About the Kubota Family Residence Main House
The Kubota Family Residence Main House (久保田家住宅主屋, Kubota-ke Jūtaku Omoya) is a 1-story wooden house built in 1808 in Komatsubara, Yukawa-chō, Gobo City, Wakayama Prefecture, and was registered as a Registered Tangible Cultural Property on June 24, 2021. It is the core of the home of the Kubota family, who kept the secondary inn for travelling lords at Komatsubara, a post town on the Kumano Kaidō pilgrimage road.
The house stands in the middle of the plot facing south, with a building area of 193 square meters. Its hip-and-gable roof is laid in Hongawarabuki tiling of alternating flat and round tiles, and the main roof sweeps down without a break to the level of the eaves. The Agency for Cultural Affairs records an extension in the late Meiji period.
Attached at the northwest corner is a 2-story room built in Dozo-zukuri storehouse construction, which the agency calls the okunando. The name suggests an inner Nando or storeroom, a thick-walled, fire-resistant block set against the back of the timber house.
Why the Kubota Family Residence Main House was registered
The Kubota Main House was registered for its contribution to the historic landscape. The agency points to its heavy, low-eaved form as part of the scene along the old road.
Gobo City adds a second reason: we know exactly when it was built. The family still holds the fushin-chō, the account book kept during construction, and it fixes the date at 1808. The city treats the Kubota Family Residence Main House as a benchmark for dating late Edo houses in the area.
That matters more than it might sound. Old Japanese houses rarely carry a dated ridge tablet, so their age usually has to be read from the plan and the timberwork. A single securely dated house gives a fixed point against which others with similar features can be compared.
What to look for in the Kubota Main House
The east side of the house is an earth-floored Doma. On the raised floor to the west, rooms are set out in two rows of three, which the agency describes as unusually deep. With two rows stacked front to back, the Kubota Main House runs well back from the road compared with its frontage.
The rooms are framed by Sashigamoi, heavy horizontal beams that tie the posts together and carry the grooves for sliding doors and screens. In the Kubota Family Residence Main House these beams have three grooves, which the agency regards as an old-fashioned detail. In a house with a firm date, such details are useful clues for dating others.
From outside, the low eaves are what you notice. With the great roof carried down to the eaves, very little wall shows, and the mass of tile dominates. Gobo City calls the effect weighty.
Visiting the Kubota Family Residence Main House
The Kubota Family Residence Main House is a private home and the interior is not open. It stands in the middle of the plot, with the gate and wall to the south and the reception wing to the north, so expect to see little more than part of the roof from outside.
Please stay off the property and keep photographs to the exterior from the public road. Directions to the estate are on the Kubota Family Residence page.
Q&A
- When was the Kubota Family Residence Main House built?
- In 1808. The date is known from the building account book that survives in the family, and the house was extended in the late Meiji period. It was registered as a Registered Tangible Cultural Property on June 24, 2021.
- What is the floor plan of the Kubota Family Residence Main House?
- An earth-floored doma takes the east side, and the raised floor to the west holds two rows of three rooms. A 2-story storehouse-style room, the okunando, is attached at the northwest.
- Why are the beams in the Kubota Main House described as old-fashioned?
- The rooms are framed with sashigamoi beams that carry three grooves for sliding fittings. The Agency for Cultural Affairs treats the three-groove form as an old style.
- How large is the Kubota Family Residence Main House, and what is its roof like?
- It is a 1-story wooden building with a building area of 193 square meters, under a hip-and-gable roof of hongawara tiles with deep, low eaves.
- Can I visit the Kubota Family Residence Main House?
- No. It is a private home and the interior is not open. Because it stands in the middle of the plot, only part of the roof can be seen from the public road.
Basic Information
| Name | Kubota Family Residence Main House (久保田家住宅主屋) |
|---|---|
| Location | 165 Nakanotsubo, Komatsubara, Yukawacho, Gobo City, Wakayama Prefecture |
| Designation | Registered Tangible Cultural Property (Building) |
| Year Designated | Registered 2021-06-24 (Reiwa 3) |
| Quantity | 1 building |
| Dimensions | Building area 193 square meters |
| Owner | Private |
| Public Access | Not open to the public (private residence) |
References
- Database of National Cultural Properties (Agency for Cultural Affairs): Kubota Family Residence Main House
- https://kunishitei.bunka.go.jp/heritage/detail/101/00013871
- Cultural Heritage Online: Kubota Family Residence Main House
- https://online.bunka.go.jp/heritages/detail/597839
- Kubota Family Residence: Main House, New Reception Wing, Nagayamon Gate and Wall (Gobo City, in Japanese)
- https://www.city.gobo.lg.jp/sosiki/kyoikuiin/kyoiku/tanto/bunnkazai/shinobunkazai/kenzoubutu/1627607750985.html
- Kubota Family Residence (Wakayama no Bunkazai, Wakayama Prefectural Board of Education, in Japanese)
- https://wakayama-bunkazai.jp/bunkazai/bunkazai-spot-998/
Last verified: 2026.10.10
