A fuel merchant's shop and home
Okuyama Family Residence Main House (奥山家住宅主屋, Okuyama-ke Jūtaku Shuoku) is a combined shop and house built in 1928 in Himejima, Nishiyodogawa Ward, Osaka, and registered as a Registered Tangible Cultural Property of Japan on June 9, 2004, under number 27-0288.
The Okuyama family ran a fuel business here, and the building faces south onto the main street: two storeys in timber under a tiled roof, with a building area of 82 square meters. A neighbourhood fuel dealer of the period typically sold firewood and charcoal, later coal briquettes and kerosene, the everyday energy of a working city.
House, shop and store in a row
The Okuyama Family Residence Main House is laid out as a long strip: house at the east end, then the shop, then a store at the west end. Only the house section rises to two storeys; shop and store stay low. Three parts with three uses read as one continuous street front.
The front is dressed in Western style. Parapet walls of varying height rise above the roofline to make the building look flat-roofed. Since the record describes the roof as tiled, a pitched tile roof must be hiding behind them.
The walls are faced in Scratch tile, tiles combed with fine vertical grooves that were in fashion from the end of the Taishō era into early Shōwa. The canopy over the shopfront is shaped like a classical cornice, running a strong horizontal line across the facade.
Why it was registered
The Okuyama Family Residence Main House was registered under the criterion of having become a model of its kind in design. The agency praises the effort poured into its Western detailing.
Putting a Western face on a timber townhouse was common in the shopping streets of early Shōwa Japan. What sets this building apart is that the stepped parapets trace the divisions inside, house, shop and store, rather than simply masking them.
What to look for
Start from across the street and take in the whole front of the Okuyama Family Residence Main House: the two-storey house at the east end, the shop in the middle, the store to the west, and the parapet tops stepping along between them.
Then look closely at the Scratch tile facing. The fine grooves throw the most shadow when light rakes across them in the early morning or late afternoon, and they set up a quiet contrast with the bold horizontal shadow of the cornice-like canopy.
Visiting
The Okuyama Family Residence Main House is a private residence and is not open inside. As of September 2026 we found no announcements of open days. The exterior can be seen from the public road to the south; please stay off the property, keep your stop short, and avoid pointing cameras at windows and doors, as no photography policy has been published.
The nearest station is Himejima on the Hanshin Main Line, about 300 meters away in a straight line on the map and a few minutes on foot. The area mixes houses and small workshops, and there is no visitor parking.
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Q&A
- Can I visit the Okuyama Family Residence Main House?
- The interior is closed because it is a private home. The exterior can be seen from the public road to the south. As of September 2026 no open days had been announced.
- When was the Okuyama Family Residence Main House built?
- In 1928.
- What kind of building is the Okuyama Family Residence Main House?
- A fuel merchant's combined shop and house, with the house, shop and store in a row from east to west and a two-storey house section, dressed in Western style with stepped parapets, scratch-tile walls and a cornice-like canopy.
- When did the Okuyama Family Residence Main House become a Registered Tangible Cultural Property?
- On June 9, 2004, under registration number 27-0288, as a model of its kind in design.
- How do I get to the Okuyama Family Residence Main House?
- The nearest station is Himejima on the Hanshin Main Line, about 300 meters away in a straight line. There is no visitor parking.
Basic Information
| Name | Okuyama Family Residence Main House |
|---|---|
| Location | 1-13-1 and 2 Himejima, Nishiyodogawa Ward, Osaka, Osaka Prefecture |
| Designation | Registered Tangible Cultural Property (Building) |
| Year Designated | Registered 2004/6/9 (Heisei 16) |
| Quantity | 1 building |
| Dimensions | Building area 82 square meters; two-storey timber building |
| Owner | Private |
| Public Access | Closed (exterior visible from the road) |
References
- Cultural Heritage Database: Okuyama Family Residence Main House (Agency for Cultural Affairs)
- https://kunishitei.bunka.go.jp/heritage/detail/101/00004145
- Cultural Heritage Online: Okuyama Family Residence Main House
- https://bunka.nii.ac.jp/heritages/detail/150755
Last verified: 2026.09.26