About the Higashikadowaki Family Residence Main House
The Higashikadowaki Family Residence Main House (東門脇家住宅主屋, Higashi-Kadowaki-ke Jūtaku Shuoku) is a farmhouse built in 1818 in Tokorogo, Daisen Town, Tottori Prefecture, and was entered on Japan's register of Registered Tangible Cultural Properties on November 8, 2004. It is a single-story timber building under a Kirizuma-zukuri gabled roof of Sangawara-buki pan tiles, with a building area of 231 square meters.
Of the nine registered structures on the Higashikadowaki estate, this is the only one from the Edo period. The others date from 1898 onward, so the main house is roughly 80 years older than anything around it. Later additions, from the brewing storehouses to the gate and walls, were placed around it.
A Ridge Tag That Names the Year and the Builder
The date of the Higashikadowaki main house is secure because its Munafuda survives. A munafuda is a wooden board fixed high in the roof at the ridge-raising ceremony, recording the date, the client and the carpenters. According to the Agency for Cultural Affairs, the tag on the Higashikadowaki Family Residence Main House shows that the master carpenter was Shinshichi of Kuninobu village, with others working under him.
Farmhouses rarely come with written records, and most can only be dated by style. A house whose year and builder are both documented gives historians a fixed point to compare others against. The agency describes the Higashikadowaki main house as a benchmark for late Edo farmhouses in this area.
A Long, Low House: Earthen Floor to the West, Rooms to the East
The house stands near the center of the plot, facing south, with its ridge running east to west. It is 9 ken long (the ken is a traditional bay of about 1.8 meters); Daisen Town gives its depth as 6.5 ken. A Geya lean-to roof along the front deepens the eaves.
Inside, the western part is a Doma earthen-floored work area and the eastern part holds the living rooms. The agency calls the room layout complex, which suggests more than the simple four-room grid of many farmhouses. In Tokorogo most main houses run parallel to the road and stay low, either one story or a squat two; Higashikadowaki keeps to that long, low profile.
Why the Main House Was Registered
Only the Higashikadowaki Family Residence Main House was registered under the criterion of serving as a model of form. The other eight structures on the estate were recognized for what they add to the landscape. The main house was recognized for the building itself, as a standard example of the region's late Edo farmhouse.
That judgment rests on the documented date. Few farmhouses can anchor a regional chronology this way, and the Higashikadowaki main house is one of them.
Seeing the Higashikadowaki Main House
The Higashikadowaki Family Residence Main House is a private home and its interior is not open. Because it sits in the middle of the plot, behind the gate row house, the dressing room building and a garden wall, only parts of the roof and eaves can be seen from the road. Standing in front of the gate row house on the south road gives the best sense of where the big roof sits. Do not go through the gate.
No official guidance on photography could be found as of September 2026. If you take pictures from the road, leave residents and their daily life out of the frame.
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Q&A
- When was the Higashikadowaki Family Residence Main House built?
- In 1818 (Bunsei 1). The date is confirmed by its ridge tag, and it is the only Edo-period building among the nine registered on the estate.
- Who built the Higashikadowaki Family Residence Main House?
- The ridge tag names the master carpenter as Shinshichi of Kuninobu village, together with others.
- How big is the Higashikadowaki main house?
- It is a single-story timber house with a building area of 231 square meters and a length of 9 ken, with an earthen-floored area to the west and living rooms to the east.
- Why is the Higashikadowaki Family Residence Main House a Registered Tangible Cultural Property?
- Its firm date makes it a benchmark for late Edo farmhouses in the area, and it was registered in 2004 as a model of form.
- Can I go inside the Higashikadowaki Family Residence Main House?
- No. It is a private home that is not open to the public, so only part of the exterior can be seen from the road.
Basic Information
| Name | Higashikadowaki Family Residence Main House (東門脇家住宅主屋) |
|---|---|
| Location | 425 Tokorogo, Daisen-cho, Saihaku-gun, Tottori Prefecture |
| Designation | Registered Tangible Cultural Property (Structure) |
| Year Designated | 2004 (registered) |
| Quantity | 1 building |
| Dimensions | Building area 231 m²; 9 ken long (timber, 1 story) |
| Owner | Not disclosed |
| Public Access | Not open (part of the exterior visible from the road) |
References
- Database of National Cultural Properties (Agency for Cultural Affairs): Higashikadowaki Family Residence Main House
- https://kunishitei.bunka.go.jp/bsys/maindetails/101/00004400
- Cultural Heritage Online: Higashikadowaki Family Residence Main House
- https://online.bunka.go.jp/heritages/detail/189130
- Daisen Town: Higashikadowaki Family Residence (Japanese)
- https://www.daisen.jp/10/33/1/s148/p136/
- Daisen Town: Daisen-cho Tokorogo Preservation District (Japanese)
- https://www.daisen.jp/10/33/2/1/
Last verified: 2026.09.29
