Kawasaki Mutsuo Family Residence Detached Wing

What Is the Kawasaki Mutsuo Family Residence Detached Wing?

The Kawasaki Mutsuo Family Residence Detached Wing (川崎睦男家住宅離れ, Kawasaki Mutsuo-ke Jūtaku Hanare) is an early Showa, 2-storey wooden guest wing at the back of a townhouse estate on the old Tokaido highway in Tehara, Ritto City, Shiga Prefecture, registered as a Registered Tangible Cultural Property on 21 April 1998. It has a tiled roof and a building area of 35 square meters.

It stands north of the main house against the edge of the lot and is joined to the north storehouse. It has two parts: a 2-storey block and a single-storey shoin, a formal reception room, projecting from it to the east.

A Change in Domestic Building, Seen Side by Side

The Kawasaki Mutsuo Family Residence Detached Wing was registered for its contribution to the historic landscape, under number 25-0030. The Agency for Cultural Affairs finds its value in the contrast with the main house.

The main house of 1903 is a townhouse topped by a low Tsushi-nikai loft, and is classed as a single-storey building. The Detached Wing, built in the early Showa years, rises to a true second storey. A single-storey shoin was added beside it, giving the wing the standing of a set of reception rooms, known in Japanese as hanare zashiki.

According to the agency, this arrangement reflects how house building changed in the region. The Meiji main house and the Showa wing, standing on the same lot, show a shift in how an upper floor was treated and how reception rooms were built.

A Hipped-and-Gabled Room Reaching East

The most distinctive part of the Kawasaki Mutsuo Family Residence Detached Wing is the single-storey section that projects east from the 2-storey block. It carries a tiled roof in the Irimoya-zukuri hipped-and-gabled style and served as the shoin.

The 35 square meters of building area cover both parts together. The wing is not large, but its two roofs at different heights give it a stepped outline unlike the long, low roofline of the main house.

Its place on the estate matters too. It stands against the north boundary and joins the north storehouse, which runs along the northwest boundary, so the buildings at the back of the property form one continuous line along the north and northwest edges of the lot.

Visiting the Kawasaki Mutsuo Family Residence Detached Wing

The Kawasaki Mutsuo Family Residence Detached Wing is part of a private home, and its interior is closed.

Because it stands behind the main house on the north side of the lot, it can hardly be seen from the old Tokaido. Expect to see little of its exterior, and please view the estate only from the public road.