Tada Family Residence (Bungo-Ono)

A Village Headman's Estate in Bungo-Ono

The Tada Family Residence (多田家住宅) is the estate of the former head village official (oshoya) of the Ichiba district of the Usuki domain in Ichiba, Mie-machi, Bungo-Ono City, Oita Prefecture; four of its buildings, all built in 1864, the Onari-yashiki, the Onari Gate, the main house and the storehouse, were registered as Registered Tangible Cultural Properties on June 25, 2002. The address is 1308-1 Ichiba, and Bungo-Ono City notes that the Tada family still owns the estate.

According to the Agency for Cultural Affairs and the city, the Onari-yashiki is said to have been built to receive the lord of Usuki, and in the Meiji era it served as the Ono District Office until a dedicated office building was completed. A reception hall and gate built for a visiting daimyo express the standing of the headman's family.

How the Estate Is Laid Out

The four buildings each have their place on a single lot. The Onari Gate stands directly in front of the formal shikidai entrance of the Onari-yashiki, creating the ceremonial approach for the lord. The main house adjoins the Onari-yashiki on its east, a north-south block with a gable-end entrance opening parallel to the Onari-yashiki's entrance, so that together they form an L-shaped plan around a garden, according to the Agency. The storehouse stands behind the main house and was first used to store rice.

The Agency draws attention to how the main house differs in design from the Onari-yashiki, for example in the gentle upward curve of its roof surface. The family's living quarters and the hall for receiving the lord stand side by side, but their forms mark a clear difference in rank.

The Registered Buildings

All four registered buildings date from 1864. The Onari-yashiki (registration no. 44-0078) was registered as a model of design; the Onari Gate (44-0079), main house (44-0080) and storehouse (44-0081) as contributing to the historic landscape of the country.

The Onari-yashiki is a two-storey timber building with a building area of 166 square metres, the main house a two-storey timber building of 200 square metres, the storehouse a two-storey dozo of 58 square metres, and the Onari Gate 1.7 metres wide; all have tiled roofs.

Visiting

The Tada Family Residence is a privately owned home, and no official information on public opening or visits was found. If you go, do not enter the grounds; view the buildings quietly from outside. Enquiries about the cultural properties go to the cultural properties section of Bungo-Ono City's social education division (0974-24-0040).