A Net Maker's House on Nakamachi-dori
The Aze Family Residence Main House (阿瀬家住宅主屋) is a fishing-net maker's townhouse of the late Edo period in Yuasa, Yuasa Town, Arida District, Wakayama Prefecture, and was registered as a Registered Tangible Cultural Property (structure) on August 7, 2023 (Agency for Cultural Affairs). The name is read Azeke Jutaku Omoya (also written Azeke Jūtaku Omoya).
The Agency records a 2-storey timber building with a tile roof and a building area of 188 square metres, built at the end of the Edo period, enlarged in the late Meiji period and altered around 1965; registration number 30-0341.
A Large Townhouse Facing the Street
The Aze Family Residence Main House faces west onto Nakamachi-dori, one of the streets of old Yuasa, and the Agency for Cultural Affairs describes it as a large Machiya townhouse. It has a gabled roof of formal lapped tiles with the entrance on the long side, and a low upper floor of the kind called Tsushi-nikai.
Inside, an earthen-floored passage runs along the north side with a single row of rooms beside it. A suite of connected reception rooms was later added to the south (Agency for Cultural Affairs). According to the Wakayama Prefectural Board of Education, the street front seen today was put in order when those rooms were built in the late Meiji period.
The reception rooms have openwork transoms and an alcove post that keeps the natural curve of the log at its corners, a type known as Menkawa-bashira. The prefecture calls the work refined.
Why It Was Registered
The Agency values the Aze Family Residence Main House as part of the historic streetscape of Yuasa and as a record of how the town's prosperity changed over time. It was registered under the criterion for buildings that contribute to the historic landscape of the country.
The report of the Council for Cultural Affairs of March 2023 points out that the reception rooms added along the street share the projecting lattices and Mushiko-mado windows of the older house, and presents the group as evidence of net making, a Yuasa speciality alongside soy sauce.
What to Look For
On the front of the Aze Family Residence Main House, look in turn at the large entrance door and the projecting lattice (Degōshi) on the ground floor, and the mushiko-mado windows above (Agency for Cultural Affairs). These are small openings in the low upper wall, filled with thin vertical bars.
Following the Agency's description, the northern part with the earthen passage is the townhouse of the late Edo period, and the southern part is the reception wing added in the late Meiji period. The front was finished as one, so it is worth walking its length to work out where one period gives way to the other.
The roof deserves a look too. Hongawarabuki alternates flat and half-round tiles, which casts deeper shadows than the pantiles common on later houses.
Visiting
The Aze Family Residence Main House is privately owned, and no information on interior visits was found in the materials of the Agency, Wakayama Prefecture or Yuasa Town (checked November 2026). The reception rooms with their transoms and alcove post cannot be seen from the street.
What can be seen is the west front on Nakamachi-dori. There is no guidance on photography either, so stay on the public road and keep in mind that this is a home. The location of the property and its distance from the station are given on the Aze Family Residence page.
Q&A
- When was the Aze Family Residence Main House built?
- At the end of the Edo period. Connected reception rooms were added in the late Meiji period, and the house was altered around 1965 (Agency for Cultural Affairs).
- What kind of family built the Aze Family Residence Main House?
- A merchant family that once made fishing nets, one of the specialities of Yuasa (Agency for Cultural Affairs; Wakayama Prefecture).
- Can I go inside the Aze Family Residence Main House?
- It is privately owned and no information on interior visits was found. The west front can be seen from Nakamachi-dori.
- What should I look for on the Aze Family Residence Main House?
- The large door and projecting lattice on the ground floor, the mushiko-mado windows above, and the gabled roof of lapped tiles (Agency for Cultural Affairs).
- When was the Aze Family Residence Main House registered?
- On August 7, 2023 (Agency for Cultural Affairs).
Basic Information
| Name | Aze Family Residence Main House (阿瀬家住宅主屋) |
|---|---|
| Location | 535-1 Nakamachi, Yuasa, Yuasa-cho, Arida-gun, Wakayama Prefecture, and other lots |
| Designation | Registered Tangible Cultural Property (Structure) |
| Year Designated | Registered 2023/08/07 (Reiwa 5) |
| Quantity | 1 building |
| Dimensions | Timber, 2 storeys, tile roof, building area 188 m² |
| Owner | Private owner |
| Public Access | Privately owned; no information on interior visits (exterior visible from Nakamachi-dori) |
References
- Aze Family Residence Main House (Database of National Cultural Properties, Agency for Cultural Affairs, Japanese)
- https://kunishitei.bunka.go.jp/bsys/maindetails/101/00014667
- Aze Family Residence (Cultural Properties of Wakayama, Wakayama Prefectural Board of Education, Japanese)
- https://wakayama-bunkazai.jp/bunkazai/bunkazai-spot-978/
- Report of the Council for Cultural Affairs on new registrations, March 17, 2023 (Agency for Cultural Affairs, Japanese)
- https://www.bunka.go.jp/seisaku/bunkazai/shokai/yukei_kenzobutsu/pdf/93871701_01.pdf
- Nationally designated and registered cultural properties (Yuasa Town, Japanese)
- https://www.town.yuasa.wakayama.jp/site/rekishi-bunka/8530.html
Last verified: 2026.11.11
