Manabe Family Residence (Kasaoka)

An Old Island Family's Homestead on the Sea of the Manabe Fleet

The Manabe Family Residence (真鍋家住宅, Manabe-ke Jūtaku) in the Honura district of Manabeshima, Kasaoka City, Okayama Prefecture, is the homestead of one of the island's oldest families, and its five buildings, led by a main house built in 1870, were registered together as Registered Tangible Cultural Properties on March 27, 2006.

Manabeshima lies about 18 kilometers offshore from Sumiyoshi Port in Kasaoka, one of the small Kasaoka Islands in the Seto Inland Sea. According to the Japan Heritage portal, the medieval Manabe clan held sway over the surrounding waters, including the islands of Kitagishima, Tobishima and Mushima. The Kasaoka City Tourism Association describes the Manabe household as island notables since the end of the Heian period in the late 12th century.

The Manabe Family Residence is also one of the component properties of the Japan Heritage story on the granite islands of the Bisan archipelago (知ってる!? 悠久の時が流れる石の島). The portal's entry, written by Kasaoka City, identifies the house as the residence of the head house of the Manabe line known as 鉄屋 (literally "iron house") and treats it as the building that best represents the island's village townscape.

Two other properties carry the same name, one in Shikokuchuo, Ehime Prefecture, and one in Takamatsu, Kagawa Prefecture. Neither is connected with the Manabe Family Residence on Manabeshima.

How the Manabe Family Residence Is Laid Out

Reading the Agency for Cultural Affairs entries for all five buildings side by side gives a rough plan of the Manabe Family Residence. At its center is the main house, which faces almost due south with its ridge running east to west and keeps its formal reception room on the west side, along the street.

The front gate stands directly before the main house, also facing south. The former post office adjoins the west end of the main house's north wall and takes the western street as its front. The Inui-gura storehouse occupies the northwest corner of the plot, with today's Manabeshima Post Office immediately to its north. The Agency places the warehouse and barn in the southeast corner.

In order of construction, the main house dates from 1870, the warehouse and barn from 1874, the front gate from the early Meiji period, the Inui-gura from 1893 and the former post office from 1917. The homestead took shape over roughly half a century, and the post office was the last piece added.

A large holtnoki, an evergreen of warm coastlines said to be about 250 years old, spreads its branches at the eaves of the main house. The tourism association notes that the species is uncommon in Okayama and repeats a story that the sapling came from one brought to Sanuki (today's Kagawa) by the Edo-period scholar Hiraga Gennai. In the bending lanes of Honura, the tree is the easiest way to find the house.

What Was Registered at the Manabe Family Residence

The five buildings of the Manabe Family Residence were registered in the 50th round of registrations and announced in the official gazette on April 12, 2006. Their registration numbers run in sequence: the main house is 33-0107, the former post office 33-0108, the Inui-gura 33-0109, the warehouse and barn 33-0110 and the front gate 33-0111.

Only the main house was registered as a model of design. The other four were registered for their contribution to the historic landscape. The Agency singles out the main house because a ridge tag (munafuda) fixes its date, which makes it valuable for the history of island houses, and Kasaoka City points to the good condition of all five buildings.

The Agency gives building areas of 144 square meters for the main house, 55 square meters for the warehouse and barn, 40 square meters for the former post office and 21 square meters for the Inui-gura, and a frontage of 3.2 meters for the front gate. The owner field is blank for all five in the national database, and Kasaoka City lists the owner as a private individual.

Visiting the Manabe Family Residence

The Manabe Family Residence is a private home. The buildings are not open inside, and there is no admission fee or set viewing time. The reception-room side of the main house, the former post office and the Inui-gura all face the western street, so their exteriors can be seen from the lane.

The lanes of Honura are narrow and are everyday routes for the people who live here. Stay in the lane, do not step through the gate, and keep photographs to the exteriors without catching the household's daily life.

To reach Manabeshima, walk 7 to 10 minutes from JR Kasaoka Station on the Sanyo Main Line to Sumiyoshi Port (also called Kasaoka Port) and board a Sanyo Kisen passenger boat on the Kasaoka to Sanagi Honura route. Manabeshima has two ports, Iwatsubo and Honura; get off at Honura, also signed as Manabeshima Port. Going by the timetable, the regular boat takes about 65 to 70 minutes and the high-speed boat about 45 minutes, at a higher fare. The house is about 2 minutes on foot from Honura Port.

Only a handful of boats run each day, and sailings are cancelled in rough weather. Check the Sanyo Kisen timetable and the day's operating status before setting out, and settle on a return boat in advance.