Kinjo Masuharu Family Residence Furu (Pigsty Toilet)

What Is the Kinjo Masuharu Family Residence Furu?

The Kinjo Masuharu Family Residence Furu (Pigsty Toilet) (金城増治家住宅フール, Kinjō Masuharu-ke Jūtaku Fūru) is a stone pigsty-cum-toilet of around 1891 on a homestead in Makabe, Itoman City, Okinawa Prefecture, registered as a Registered Tangible Cultural Property on 10 November 2005.

A fūru was a fixture of the traditional Okinawan homestead: a stone pen where the household kept its pigs, combined with the family toilet. Itoman City's village guide map describes this one as a wā-fūru, a pig house and toilet in one. The Kinjo Masuharu Family Residence Furu stands west of the main house, which occupies the middle of the south-facing plot, and is a double unit built of Ryukyu limestone.

Two Stone Pens and a Lost Roof

The Kinjo Masuharu Family Residence Furu measures 4.1 meters on its long side and 3.1 meters on its short side, and stands 1.1 meters high at its tallest point. The Agency for Cultural Affairs records its area as 7.3 square meters. It is described as a double furu: two stone-walled compartments set side by side.

It once had a roof, which has since disappeared. What survives is the stonework, built from irregularly shaped blocks fitted together. The Agency cites the good condition of this stone structure as a reason for registration.

With the roof gone, you can see straight into the enclosures, which is how the Kinjo Masuharu Family Residence Furu looks today.

A Record of Everyday Life

The Kinjo Masuharu Family Residence Furu was registered for its contribution to the historic landscape, and the Agency values it as one of the elements that make up the homestead.

It matters that the registration reaches beyond the house, the wall and the well to include the place where pigs were kept and waste was dealt with. With the main house at the center and the well and furu to its west, the layout shows a Meiji-era homestead in Makabe that met its daily needs within its own grounds. The roof is lost, but the Kinjo Masuharu Family Residence Furu still preserves the stone shell of that function.

When you look at it, notice the two compartments side by side, as in the guide map's photograph, and how the corners are built up from stones of every shape.

Visiting the Kinjo Masuharu Family Residence Furu

The Kinjo Masuharu Family Residence Furu is inside the grounds, west of the main house. The property can only be entered as a customer of the eatery in the main house. Opening days and directions are on the Kinjo Masuharu Family Residence page.

At about 1.1 meters high the walls look like a convenient seat, but please do not sit or climb on the stonework.