What Is the Former Yoshida Hikoshichi Family Residence?
The Former Yoshida Hikoshichi Family Residence is a single-storey timber house built in 1943 as company housing for workers at Mitsubishi Heavy Industries' Mizushima Aircraft Works, standing in Mizushima Nishisakaemachi, Kurashiki City, Okayama Prefecture, and registered as a Registered Tangible Cultural Property of Japan on October 27, 2017.
In Japanese it is 旧吉田彦七家住宅 (Kyū Yoshida Hikoshichi-ke Jūtaku). Hikoshichi is a given name, not part of the address: Yoshida Hikoshichi was a factory worker who lived in the house and, according to a 2025 report by the Sanyo Shimbun, bought it after the war.
The aircraft works began production in 1943, and large numbers of small houses for its employees went up at the same time. The plant later turned to motor vehicles and is now Mitsubishi Motors' Mizushima Plant. Few of those houses survive today, which is why a modest house like the Former Yoshida Hikoshichi Family Residence ended up on the national register.
The Agency for Cultural Affairs dates the house to 1943, with an extension in 1958 and repairs in 2017. It is privately owned. After Yoshida's death it stood empty until a local operator leased it from his family and, in July 2025, reopened it as a small guesthouse.
Why the Former Yoshida Hikoshichi Family Residence Is Registered
The Former Yoshida Hikoshichi Family Residence is entry 33-278 in the national register, added in the 88th round of registrations under the criterion of having become a model of design. The agency records a single-storey timber house, roofed mainly in tile with some steel sheet, and a building area of 78 square meters.
The form is simple and deliberate. A core with a hipped roof (Yosemune-zukuri) is laid with pantiles (Sangawara-buki), and lower lean-to roofs (Geya) wrap around all four sides. The result is a two-tier roof that sits low over the walls.
The agency calls the Former Yoshida Hikoshichi Family Residence one of the few surviving examples of the worker housing built for the aircraft works, and a good example of small company housing from the wartime years of the Shōwa era. Kurashiki City adds that very few houses of this kind remain anywhere in the city. Its value lies less in decoration than in what it records: how an industrial town housed the people who worked in it.
What to Look For at the Former Yoshida Hikoshichi Family Residence
The two-tier roof
From the street, the clearest feature of the Former Yoshida Hikoshichi Family Residence is the roof. Follow the line of the upper hipped roof, then the skirt of lean-to roofs below it running all the way around the house. The house was one of many built at once for the works, so its roofline hints at how the surrounding streets may once have looked.
The scale of a worker's home
At 78 square meters on one floor, the house gives a direct sense of the space allotted to a worker's family in the 1940s. The 1958 extension shows how residents adapted these houses once they owned them.
Rooms kept as they were
For those who stay inside, the 2025 report describes a dining room, a living room and three bedrooms. Painted earthen walls and polished wooden floors were part of the renovation, while the pale blue bathroom tiles and the old, slightly sticking glass sliding doors were deliberately left as they were.
Visiting the Former Yoshida Hikoshichi Family Residence
Okayama Prefecture lists the Former Yoshida Hikoshichi Family Residence as viewable from the outside only. It stands on an ordinary residential street, so look from the road and do not enter the property. No photography policy is published; photographing the exterior from the street with some consideration for neighbors is the sensible approach.
The interior can be seen only by staying there. Since July 2025 the house has operated as private lodging (minpaku) that takes one group a day, up to 6 people, according to the Sanyo Shimbun report. Rates and bookings should be confirmed directly with the operator, as these details can change.
To get there, take the Mizushima Rinkai Railway from Kurashiki-shi Station, beside JR Kurashiki Station, and get off at Sakae Station. The house is about a 5-minute walk from the station.
Q&A
- When was the Former Yoshida Hikoshichi Family Residence built and registered?
- It was built in 1943 as worker housing for Mitsubishi Heavy Industries' Mizushima Aircraft Works and extended in 1958. It was registered as a Registered Tangible Cultural Property on October 27, 2017, as entry 33-278.
- Who was Yoshida Hikoshichi of the Former Yoshida Hikoshichi Family Residence?
- He was a worker at the aircraft works who lived in the company house and, according to the Sanyo Shimbun, bought it after the war. The registered name refers to him.
- Can I go inside the Former Yoshida Hikoshichi Family Residence?
- Only as a guest. Since July 2025 it has been run as private lodging for one group a day, up to 6 people. Otherwise it can be viewed from the street only.
- How do I get to the Former Yoshida Hikoshichi Family Residence?
- Take the Mizushima Rinkai Railway from Kurashiki-shi Station to Sakae Station. The house is about a 5-minute walk from Sakae Station.
- What should I look for at the Former Yoshida Hikoshichi Family Residence?
- The two-tier roof: a tiled hipped core with lean-to roofs running around all four sides. The agency describes the house as a good example of small company housing from the wartime years.
Basic Information
| Name | Former Yoshida Hikoshichi Family Residence (旧吉田彦七家住宅) |
|---|---|
| Location | 24-7 Mizushima Nishisakaemachi, Kurashiki City, Okayama Prefecture |
| Designation | Registered Tangible Cultural Property (Building) |
| Year Designated | Registered October 27, 2017 |
| Quantity | 1 building |
| Dimensions | Single-storey timber building, tiled roof partly steel sheet, building area 78 square meters |
| Owner | Private individual |
| Public Access | Exterior only from the street; interior for lodging guests |
References
- Database of National Cultural Properties (Agency for Cultural Affairs): Former Yoshida Hikoshichi Family Residence
- https://kunishitei.bunka.go.jp/bsys/maindetails/101/00012025
- Cultural Heritage Online (Agency for Cultural Affairs): Former Yoshida Hikoshichi Family Residence
- https://online.bunka.go.jp/heritages/detail/286196
- Kurashiki City Cultural Properties Division: Former Yoshida Hikoshichi Family Residence
- https://www.city.kurashiki.okayama.jp/culture/art/1007596/1007597/1011206/1007792/1007806.html
- Okayama Prefecture: Information Sheet, Former Yoshida Hikoshichi Family Residence (PDF)
- https://www.pref.okayama.jp/uploaded/attachment/261025.pdf
- Maidona News (Sanyo Shimbun), July 30, 2025: Former Worker Housing Reopens as Lodging
- https://maidonanews.jp/article/15933898
- Okayama Kanko Web (Okayama Tourism Federation): Mitsubishi Motors Mizushima Plant
- https://www.okayama-kanko.jp/spot/detail_10322.html
Last verified: 2026.10.03