A two-storey reception wing behind the main house
The Himurean Zashiki Reception Wing is a Zashiki building of around 1921 on a townhouse plot in Nishimotocho, Omihachiman, Shiga Prefecture, entered on the national register as a Registered Tangible Cultural Property in December 1998.
Two storeys, timber framed and tiled, with a floor area of 80 square metres. It joins the rear of the east face of the main house, with a corridor and lavatory attached along its south side. The roof is Sangawara-buki.
The point of interest is storey height. The late Edo main house carries only a low Tsushi-nikai half-storey, while the upper floor of the Himurean Zashiki Reception Wing is built to full height. Two periods, two ideas of what an upper floor is for, standing on the same plot.
A concern for the street, built into the form
A road runs along the eastern edge of the property. The Himurean Zashiki Reception Wing turns its gable end toward that road, and the east face of the corridor attached on its south side was finished to look like a plastered boundary wall. Rather than expose the flank of a private house to passers-by, the household built a surface that reads as a wall.
The national database singles this out, and the registration criterion applied was contribution to the historic landscape of the country. The registration number is 25-0097. The long wall of the east storehouse, at the southern end of the plot, continues the same treatment.
What to look at
From the eastern road, the gable triangle and the wall-like surface running south of it join into a single plane. Where the building ends and the boundary begins is not immediately readable, which is the intention.
Compare the eave heights with the main house alongside. The difference shows how much taller the Taisho-era work stands. Of the 7 registered items here, the Himurean Zashiki Reception Wing shows most clearly the moment when an Edo townhouse began turning into a modern home.
Visiting
The Himurean Zashiki Reception Wing is private living space and the interior is closed. Visiting the soba restaurant at the front of the main house does not give access to this wing.
From outside, standing on the road along the eastern edge of the plot gives you the gable end and the corridor wall. The road is narrow and people live along it, so choose where you stop with some care, and keep photography to the street view. Directions to the property are set out on the Himurean page.
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Q&A
- Can you go inside the Himurean Zashiki Reception Wing?
- No. It is private living space with no public opening. What you can see is the exterior, from the road along the eastern edge of the plot.
- How old is the Himurean Zashiki Reception Wing?
- It dates to around 1921, roughly a century later than the early 19th-century main house it adjoins.
- Where can you see the Himurean Zashiki Reception Wing from?
- From the road on the eastern side of the property. The gable end and the wall-like face of the attached corridor are visible one after the other.
- Is the Himurean Zashiki Reception Wing an Important Cultural Property?
- No. It is a Registered Tangible Cultural Property, entered in December 1998 under registration number 25-0097.
- How does its upper floor differ from the main house?
- In height. The main house has only a low half-storey under the roof, while the Himurean Zashiki Reception Wing has a full-height upper floor, a mark of its Taisho-era date.
Basic Information
| Name | Himurean Zashiki Reception Wing (日牟禮庵座敷) |
|---|---|
| Location | 61 Nishimotocho, Omihachiman, Shiga Prefecture |
| Designation | Registered Tangible Cultural Property (building) |
| Year Designated | Registered 1998/12/11 (Heisei 10) |
| Quantity | 1 building |
| Dimensions | Two-storey timber frame, tiled roof, floor area 80 square metres |
| Owner | Private; no owner name recorded in the Agency for Cultural Affairs database |
| Public Access | Closed to the public; the gable end and the corridor wall are visible from the road to the east |
References
- National Cultural Properties Database, Himurean Zashiki Reception Wing (Agency for Cultural Affairs)
- https://kunishitei.bunka.go.jp/heritage/detail/101/00000974
- 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
