Asahiya Hara Pharmacy Annex

Asahiya Hara Pharmacy Annex

The Asahiya Hara Pharmacy Annex (朝日屋原薬局離れ, Asahiya Hara Yakkyoku Hanare) is a two-story timber residence built in 1934 at the far eastern end of the long, narrow Asahiya Hara Pharmacy estate in Honcho 2-chome, Shiki City, Saitama Prefecture, facing south, and registered as a Registered Tangible Cultural Property on July 1, 2003.

Both floors share the same footprint. The roof is hip-and-gable in pantiles, partly sheet metal, and a canopy runs all the way round between the floors. A small gabled porch sits at the east end of the south front. The building area is 55 square meters.

It is the youngest of the seven registered buildings, completed 22 years after the 1912 main house and 2 years after the 1932 Western-style room, and it stands as far from the bustle of the shop as the estate allows.

Why It Was Registered

The annex was registered as a model of design. The Agency for Cultural Affairs notes the generous ceiling height on both floors, the extensive use of glass windows and eaves finished with paired rafters and fine lathing: light sukiya-style touches placed at key points.

Sukiya refers to the tea-house taste carried into domestic architecture, with slender members and delicate finishes. The shop-house on the street shows a heavy, guarded face; the annex at the back is open and light. Within one estate, front and back have clearly different characters.

What to Look For: Glass and Paired Rafters

By the early Showa years, sheet glass had become common in houses. The Asahiya Hara Pharmacy Annex makes full use of it, with high ceilings and large windows that pull southern light deep into the rooms.

Look up at the eaves. The rafters are set in pairs with wider gaps between, and slim strips of lathing are laid across them. The result is a fine, layered soffit, the opposite of the bold projecting beams on the main house.

The canopy that circles the building between the floors splits the tall facade into two bands and keeps the two-story block from looking top-heavy.

Visiting the Annex

The Asahiya Hara Pharmacy Annex is a private home and is not open to the public. It stands at the eastern end of the plot, screened from the street by the main house and storehouse. You cannot enter the grounds.

What you can see from outside is mainly the main house and the gate and wall. Directions are on the Asahiya Hara Pharmacy page.