About the Sasaki Family Residence New Reception Wing
The Sasaki Family Residence New Reception Wing (佐々木家住宅新座敷, Sasaki-ke Jūtaku Shinzashiki) is a single-story guest wing built in 1911 in Funaba, Hino Town, Tottori Prefecture, and was entered on Japan's register of Registered Tangible Cultural Properties on October 27, 2017. It is a wooden building with a tiled roof and a building area of 75 square meters.
The wing stands west of the main house and is joined to it by a covered passage. Its ridge runs north to south under a Kirizuma-zukuri gabled roof of Sangawara-buki tiles. Zashiki means a formal tatami room for receiving guests; this one was added as a separate building to an Edo-period house in the last years of the Meiji era, and it is the youngest of the four registered buildings on the Sasaki estate.
A Formal Entrance and a Ten-Mat Room
At its south end the Sasaki New Reception Wing has its own entrance with a Shikidai, a low boarded step at the threshold that marks a house prepared to receive formal visitors. The family came and went through the earth-floored entry of the main house; guests could be shown in here instead.
North of the entrance lie two rooms, one of six tatami mats and one of ten, with an Engawa veranda along the west side. A bath and a toilet are attached at the south end, so the wing could look after overnight guests on its own.
The ten-mat room is the principal room, fitted with the three elements of a formal reception room: a Tokonoma alcove, a Tokowaki side alcove with shelves, and a Tsukeshoin built-in writing desk at the window. The Agency for Cultural Affairs describes it as a room of fine quality.
A Carved Transom by Tomitsugu Seisai
The feature the agency singles out in the Sasaki Family Residence New Reception Wing is the carved board Ranma, the transom panel set above the partition between the two rooms. Instead of a lattice, a board ranma is a solid panel worked with carving.
Tottori Prefecture attributes this ranma to the carpenter Tomitsugu Seisai (富次精斎), whom it identifies as the builder of the Hōshōkaku in Yonago. At the end of the Meiji era, the work of a carpenter known in the region's main town reached the guest room of a farming family up the Hino valley.
The wing was registered as a building that contributes to the historic landscape of the country. Its formal entrance and fully furnished alcove wall show in concrete terms how a rural family of standing received its guests around 1911.
Seeing the Sasaki New Reception Wing
The Sasaki New Reception Wing sits on the west side of the main house, with its formal entrance facing south as the face of the building.
The Sasaki Family Residence is used as a guesthouse taken by advance reservation, according to local tourism guides. No public viewing days or interior opening hours could be found for this wing or the rest of the estate as of September 2026, so a reserved stay is the only confirmed way to see the transom and the alcove wall. No official guidance on photography could be found.
If you do get inside, look at the ranma from both rooms. The carving throws different shadows depending on which side the light comes from.
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Q&A
- When was the Sasaki Family Residence New Reception Wing built?
- In 1911 (Meiji 44). It is the youngest of the four registered buildings of the Sasaki Family Residence.
- What rooms are in the Sasaki New Reception Wing?
- A formal entrance with a shikidai step at the south end, a six-mat room and a ten-mat room to the north, a veranda on the west, and a bath and toilet at the south end. The ten-mat room has a tokonoma, a tokowaki and a tsukeshoin.
- Who carved the ranma in the Sasaki Family Residence New Reception Wing?
- Tottori Prefecture attributes it to Tomitsugu Seisai, the carpenter who built the Hōshōkaku in Yonago.
- How is the Sasaki New Reception Wing connected to the main house?
- It stands west of the main house and is joined to it by a covered passage. With its own formal entrance, guests could come and go without passing through the main house.
- Can visitors see inside the Sasaki New Reception Wing?
- No public opening could be found as of September 2026. The Sasaki Family Residence is used as a reservation-only guesthouse, which is the only confirmed way inside.
Basic Information
| Name | Sasaki Family Residence New Reception Wing (佐々木家住宅新座敷) |
|---|---|
| Location | 357 Funaba, Hino-cho, Hino-gun, Tottori Prefecture |
| Designation | Registered Tangible Cultural Property (Structure) |
| Year Designated | 2017 (registered) |
| Quantity | 1 building |
| Dimensions | Building area 75 m² (wooden, single-story) |
| Owner | Not disclosed |
| Public Access | Not open to the public (reservation-only guesthouse use) |
References
- Database of National Cultural Properties (Agency for Cultural Affairs): Sasaki Family Residence New Reception Wing
- https://kunishitei.bunka.go.jp/bsys/maindetails/101/00012022
- Tottori Cultural Properties Navi (Tottori Prefecture): Sasaki Family Residence Main House, New Reception Wing, Grain Storehouse, New Storehouse
- https://db.pref.tottori.jp/bunkazainavi.nsf/bunkazai_web_view/03D46270F5E7509C4925814E00004C06?OpenDocument=
- Hinonohi, Hino District Tourism Portal: Stay
- https://www.hinonohi.com/stay/
Last verified: 2026.09.30
