Hiroumi Family Residence Annex

A Retirement Cottage in the Sukiya Manner

The Hiroumi Family Residence Annex (廣海家住宅離れ, Hiroumi-ke jūtaku hanare) is a retirement cottage from the late Meiji period in Nishimachi, Kaizuka City, Osaka Prefecture, registered as a Registered Tangible Cultural Property in 2003.

It stands south of the back of the main house, with a modern house between them. It is a timber building, two storeys with a single-storey section, under a tiled roof, with a footprint of 79 square meters, built for a head of the family who had handed over the business.

Inside are an 8-mat reception room (Zashiki), a 6-mat room for the family altar and a 4-mat tea room (Chashitsu). The Hiroumi Family Residence Annex was a place for quiet living and cultivated pastimes, quite unlike the working main house.

Why It Matters

It was registered for its contribution to the historic landscape. In a compound dominated by storehouses, it is one of only two dwellings, the counterpart to the main house.

The Agency for Cultural Affairs highlights its sukiya-style design. A retirement cottage with its own tea room shows a merchant family still able to devote time to tea in the late Meiji years, which fits with the tea utensils kept in the Living Room Storehouse.

What to Look For

The roof has a gentle upward swell (mukuri) and is laid in pantiles (Sangawara-buki), except for the east and west faces, which are sheathed in copper. Mixing tile and copper gives the light touch that sukiya design prizes.

The eaves are carried on bracket arms with round, unsquared rafters (Taruki), a softer look suited to a building with a tea room.

Unusually, cypress bark is applied to the walls. Bark is usually a roofing material; here it is used as a wall finish, purely for its texture.

The three rooms, for guests, for the ancestors and for tea, sketch out what retirement meant in a household like this.

Visiting the Hiroumi Family Residence Annex

The Hiroumi Family Residence Annex stands deep inside the compound behind the main house and is not open to the public. With a house standing between it and the main house, it is probably hard to see from the street, though this has not been confirmed.

The grounds are closed, so any viewing is from the public roads around the property. How the compound fits together, and how to get there, is covered on the Hiroumi Family Residence page.