About the Yamamoto Family Residence Main House
The Yamamoto Family Residence Main House (山本家住宅主屋, Yamamoto-ke Jūtaku Shuoku) is a single-storey timber farmhouse from the late Edo period, roughly the late 18th to early 19th century, in Saidera 2-chome, Suita City, Osaka Prefecture, and it became a Registered Tangible Cultural Property on December 5, 2019. It has a thatched (Kayabuki) roof in the Irimoya-zukuri hip-and-gable form and a footprint of 261 square meters.
The Yamamoto Family Residence Main House stands at the center of the homestead of a family that served as village headman. It was renovated in 1931 and again in 2017. The thatch is now protected by a temporary copper covering, and only the ridge is tiled.
A Headman's House
At the center of the front is a Shikidai entrance, a low wooden step platform at the doorway where guests of rank were received. It reflects the standing of a headman's household.
A lean-to Geya runs all the way around the building, so the great thatched roof is skirted by a lower tiled roof, giving the house a two-tiered profile.
Inside, an earth-floored Doma work area occupies the north side, and six rooms in two rows, front and back, fill the south side. The front room at the formal end is a Zashiki with a tokonoma alcove and a sunoko ceiling, made of slats laid with gaps between them. Suita City cites it as a feature handed down from the Edo period.
Why It Was Registered
The main house was registered as contributing to the historic landscape. The Agency calls it the core of an old family's homestead, and Suita City adds that the slatted ceiling of the reception room preserves a traditional Edo-period form.
From outside, look at the shape of the great hip-and-gable roof. Even under its copper sheath, the bulk of a thatched roof and the line of the lean-to around its base are easy to read, and looking up you can see that only the ridge is tiled.
The north storehouse and front gate and the east storehouse, both from the Taisho era, stand to the north and northeast of the house. An Edo-period house is framed on its front side by storehouses and a gate added in the 1920s.
Visiting the Yamamoto Family Residence Main House
The Yamamoto Family Residence Main House is a private home, and no public or special openings have been announced. The entrance and the reception room cannot be visited, so please view the property from outside and photograph only from the public road.
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Q&A
- When was the Yamamoto Family Residence Main House built?
- The Agency for Cultural Affairs dates it to the late Edo period. It was renovated in 1931 and 2017.
- What kind of roof does the Yamamoto Family Residence Main House have?
- A thatched hip-and-gable roof, now covered with temporary copper sheeting, with a tiled ridge and a lean-to roof around all four sides.
- What is the layout of the Yamamoto Family Residence Main House?
- An earth-floored work area on the north and six rooms in two rows on the south. The front room at the formal end is a reception room with an alcove and a slatted ceiling.
- Why is the Yamamoto Family Residence Main House a Registered Tangible Cultural Property?
- As the core of the homestead of a family that served as village headman, it was registered on December 5, 2019 as contributing to the historic landscape.
- Can I go inside the Yamamoto Family Residence Main House?
- No. It is a private home with no announced openings, so please view it from outside.
Basic Information
| Name | Yamamoto Family Residence Main House |
|---|---|
| Location | 4035 Saidera 2-chome, Suita City, Osaka Prefecture |
| Designation | Registered Tangible Cultural Property (Building) |
| Year Designated | 2019 (registered December 5, 2019) |
| Quantity | 1 building |
| Dimensions | Building area 261 square meters |
| Owner | Private individual (per Suita City's list) |
| Public Access | Not open to the public (no public opening announced) |
References
- Database of National Cultural Properties: Yamamoto Family Residence Main House (Agency for Cultural Affairs)
- https://kunishitei.bunka.go.jp/heritage/detail/101/00013144
- Suita City: List of Designated and Registered Cultural Properties (Japanese)
- https://www.city.suita.osaka.jp/bunkazai/shitei/1031084.html
- Suita City: Cultural Properties Protection Council materials, FY2023 (Japanese, PDF)
- https://www.city.suita.osaka.jp/_res/projects/default_project/_page_/001/031/537/bunkazaihogosinngikai-siryou.pdf
Last verified: 2026.10.04
