About the Yamashita Family Residence Main House
The Yamashita Family Residence Main House (山下家住宅主屋, Yamashita-ke Jūtaku Shuoku) is a large farmhouse in Matsukawa-cho, Gotsu City, Shimane Prefecture, built in 1883 and entered on Japan's register of Registered Tangible Cultural Properties on January 15, 2010. It is the core building of the Yamashita estate, registered on the same day as seven other structures on the site.
The house stands on the northern part of the terraced site and faces south, with the annex joined to its east end. Its building area of 380 square meters makes it far larger than anything else on the estate. The national record lists it as a timber building of one story with a partial second floor, and the accompanying description calls that upper level a Tsushi-nikai, a low loft tucked under the roof.
One Big Roof, Extended on Every Side
The Yamashita Family Residence Main House is built up around a single large gabled block (Kirizuma-zukuri) measuring 20 meters by 12 meters. That core roof is covered in red Sekishū tiles (Sekishū-gawara), the glazed tiles fired in the Iwami region of western Shimane.
Lean-to roofs (Geya) have been added to extend it. A lean-to eave runs across the south front, and on the west side further gabled roofs have been attached. The result, seen from the front, is a two-tier outline: the tall main roof, and below it a lower band of eaves pushing the building outward.
With so much roof surface, the red of the tiles dominates the view. From the stone steps below the house, the spread of red roofing is the first thing you take in.
Earth Floor, Nakae and Nine Rooms
Inside, the Yamashita Family Residence Main House divides cleanly into two halves. The west side holds the Doma, the beaten-earth floor where cooking and farm work were done, together with a space known in this region as the nakae. The east side is the raised, floored part of the house, and here there are nine rooms.
Nine floored rooms is a generous number. It suggests space enough not only for family life but for receiving guests and holding gatherings in rooms set aside for them. The scale of the Yamashita Family Residence Main House shows in the depth of this plan as much as in the size of the roof.
The annex on the east side dates from 1929, nearly half a century later. Read the dates together and a sequence appears: the 1883 main house handled everything, family life and work alike, and only later were formal reception rooms split off into a building of their own.
Why the Main House Was Registered
The Yamashita Family Residence Main House was registered as a structure that contributes to the historic landscape of the country. The Agency for Cultural Affairs singles it out as a good example of a large farmhouse surviving in a mountain district.
In hill country, level ground has to be made by cutting into the slope and building it out. This house sits at the back of a platform held up by a stone retaining wall, with storehouses and a row house around it. A house of this size, raised above the road on its terrace, is a strong presence in the landscape of a small hill settlement.
Seeing the Main House
The Yamashita Family Residence Main House is part of a private home, and we found no official notice of interior openings. It can only be viewed from outside, from the road.
Stone steps rise from the road toward the front of the main house. From the foot of the steps you can see the south-facing front and the big roof stacked above the lean-to eave. If you take photographs, keep residents and their daily routine out of the frame. Directions are on the Yamashita Family Residence page.
- 📍 Plan Your Visit to Shimane
- Find tours, activities & transport passes near Yamashita Family Residence Main House
- [ Izumo Taisha Shrine & Adachi Museum Gardens ]
Q&A
- When was the Yamashita Family Residence Main House built?
- In 1883. On this estate it is younger than the gate storehouse of 1841 and the row house, which dates from the end of the Edo period.
- How large is the Yamashita Family Residence Main House?
- Its central gabled block measures 20 meters by 12 meters, and the building area including the lean-to roofs is 380 square meters, the largest of the eight registered structures on the site.
- What is the floor plan of the Yamashita Family Residence Main House like?
- The west side contains the earth-floored doma and a space called the nakae, while the east side has nine floored rooms. Work and everyday living are gathered on one side and the rooms on the other.
- Can you go inside the Yamashita Family Residence Main House?
- It is a private home and we found no official information about interior openings. You can look at the exterior from the road, up the stone steps.
- When did the Yamashita Family Residence Main House become a Registered Tangible Cultural Property?
- On January 15, 2010, on the same day as the other seven structures of the estate. Its registration number is 32-0109.
Basic Information
| Name | Yamashita Family Residence Main House (山下家住宅主屋) |
|---|---|
| Location | 598 Hatada, Matsukawa-cho, Gotsu City, Shimane Prefecture |
| Designation | Registered Tangible Cultural Property (Structure) |
| Year Designated | 2010 (registered) |
| Quantity | 1 building |
| Dimensions | Main block 20 m by 12 m; building area 380 square meters (timber, one story with partial second floor, tiled roof) |
| Owner | Not disclosed |
| Public Access | No public opening announced (private home; exterior from the road) |
References
- Database of National Cultural Properties (Agency for Cultural Affairs): Yamashita Family Residence Main House
- https://kunishitei.bunka.go.jp/bsys/maindetails/101/00008059
- Cultural Heritage Online: Yamashita Family Residence Main House
- https://online.bunka.go.jp/heritages/detail/212630
- Shimane Prefecture: List of Registered Tangible Cultural Properties (Structures)
- https://www.pref.shimane.lg.jp/life/bunka/bunkazai/shimane/tourokubunkazai2.html
Last verified: 2026.09.29
