Morimoto Family Residence Annex

A Meiji Guest Annex Built from Fine Timber

The Morimoto Family Residence Annex (森本家住宅離れ, Morimoto-ke Jūtaku Hanare) is a detached reception building in Sakamoto, Katsuura Town, Tokushima Prefecture, built in the late Meiji years (1898–1912) and registered as a Registered Tangible Cultural Property on 26 March 2015.

The Annex stands southwest of the main house: a single-storey timber building of 57 square metres holding just two tatami rooms, one of 8 mats and one of 6. Small as it is, the Morimoto Family Residence Annex is the only one of the estate's six buildings registered as a model of form and design.

Why It Was Registered

The roof combines Irimoya-zukuri and Kirizuma-zukuri forms in pantiles, and a veranda runs along three sides, every side but the east, sheltered by round-tiled lean-to roofs. The Agency for Cultural Affairs describes it as a high-quality example of modern Japanese-style architecture, well worth close attention.

The timber is the first reason. Keyaki (zelkova), tsuga (Japanese hemlock) and Yakusugi cedar from Yakushima were used, and the lintel over the alcove, the otoshigake, is crape myrtle. Crape myrtle has a smooth, mottled trunk, and placed at the head of the alcove it sets the tone for the whole room.

The workmanship is the second. There are elaborate Tokowaki shelves beside the alcove and finely pierced Sukashibori transom panels, or Ranma. Katsuura Town adds that the narrow strip of wall between the eaves and the lean-to roof is finished in blue-tinted plaster, colour spent on a place almost no one would look.

What to Look For

A veranda on three sides

The verandas run along the north, west and south; only the east side is closed. The rooms open toward the south and west.

Two kinds of tile

Pantiles cover the main roof while the lean-to roofs use heavier round tiles. From outside, the change in the tile pattern between the two levels is easy to pick out.

Next to the gate

A board fence runs along the south side of the Annex, and the front gate stands on the path just beyond it. The guest rooms were probably placed where visitors arriving through the gate would reach them first.

Visiting the Annex

The Morimoto Family Residence Annex is part of a private home and no interior opening has been announced. The alcove shelves and carved transoms are inside and cannot be seen from outside. Stay off the grounds and be considerate of the residents when photographing; directions are on the Morimoto Family Residence page.