |
| Designation | Registered Tangible Cultural Property (Structure) |
| Year Designated | Registered 2003/12/01 (Heisei 15) |
| Quantity | 1 building |
| Dimensions | Two-storey timber, tiled roof, building area 93 m² |
| Owner | Private owner |
| Public Access | Exterior only (no information on interior access) |
References
- Shioya Main House (Database of National Cultural Properties, Agency for Cultural Affairs)
- https://kunishitei.bunka.go.jp/bsys/maindetails/101/00003772
- Taketa City Historic Landscape Plan, Chapter 2 (Taketa City, Japanese)
- https://www.city.taketa.oita.jp/material/files/group/23/chapter2.pdf
- Oita Timber Architecture File: Shioya (Timber Structures Laboratory, Oita University, Japanese)
- https://www.arch.oita-u.ac.jp/a-kou/moku/mokuzoukentikuDB/kensaku/nanbu-area/taketa/shioyatei/index.htm
Last verified: 2026.11.12
