About the Yatagai Family Residence Koshikake Machiai
The Yatagai Family Residence Koshikake Machiai (矢田貝家住宅腰掛待合, Yatagai-ke Jūtaku Koshikake Machiai) is a waiting bench for tea guests, built in the early Shōwa period in the garden of the Yatagai Family Residence in Kamihosomi, Hōki Town, Tottori Prefecture, and registered as a Registered Tangible Cultural Property in 2011.
A Koshikake-machiai is a small covered bench in a tea garden. Guests invited to a tea gathering sit here, partway along the garden path, until the host comes out to greet them. This one stands on the Roji that links the Annex with the Kanpū-an tea house, facing east. It measures 2.5 m by 1.2 m, with a building area of 6.8 square meters. The main roof is a simple Kirizuma-zukuri gable; lean-to roofs on the south and west sides cover a privy, and a deep earthen-floored eave, a Tsuchibisashi, shelters the open east front.
The bench and the privy are the two things a guest needs in a tea garden, and the Yatagai Koshikake Machiai fits both under one small set of roofs.
Why the Yatagai Koshikake Machiai was registered
The Yatagai Family Residence Koshikake Machiai was registered for its contribution to the historic landscape. The Agency for Cultural Affairs singles out its sukiya-style carpentry: some posts are logs with the bark left on, and the beams and rafters are round timbers too. In the agency's view, the little building adds character to the tea garden.
The national database dates it to the early Shōwa period. The diary of the fourth head of the family, studied by Tanaka Hiroo and Fujiki Tatsuya, is more exact. In January 1939 the carpenter Iwata drew up the design for the tea-garden gate and the eaves of the waiting shelter, and on July 9 of that year the diary notes that work on the shelter had reached a pause. With the Middle Gate next to it, it was one of the last pieces of the Kanpū-an tea garden.
The name itself was coined at registration. Fujiki explains that the estate has more than one waiting shelter, and the label Koshikake Machiai was chosen to tell this one apart. Another, which the family called the sencha room, stands against the earthen wall near the road; it is not registered.
What to look for in the Yatagai Koshikake Machiai
Fujiki's paper records the details. The main structure is one bay by half a bay. It rests on a sill set on a concrete slab, cast using rounded stones as the formwork. Inside, the bench turns an L-shaped corner, and natural stones are set into the floor at the guests' feet.
When it was finished, the roof was tiled like that of Kanpū-an and the eave was of wooden shingles. Today it is clad in copper shingles. The national database describes the roof as sheet iron in its structural summary and as copper in its commentary.
Up close, look at the posts and the eaves. Some posts keep their bark, and the beams and rafters are left round. Mixing unplaned timber in this way is a sukiya habit, carried through even in a building this small.
Visiting the Yatagai Family Residence Koshikake Machiai
The Yatagai Family Residence Koshikake Machiai is privately owned and is not regularly open. It stands inside the Middle Gate, deep in the grounds, and cannot be seen from National Route 181. We found no notice that visitors can enter the tea garden even on days when the house is open, and no photography policy is published. Directions and visiting conditions for the estate are on the Yatagai Family Residence page.
Q&A
- What is the Yatagai Family Residence Koshikake Machiai?
- It is a covered waiting bench in a tea garden, where guests sit until the host comes to greet them. It faces east onto the path between the Annex and the Kanpū-an tea house, with a privy under the lean-to roofs on the south and west.
- When was the Yatagai Family Residence Koshikake Machiai built?
- The national database gives the early Shōwa period. The fourth head's diary shows the design was drawn up in January 1939 and the work reached a pause on July 9, 1939.
- How big is the Yatagai Koshikake Machiai, and what is its roof like?
- It is a single-story timber building of 2.5 m by 1.2 m, with a building area of 6.8 square meters. The gabled roof is now clad in copper shingles; it was originally tiled, with a shingled eave.
- Why is the Yatagai Family Residence Koshikake Machiai a Registered Tangible Cultural Property?
- It was registered on July 25, 2011, for its contribution to the historic landscape. Its sukiya-style carpentry, with bark-covered posts and round beams and rafters, is credited with adding character to the tea garden.
- Can I visit the Yatagai Koshikake Machiai?
- It is privately owned and not regularly open, and the tea garden cannot be seen from the road. We found no notice that visitors can enter the tea garden. Ask the Hōki Town Board of Education lifelong learning office before visiting.
Basic Information
| Name | Yatagai Family Residence Koshikake Machiai (Waiting Bench) |
|---|---|
| Location | 486 Kamihosomi and other lots, Hōki Town, Saihaku District, Tottori Prefecture |
| Designation | Registered Tangible Cultural Property (Building) |
| Year Designated | Registered July 25, 2011 |
| Quantity | 1 building |
| Dimensions | 2.5 m × 1.2 m in plan; building area 6.8 m² |
| Owner | Private (no owner named in the national database) |
| Public Access | Not regularly open; the tea garden cannot be seen from the road |
References
- Agency for Cultural Affairs, Database of National Cultural Properties: Yatagai Family Residence Koshikake Machiai
- https://kunishitei.bunka.go.jp/bsys/maindetails/101/00008757
- Cultural Heritage Online: Yatagai Family Residence Koshikake Machiai
- https://online.bunka.go.jp/heritages/detail/184258
- Tottori Bunkazai Navi (Tottori Prefecture Cultural Properties Division): Yatagai Family Residence
- https://db.pref.tottori.jp/bunkazainavi.nsf/bunkazai_web_view/117213810028FEE749257C5A00296E73
- Fujiki Tatsuya, "The Yatagai Family Residence as Revealed Through Kaso Diagrams and Diaries," Studies of San'in Region Extra Issue 2 (Shimane University, 2026)
- https://ir.lib.shimane-u.ac.jp/55741
- Tanaka Hiroo, "A Modern Village Landlord's Garden-Making Record," Studies of San'in Region Extra Issue 2 (Shimane University, 2026)
- https://ir.lib.shimane-u.ac.jp/55742
Last verified: 2026.10.07
