Takara Family Residence (Zamami Village, Shimajiri District, Okinawa Prefecture)

The Takara Family Residence on Geruma Island

The Takara Family Residence (高良家住宅, Takara-ke Jūtaku) is a mid-Meiji-period house in Geruma, Zamami Village, Shimajiri District, Okinawa, designated an Important Cultural Property on 11 May 1988. It stands near the middle of the only village on Geruma Island in the Kerama group, and the Agency for Cultural Affairs lists it as the Takara Family Residence (Zamami Village, Shimajiri District, Okinawa Prefecture) to distinguish it from houses of the same name elsewhere.

According to the Agency, the Takara family held the post of ship's captain under the Ryukyu royal government. Zamami Village calls the house the shindō shūyā, the captain's main house, and tradition holds that it was built by Nakandakari Pēchin, who commanded official ships late in the kingdom's history and paid for the house with profits from the China trade.

Geruma lies about 40 kilometers west of Naha and is the smallest of Zamami's three inhabited islands: 1.22 square kilometers, with fewer than 50 residents according to village figures. On this small island a captain's homestead survives, complete with its enclosing wall.

A hipped house under red tiles

The Agency records the Takara Family Residence main house as 12.7 meters by 8.7 meters, with a hipped roof of interlocking clay tiles and an attached entrance. The house faces south. It was first thatched, and in the Taisho era (1912 to 1926) the roof was re-covered with the red tiles typical of Okinawa.

Two further elements are included in the designation as appurtenances: 1 hinpun and 1 stone wall. The hinpun is a freestanding screen set just inside the gate. It blocks the direct view from the lane into the house and sends visitors to one side or the other. The stone wall runs right around the property; travel guides describe it as coral stone laid in the aikata-zumi manner, with polygonal blocks fitted together, and built up to the height of the eaves.

Why the Takara Family Residence is designated

The feature the Agency singles out is the kitchen. In many traditional Okinawan homesteads the living quarters and the cooking house stand as separate buildings; at the Takara Family Residence the kitchen is built inside the main house, and the Agency calls it a fine example of that arrangement.

The setting counts too. The stone wall and trees around the house survive in good condition, and the Agency concludes that the house is of high value as a dwelling of the outer Okinawan islands. A house still on its original plot in an island village has a different story to tell from one moved into an open-air museum.

Sources differ on the date. The Agency's database says the middle of the Meiji era, while Zamami Village and the Okinawa Convention and Visitors Bureau speak of the last years of the Ryukyu royal government, in the later 19th century. The kingdom became Okinawa Prefecture in 1879, so the two descriptions overlap within a few decades, but the primary records do not settle which is more precise.

What to look for at the Takara Family Residence

Approach along the village lanes and the wall comes first. It rises close to eave height, and the red roof only shows above it: the homestead is wrapped inside its stones.

Step through the gate and the hinpun stands squarely in your way. Only when you walk around it does the south front of the house open up. Feeling that sequence for yourself is perhaps the best part of a visit to the Takara Family Residence.

Inside, check where the cooking space is: under the same roof as the rooms, the very point the Agency gave as the reason for designation. Anyone who has seen other Okinawan houses will notice the difference. Look up, too, at the red tiles laid in the Taisho-era reroofing.

Visiting the Takara Family Residence

The Takara Family Residence is open to visitors, who can see both the interior and the grounds. It is closed on Mondays. Travel guides give the hours as 9:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m., closed from noon to 1:00 p.m. even on open days. The Okinawa Convention and Visitors Bureau lists admission at 310 yen for adults, 260 yen for high school and university students, and 170 yen for elementary and junior high school students. Since fees and hours can change, confirm with the Zamami Village Board of Education (098-987-2153) before you go. There are no toilets on site. No official guidance on photography has been published, so please ask the attendant.

To reach Geruma, take a village-run boat from Tomari Port in Naha to Aka Island. Village figures give about 50 minutes from Naha to Zamami Village by the high-speed Queen Zamami and about 90 minutes by the Ferry Zamami. From Aka Port, cross the Aka Bridge onto Geruma; the house is about 20 minutes by bicycle or 10 minutes by car. Sailings vary with season and sea conditions, so check the timetable in advance.