Former Nagase Family Residence Well

What Is the Former Nagase Family Residence Well?

The Former Nagase Family Residence Well (旧永瀬家住宅井戸, Kyū Nagase-ke Jūtaku Ido) is an early Meiji-period (1868–1882) stone well with a wooden shelter at the Former Nagase Family Residence in Matsuki, Akaiwa City, Okayama Prefecture, and it was registered as a Registered Tangible Cultural Property of Japan on October 27, 2017.

It stands southeast of the main house, in the outer garden of the house where the poet Nagase Kiyoko was born. The Agency for Cultural Affairs records it as a stone well covering 1.4 square meters, "with shelter," and dates it, like the main house, to the early Meiji period. The well shaft and the small roofed structure over it are registered together as a single structure.

Kiyoko wrote this well into her poetry, and the Agency's own description of the Former Nagase Family Residence Well makes a point of saying so.

Why the Well Was Registered

The Former Nagase Family Residence Well is registration no. 33-0281, listed under the same criterion as the main house, "contributing to the historic landscape of the country," and on the same day.

The Agency's description dwells on two things: how the stone is laid and how the shelter is built. The shaft is a cylinder of rough, unshaped stones, while the curb above ground is a square of flat stone slabs. The shelter is a timber frame roofed with pantiles, its posts set leaning slightly inward. Each side is treated differently: the north and east sides and the eastern part of the south side are closed with vertical boards, while the west side and the western part of the south side are left open.

The Nagase Kiyoko Birthplace Preservation Society restored the shelter along with the main house, paying for the work, it says, with private donations alone.

What to Look For at the Former Nagase Family Residence Well

A round shaft under a square curb

Look down and you see a ring of irregular rough stones forming the shaft. Only the rim at ground level is squared off with flat slabs, and that change from round below to square above is the key to how the well is put together. Standing beside it, you also notice how compact it is: barely 1.4 square meters.

Posts that lean in

The shelter's posts are not quite vertical; they tilt slightly toward each other as they rise, a technique called Uchikorobi. The lean is hard to spot head-on, so step to one side and follow a post with your eye from bottom to top.

Closed sides and open sides

The north, the east and the eastern half of the south are walled in vertical boarding; the west and the western half of the south stand open. Seen from the west, the Former Nagase Family Residence Well shows its stone curb and shaft through the open sides, while from the east it reads as a closed little hut. It is worth walking around to compare the two.

Visiting the Former Nagase Family Residence Well

The Former Nagase Family Residence Well is in the outer garden and can be seen from outside whenever Kiyoko no Ie is open. The preservation society describes it as a well still used for drawing water, so watch your footing when you lean over to look in.

Its water is used for the society's goemon-buro bath experience, started in April 2024: you draw water from the Former Nagase Family Residence Well, fill the iron tub in the inner garden and heat it over firewood before taking a soak. Bookings are needed at least two days in advance, and there is one group each in the morning (10:00 a.m. to 12:00 p.m.) and afternoon (1:00 p.m. to 3:00 p.m.) on opening days, at 1,500 yen per group.

The society's website sets no rule on photography around the well; let the reception desk know if you plan to take pictures. Opening hours, admission and directions are covered on the Former Nagase Family Residence page.