Koyama Family Residence

What Is the Koyama Family Residence?

The Koyama Family Residence (兒山家住宅, Koyama-ke Jūtaku) is the late Edo-period estate of a wealthy farming family in Tokikita (陶器北, Tōki-kita), Naka Ward, Sakai City, Osaka Prefecture; ten of its buildings, including the main house, the reception wing and the gatehouse, were registered together as Registered Tangible Cultural Properties on 14 February 2002. The estate sits on a gentle slope with the Toki River at its back to the north, and its storehouses, earthen walls and gatehouse close it in on all four sides.

According to Sakai City, family tradition traces the Koyama line back to the medieval period. The family made its living preparing and dispensing medicine, served throughout the Edo period as ōjōya, the headmen responsible for a group of villages, and acted as local intendants for the Koide domain. The present house belongs to a branch that split from the main line in the late Edo period and is known locally as Higashi Koyama, the "East Koyama."

Fields still surround the Koyama Family Residence, a rare sight in a city that has been built up quickly. Sakai City counts it among the most important of the few large farmhouses left within its boundaries.

Ten Registered Buildings

All ten buildings of the Koyama Family Residence entered the register at the 32nd round of registration on 14 February 2002, under the consecutive numbers 27-0167 to 27-0176. The reception wing, the annex and the connecting wing were registered as models of design; the other seven for their contribution to the historic landscape. The Agency for Cultural Affairs database gives the dates and sizes below.

• Main House: late Edo period, 2-storey timber building, 254 square meters
• Reception Wing: late Edo period, single-storey, 89 square meters
• Annex: early Showa period, single-storey, 17 square meters
• Connecting Wing: late Edo period, 2-storey timber building, 47 square meters
• Inner Storehouse: late Edo period, 2-storey earthen-walled storehouse, 39 square meters
• Barn: late Edo period, single-storey, 68 square meters
• Outer Storehouse: late Edo period, single-storey earthen-walled storehouse, 21 square meters
• Gatehouse: late Edo period, single-storey, 112 square meters
• Retirement Quarters: late Edo period, single-storey, 73 square meters
• Earthen Wall: late Edo period, timber frame with tile coping, 105 meters long

The database uses the span 1751 to 1829 for "late Edo." Nine of the ten fall in that range. Only the annex is younger: it was added in the early Showa period, when part of the reception wing was remodelled. None of the sources consulted cites a ridge tablet or other record giving an exact construction year for any single building.

How the Estate Is Laid Out

The main house of the Koyama Family Residence stands at the center of the lot, facing south. The reception wing adjoins it on the east, and a small annex projects from the north end of the reception wing's east side. A garden opens in front of these rooms, and plastered earthen walls enclose it on the south, east and north.

Behind the main house, a connecting wing leads north to the inner storehouse. West of that storehouse stands the barn, and further west, in the northwest corner of the lot, the outer storehouse; together they form the northern range. A stretch of earthen wall also closes the gap between the inner storehouse and the barn.

On the public side, the long gatehouse stands across the front of the estate, a little west of center, and the retirement quarters face the street along the west side of the lot. Between the two, at the southwest corner, runs an L-shaped wall with its posts and bracket arms left exposed. Buildings and walls link up to form one continuous enclosure.

Visiting and Getting There

The Koyama Family Residence is a private home that is still lived in, and the interiors are not open to visitors. The Sakai tourism bureau asks visitors to view the buildings from outside only. Please stay on the public road and do not enter the grounds.

The easiest buildings to see from the road are the gatehouse, which forms the front of the estate, the retirement quarters on the west street, and the wall that joins them at the southwest corner. The outer storehouse also stands in a prominent spot at the northwest corner.

The nearest bus stop listed by Sakai City is Fukudanaka (福田中) on the Nankai Bus network. The nearest railway station is Kitanoda on the Nankai Koya Line; the Koyama Family Residence lies southwest of the station, about 2 kilometers away in a straight line.