Former Matsuno Family Residence (Noguchi Family Residence) Water Intake Pond

What Is the Former Matsuno Family Residence (Noguchi Family Residence) Water Intake Pond?

The Former Matsuno Family Residence (Noguchi Family Residence) Water Intake Pond (旧松野家住宅(野口家住宅)取水池, Kyū Matsuno-ke Jūtaku, Noguchi-ke Jūtaku Shusui-ike) is a stone-walled pond that draws water from a channel into an old family estate in Umeno, Yamato-cho, Saga City, Saga Prefecture; built in the early Taishō period and altered around 1965, it became a Registered Tangible Cultural Property on 6 March 2024.

The Agency for Cultural Affairs dates early Taishō to 1912 to 1918 and gives the area as 26 square meters. The name is read shusui-ike, not shusui-chi.

Stonework That Would Be Hard to Repeat

The Water Intake Pond was registered as number 41-0134, as something that would not be easy to reproduce. It is the only one of the four items on the estate registered on that ground.

The Agency's reason is the quality of the stone cutting, and it points to two places in particular: the junction where the pond enclosure meets the estate wall, and the way the ends of the stonework are finished. Joints and ends are where gaps and steps appear unless each stone is shaped to fit, and their clean finish here is what makes the pond hard to rebuild today.

A Pond Built into the End of a Wall

The Former Matsuno Family Residence Water Intake Pond sits at the north end of the stone wall that runs along the east side of the plot, taking in water from a channel beside the wall.

Its enclosure is built of the same granite as the gateposts and estate walls, laid in a U shape that opens to the north. The pond inside is almost square, with a concrete bridge across the middle, so granite and concrete meet over the same small square of water. The sources we checked do not say what the alteration around 1965 involved.

The Agency database has a photograph of the inside of the pond from the east and one of the outside of its east face. The caption on the second mentions the neighboring plot's intake pond, suggesting that the house next door has one too. It hints at a hamlet where each household drew its own water from the channel.

Visiting

The Former Matsuno Family Residence (Noguchi Family Residence) Water Intake Pond lies within a private estate, and we found no announcement of public openings. Given its place at the north end of the east wall, whether anything can be seen from outside depends on conditions on site.

The enclosure and the concrete bridge can be seen in the photographs on the Agency for Cultural Affairs database. On site, please do not touch the channel or the walls, and do not enter the property. Directions are on the Former Matsuno Family Residence (Noguchi Family Residence) page.