What Is the Okawa Family Residence Former Barn?
The Okawa Family Residence Former Barn (大川家住宅旧納屋, Ōkawa-ke Jūtaku Kyū-naya) is a 2-storey timber barn of the early Meiji era in the southeast corner of the Okawa estate in Omata-cho, Ashikaga City, Tochigi Prefecture, and was registered as a Registered Tangible Cultural Property on 18 March 2003. It covers 77 square meters.
Its ridge runs east to west, and it measures 5 by 3 Ken under a gabled Sangawara-buki pantile roof. The Agency for Cultural Affairs names the Okawa Family Residence Former Barn as one of the main buildings of the service area on the east side of the estate, where the daily work and storage went on.
It was registered for its contribution to the historic landscape. Although it is a working outbuilding rather than a fireproof storehouse, it plays a real part in how the estate looks from outside.
A Lean-To Cut to Fit the Lot
A Geya lean-to is attached to the east end of the Okawa Family Residence Former Barn. Its plan is not a rectangle but a trapezoid, shaped to follow the line of the lot at the southeast corner.
Where a site boundary does not meet at a right angle, builders would trim the end of a building on the slant to use the land right up to the edge. The trapezoidal lean-to is an example of a building fitted to its site in this way.
The Tatsumi Storehouse stands just north of the lean-to, and the Adjoining Storehouse continues north beyond it, so the barn's east end is where the row of buildings along the estate's east edge begins.
Boarded on Three Sides
The west, south and east walls of the Okawa Family Residence Former Barn are clad in Shitami-itabari weatherboarding, horizontal overlapping boards held in place by thin vertical battens called oshibuchi.
The agency says the boarding was there to give the estate a well-kept appearance, which shows care taken over the exterior even of a utilitarian building.
The Tatsumi Storehouse just to the north has white plaster walls, so two differently finished buildings meet at the southeast corner of the estate.
Seeing the Okawa Family Residence Former Barn
Tochigi Prefecture's cultural property listing says the interior of the Okawa Family Residence Former Barn has been remodeled while keeping its original character and is open to the public. However, neither the school's website nor Ashikaga City gives any opening days or visiting arrangements, and we could not confirm current access.
The barn stands inside the grounds of a working nursery school, so do not enter without permission. If you wish to see the interior, ask the school in advance whether it can be visited. From outside, look for the weatherboarding on the south wall and the slanted outline of the lean-to at the east end, and keep children out of any photographs.
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- Find tours, activities & transport passes near Okawa Family Residence Former Barn
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Q&A
- When was the Okawa Family Residence Former Barn built?
- In the early Meiji era, according to the Agency for Cultural Affairs database.
- What kind of building is the Okawa Family Residence Former Barn?
- A 2-storey timber barn measuring 5 by 3 ken, with a gabled pantile roof and a building area of 77 square meters.
- Why is the lean-to of the Okawa Family Residence Former Barn trapezoidal?
- It was shaped to fit the southeast corner of the lot, which is not square.
- When did the Okawa Family Residence Former Barn become a Registered Tangible Cultural Property?
- On 18 March 2003, as registration number 09-0074, for its contribution to the historic landscape.
- Is the interior of the Okawa Family Residence Former Barn open to the public?
- Tochigi Prefecture's listing says it is, but we found no opening days or visiting arrangements. It stands on nursery school grounds, so contact the school in advance.
Basic Information
| Name | Okawa Family Residence Former Barn (大川家住宅旧納屋, Ōkawa-ke Jūtaku Kyū-naya) |
|---|---|
| Location | 1412 Omata-cho, Ashikaga City, Tochigi Prefecture |
| Designation | Registered Tangible Cultural Property (Structure), Registration No. 09-0074 |
| Year Designated | 2003 (registered 18 March 2003) |
| Quantity | 1 building |
| Dimensions | Timber, 2-storey, tiled roof, building area 77 square meters |
| Owner | Omata Yoji Seikatsudan (social welfare corporation) |
| Public Access | On nursery school grounds; ask the school about access (the prefectural listing says it is open to the public) |
References
- Database of National Cultural Properties: Okawa Family Residence Former Barn (Agency for Cultural Affairs)
- https://kunishitei.bunka.go.jp/heritage/detail/101/00003191
- Okawa Family Residence Former Barn (Tochigi Cultural Properties, Tochigi Prefecture, in Japanese)
- https://bunkazai.pref.tochigi.lg.jp/cultural/%E3%80%90%E5%A4%A7%E5%B7%9D%E5%AE%B6%E4%BD%8F%E5%AE%85%E6%97%A7%E7%B4%8D%E5%B1%8B%E3%80%91/
- Registered Tangible Cultural Properties, Buildings (Ashikaga City, in Japanese)
- https://www.city.ashikaga.tochigi.jp/education/000029/000169/000627/p001307.html
- School Buildings (Omata Yoji Seikatsudan, in Japanese)
- https://omatayouji.org/introduction
Last verified: 2026.09.27
