What Is the Former Morita Family Residence Main House?
The Yaeyama Minzokuen Former Morita Family Residence Main House (八重山民俗園旧森田家住宅主屋, Morita-ke Jūtaku Shuoku) is a samurai-class (shizoku) house built in 1909, now standing in Ishigaki Yaima Village at Nagura, Ishigaki City, Okinawa Prefecture, and it was registered as a Registered Tangible Cultural Property of Japan on December 5, 2007.
Ishigaki City says the house was built in the Okawa district of town and moved to the grounds of the Yaeyama Minzokuen folk park in 1984. It keeps the park's old name in its registered title, while the village today calls it the Morita house (Morita-tei). A single-storey timber building with a tiled roof, it covers 152 m², the largest of the four registered houses in the village. Its registration number is 47-0059, and it was listed on the same day as the Makishi house (47-0058).
A multilingual guide produced with Ishigaki City names the owner as Morita Son'ei and says the house was built by his father, Morita Sonsho, a former mayor of Yonaguni Village.
Why the Morita House Was Registered
The Agency for Cultural Affairs calls the Morita house a large surviving example of a traditional shizoku dwelling, and Ishigaki City describes it as a textbook case of the class's building style.
Here is how it is put together. The roof is hipped (Yosemune-zukuri) and laid with full round-and-flat tiles (Hongawarabuki), with the entrance on the long side. The rooms sit in two rows. Along the front, from the right as you face the house, which is the east, run ichibanza (8 tatami mats), nibanza (8 mats) and sanbanza (4 mats). Each has a back room (uraza) behind it: 7 mats with a rear alcove, then 5 and 6. A veranda and deep Amahaji eaves wrap the outside, and in front of ichibanza a small hipped porch pushes out beyond the eave line. Attached to the left side under the same ridge are the kitchen (tora) and a storeroom (kuru), 3 tsubo and 1.5 tsubo respectively according to the city.
Formal rooms in front, back rooms behind, eaves all round: the basic Yaeyama house is here at full size and intact. It is the reference point for the Taishō-era houses later moved into the village.
What to Look For at the Morita House
From the front, the porch is the first thing you notice. Its little hipped roof steps forward of the eave line and marks, plainly, where guests were received. Walk round to the left and you can follow the kitchen and storeroom running on under the same ridge.
Indoors, look up for the Munagi ridge beam. Ishigaki City records an inscription on it combining a protective formula, a phrase written on ridge beams in Okinawa to ward off disaster and invite good fortune, with a note that the house was newly built in the seventh month of 1909. That dated inscription is one reason the construction year is secure.
The timber is the best the islands offered: inumaki (Podocarpus) and Ryukyu ebony for posts and finishing, and mokkoku, fukugi and chinaberry for the beams and frame. Walk through to the back rooms, starting with the one that has its own rear alcove, and the different roles of the front and back rows become clear.
Visiting the Morita House
The Morita house is open to view during Ishigaki Yaima Village hours, and you may step up into the rooms. Entry is covered by the village admission ticket; hours, fees and directions are on the Ishigaki Yaima Village page.
With six rooms in two rows, this is the house to walk through slowly, front to back. Official guidance does not say where the ridge-beam inscription is best seen from, so ask the staff on site.
Personal photography needs no permission. Keep other visitors out of your shots, do not climb the stone walls, and do not fly drones.
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Q&A
- When was the Yaeyama Minzokuen Former Morita Family Residence Main House built?
- The Agency for Cultural Affairs database dates the Morita house to 1909 and records its move from the Okawa district of Ishigaki in 1984. The inscription on its ridge beam also records construction in 1909.
- Why is the Former Morita Family Residence Main House a Registered Tangible Cultural Property?
- It was registered on December 5, 2007, as a large surviving example of a traditional shizoku house. At 152 m², it is the biggest of the four registered houses at Ishigaki Yaima Village.
- What is the layout of the Morita house?
- Two rows of rooms: ichibanza, nibanza and sanbanza along the front from the east, each with a back room behind. A porch projects in front of ichibanza, and a kitchen and storeroom are attached on the left side.
- What is written on the ridge beam of the Former Morita Family Residence Main House?
- A traditional Okinawan formula written to ward off disaster and invite good fortune, followed by a note that the house was newly built in the seventh month of 1909.
- Can I go inside and take photos at the Morita house?
- Yes, with a village admission ticket (1,200 yen for adults, 600 yen for children). Personal photos are fine; keep other visitors out of frame and do not climb the stone walls.
Basic Information
| Name | Yaeyama Minzokuen Former Morita Family Residence Main House |
|---|---|
| Location | 967-1 Aza-Nagura, Ishigaki City, Okinawa Prefecture (inside Ishigaki Yaima Village) |
| Designation | Registered Tangible Cultural Property (Building) |
| Year Designated | Registered December 5, 2007 |
| Quantity | 1 building |
| Dimensions | Single-storey timber building, tiled roof, building area 152 m² |
| Owner | Ayapani Co., Ltd. |
| Public Access | Open during Ishigaki Yaima Village hours (admission required) |
References
- Agency for Cultural Affairs, Database of National Cultural Properties: Yaeyama Minzokuen Former Morita Family Residence Main House
- https://kunishitei.bunka.go.jp/bsys/maindetails/101/00006671
- Ishigaki City: Designated and Registered Cultural Properties in Ishigaki (Japanese)
- https://www.city.ishigaki.okinawa.jp/soshiki/bunkazaisisihennsyuka/bunakazaikinanbutu1/1_1/573.html
- Ishigaki City Board of Education: Registered Tangible Cultural Properties, Makishi and Morita Houses (PDF, Japanese)
- https://www.city.ishigaki.okinawa.jp/material/files/group/41/P18_bunkazai.pdf
- Ishigaki Island Yaeyama Culture Multilingual Guide: Former Morita Family Residence Main House (Japanese)
- https://ishigaki.hiddenheritage.jp/2
- Ishigaki Yaima Village: Sights (Japanese)
- https://www.yaimamura.com/look/
- Ishigaki Yaima Village: Photography and Filming Rules (Japanese)
- https://www.yaimamura.com/appointment/
Last verified: 2026.10.05
