Togei Family Residence

About the Togei Family Residence

The Togei Family Residence (東迎家住宅) is a house in Yonaguni, Yonaguni Town, Yaeyama District, Okinawa Prefecture, centred on a main house of 1953, whose main house, stone wall, well, ichitarai and water tank were registered as five Registered Tangible Cultural Property structures on March 7, 2008. The Agency for Cultural Affairs values the main house for preserving the traditional form and specifications of Yaeyama houses.

The main house, stone wall and water tank date from 1953, and the well and ichitarai from the early Meiji period (Agency for Cultural Affairs). The compound keeps its Meiji water facilities alongside a main house rebuilt after the war.

How the Compound Is Laid Out

According to the Agency, the main house stands near the centre of the plot facing south: a hipped building 7 bays by 4, roofed in red Ryukyu tiles. A stone wall separates the front garden from the path that runs from the road on the east along the south edge of the plot to the house; it was built with stone dug out for the house's foundations.

The well lies southwest of the house, the ichitarai (stone water basin) on raised ground east of it, and the water tank against the west wall of the kitchen (Agency for Cultural Affairs). The well is a cylindrical shaft cut 13 metres into Ryukyu limestone, and the tank collects rainwater from the gutters. Together the three show how a household on the island secured its water.

The main house was registered as a building that has become a model of design, and the other four as structures contributing to the historic landscape of the country (Agency for Cultural Affairs).

Visiting the Togei Family Residence

The Togei Family Residence appears to be a private home, and we found no official information on public access. Please limit any visit to the view from the road. The address is 151-1 Yonaguni, Yonaguni Town.