Arai Family Residence Inner Room

What the Arai Family Residence Inner Room is

The Arai Family Residence Inner Room (新井家住宅奥座敷, Arai-ke Jūtaku Okuzashiki) is a single-storey timber reception wing of 1932 at the Arai Family Residence in Nakasho, Izumisano City, Osaka Prefecture, registered as a Registered Tangible Cultural Property on July 8, 1999. It holds register number 27-0067 and has a building area of 120 square meters.

The three wings of the house enclose the garden in a U shape, and the okuzashiki, literally the "inner reception room," forms the left arm. It lies to the far left as you enter from the gate, deeper into the estate than the central entrance wing, and it was meant for the most honored guests. Izumisano City's digital archive names the three wings the great shoin, the shoin and the living quarters, and the great shoin appears to correspond to this wing.

Plan of the Inner Room and why it was registered

According to the Agency for Cultural Affairs, the Arai Family Residence Inner Room is planned around a zashiki of about 15 tatami mats with a raised jōdan section, and a tsugi-no-ma, or antechamber, of about 10 mats. A jōdan is a platform one step above the rest of the floor that marks the seat of the host or a guest of rank. It developed in the reception halls of the Edo period, and finding one in a private house of the 1930s says plainly that this wing was designed for formal hospitality.

The Agency also notes the generous uchinori, the clear height between the sill and the lintel. Raising it makes the sliding doors and screens taller and gives the room an airy proportion. Tatami corridors and an open veranda surround the room so the garden can be enjoyed at leisure, and the Agency sums up the wing as a building of high quality and considerable craftsmanship.

Its registration criterion is the one shared by all six entries, contribution to the historic landscape. The Agency's specific praise for workmanship is what sets the okuzashiki apart.

What to look for in the Inner Room

The owners single out the carved Ranma of the okuzashiki in their description of the house. These are the panels set in the band of wall above the lintels. Look up once you are in the room: when light from the garden strikes the carving at a low angle, its relief throws small shadows and the design stands out.

The owners count 25 mats for the room and antechamber together, which matches the Agency's 15 plus 10, and 13 mats for the tatami corridor. From corridor to veranda to garden the surface changes from tatami to wood to earth, so a seated guest's eye slides outward without interruption.

A 4.5-mat tea room and a 2-mat preparation space are attached today. Izumisano City's archive records that the anteroom of the great shoin was converted into a tea room after registration. When you visit the Arai Family Residence Inner Room, remember that this tea room is a later alteration rather than part of the 1932 design.

Visiting the Inner Room

The interior of the Arai Family Residence Inner Room can be seen on group tours arranged with the owners and on the free autumn open day (checked September 27, 2026). The wing is also rented for events, so tour dates may need to be adjusted around bookings.

From outside, the wing is to your left at the far side of the garden. Standing on the garden side facing the veranda, you can read how veranda, corridor and room step back one behind another.

The room is hired for photo shoots, but the official site does not state whether tour visitors may take photographs. Ask when you book.