The wing that took on the wet work
The Himurean Former Washing Room is a building of around 1921 attached to the rear of the main house on a townhouse plot in Nishimotocho, Omihachiman, Shiga Prefecture, entered on the national register as a Registered Tangible Cultural Property in December 1998.
Single-storey, timber framed and tiled, with a floor area of 38 square metres and a Sangawara-buki roof. Inside, the eastern part holds a corridor leading to the annex along with a lavatory and a bathroom, while the western part is a Doma earth floor. The name refers to that earth-floored area, where cooking and washing up were done.
Some alteration has taken place, but the skeleton of the plan survives: kitchen, bath, lavatory and passage gathered into one building and placed between the main house and the annex.
Why it was registered
The national database values the Himurean Former Washing Room as an example that shows clearly how buildings were arranged on a traditional Machiya plot in this district during the Edo period. The building itself is Taisho work, but its position and its role carry on the older pattern.
The registration number is 25-0098, and the criterion applied, contribution to the historic landscape of the country, is the same one used for all 7 items here.
What to look at
The Himurean Former Washing Room is not a building to admire on its own. What matters is where it sits. It touches the back of the main house, and its eastern corridor runs on to the annex. The knot that ties the household together is here, and both the movement of people and the water passed through it.
Its 38 square metres fall between the 117 square metres of the main house and the 30 square metres of the annex. For a building carrying every service function of a household, that is a modest footprint.
Visiting
The Himurean Former Washing Room is closed. It stands deep in the plot and cannot be seen from any public road, so there is no practical way to view the exterior. A visit to the soba restaurant at the front of the main house does not reach this far.
On site, the thing to do is follow the earth-floored passage of the main house with your eye and see how far back it goes. The Himurean Former Washing Room waits at the end of it. Directions to the property are set out on the Himurean page.
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Q&A
- Can you visit the Himurean Former Washing Room?
- No. It is closed to the public and stands too deep in the plot to be seen from the street.
- What kind of building is the Himurean Former Washing Room?
- A service wing. It gathers the earth-floored area used for cooking and washing up, a lavatory and bathroom, and the corridor through to the annex, all attached to the back of the main house.
- How old is the Himurean Former Washing Room?
- It dates to around 1921. The fabric is Taisho work, but its placement follows the older Edo-period pattern of arranging a townhouse plot.
- Is the Himurean Former Washing Room an Important Cultural Property?
- No. It is a Registered Tangible Cultural Property, entered in December 1998 under registration number 25-0098.
- How big is the Himurean Former Washing Room?
- The floor area is 38 square metres. It is a single-storey timber building with a tiled roof.
Basic Information
| Name | Himurean Former Washing Room (日牟禮庵旧流し場) |
|---|---|
| Location | 61 Nishimotocho, Omihachiman, Shiga Prefecture |
| Designation | Registered Tangible Cultural Property (building) |
| Year Designated | Registered 1998/12/11 (Heisei 10) |
| Quantity | 1 building |
| Dimensions | Single-storey timber frame, tiled roof, floor area 38 square metres |
| Owner | Private; no owner name recorded in the Agency for Cultural Affairs database |
| Public Access | Closed to the public and not visible from any public road |
References
- National Cultural Properties Database, Himurean Former Washing Room (Agency for Cultural Affairs)
- https://kunishitei.bunka.go.jp/heritage/detail/101/00000975
- National Cultural Properties Database, Himurean Main House
- https://kunishitei.bunka.go.jp/heritage/detail/101/00000973
- Cultural Heritage Online, Himurean Main House
- https://online.bunka.go.jp/heritages/detail/180883
- Omihachiman City, Cultural Properties
- https://www.city.omihachiman.lg.jp/kanko/rekishi/1/index.html
Last verified: 2026.09.17
