Morimoto Family Residence Main House

The Thatched Main House of the Morimoto Estate

The Morimoto Family Residence Main House (森本家住宅主屋, Morimoto-ke Jūtaku Shuoku) is a farmhouse in Sakamoto, Katsuura Town, Tokushima Prefecture, built in the late Edo period (1830–1868) and remodelled in the late Meiji years (1898–1912), registered as a Registered Tangible Cultural Property on 26 March 2015.

It is the house at the centre of the estate, set facing south in a narrow valley. The Morimoto Family Residence Main House measures 8 by 5 and a half bays, with a building area of 176 square metres. It is a single-storey timber building under a hipped Yosemune-zukuri roof of thatch, now protected by a temporary sheet-iron cover. A skirt of tiled lean-to roofs, Geya, runs around all four sides, so the house wears two roofs at once: the steep thatched mass above, a band of tile below.

Why It Was Registered

The Main House was registered for its contribution to the historic landscape, and the Agency for Cultural Affairs singles it out as a house that keeps the character of an early modern farmhouse in the mountains.

The plan explains why. The west end is an earth-floored Doma work area. The raised floor holds rooms in two rows, front and back, with the principal reception room in the southeast corner wrapped by a veranda. Katsuura Town calls this a ta-no-ji plan, after the character 田: four rooms touching one another with no corridor between them. Take out the sliding partitions and the rooms become one hall, an arrangement well suited to a headman's house that would have hosted weddings, funerals and village meetings.

Despite its Meiji remodelling, the Morimoto Family Residence Main House keeps its Edo framework. With the 1809 storehouse behind it, it is the part of the estate that reaches furthest back.

What to Look For

The smoke vent

Above the kitchen hearth in the doma, a small gabled smoke vent sits on the ridge. Smoke from the cooking fires escaped through it. From outside, the vent marks where the earth-floored end of the house lies.

Thatch over tile

The thatch is hidden under metal sheeting today, but its hipped outline is unchanged. Keeping heavy tile on the low lean-to roofs would have shielded walls and verandas from the heavy rain of Shikoku's mountains.

The southeast reception room

The best room takes the sunniest corner, with a veranda around it, a choice that follows from turning the whole house to the south.

Visiting the Main House

The Morimoto Family Residence Main House is still a private home, and no interior opening has been announced. Expect not to see the doma or the reception rooms, and do not pass through the gate to approach the house.

Please be considerate of the residents if photographing from outside. Directions and contact details for the estate are on the Morimoto Family Residence page.