About the Kusumoto Family Residence Main House
The Kusumoto Family Residence Main House (楠本家住宅主屋, Kusumoto-ke Jūtaku Shuoku) is a 2-story wooden house from the mid-Meiji period facing the old Kōya Kaidō road in Shimizu, Hashimoto City, Wakayama Prefecture, and it was registered as a Registered Tangible Cultural Property in 2005.
The house fronts north onto the road under a hip-and-gable roof (Irimoya-zukuri) laid with Sangawara-buki pantiles. The upper floor is a low Tsushi-nikai half-story, and lean-to eaves (Geya) wrap the building on all sides. With a building area of 117 square meters, it is the largest of the four registered Kusumoto buildings.
Inside, the east side is an earthen-floored Doma and the rest is divided into four rooms in the Yomadori plan. The house is thought to date from around the middle of Meiji, which makes it the newest of the four.
Why the Kusumoto Main House was registered
The Kusumoto Family Residence Main House was registered as a model of design. The Agency for Cultural Affairs starts with the walls: black plaster in the Ōkabe style, which buries the posts and beams, with the plaster carried right up over the rafters (Taruki) under the eaves. Keeping even the timber of the eaves out of sight is, in the agency's words, a fire-resistant way to build.
On a road lined with houses, the fear was fire jumping from one roof edge to the next. The eaves are where bare wood is usually most exposed, and here they are sealed in plaster as well, so the protection covers nearly the whole exterior.
The agency also points to a single decorative touch: curved pilasters at both front corners of the tsushi upper floor. On a facade built for solidity, they are the one place where the design allows itself a curve.
What to look for at the Kusumoto Main House
From the road, take the Kusumoto Family Residence Main House in two halves. Upstairs, black plaster runs up under the eaves, framed at each end by the curving pilasters. Downstairs is a lattice front that the Wakayama Prefectural Board of Education calls delicate, with board fences running off to either side. Heavy, sealed plaster above and slender timber lattice below give the house its character.
Look up at the eaves too. On an ordinary townhouse you would see a row of rafters; here there is a smooth plaster surface instead, the black wall turning the corner and continuing underneath.
The doma and the four rooms behind it cannot be seen from the street. Please do not peer through the lattice into the house.
Visiting the Kusumoto Family Residence Main House
The Kusumoto Family Residence Main House is a private home and its interior is not open. The north-facing front, with its lattice and black plaster walls, can be seen from the old Kōya Kaidō.
Please do not step through the doorway, and keep photographs to the exterior from the road. The layout of the estate and directions are on the Kusumoto Family Residence page.
Q&A
- When was the Kusumoto Family Residence Main House built?
- It is thought to date from around the middle of the Meiji period. It was registered as a Registered Tangible Cultural Property on July 12, 2005.
- What is special about the walls of the Kusumoto Family Residence Main House?
- They are finished in black plaster that hides the frame, and the plaster continues over the rafters under the eaves. The Agency for Cultural Affairs describes this as a fire-resistant design.
- What should I look for on the upper floor of the Kusumoto Family Residence Main House?
- The curved pilasters at both front corners of the tsushi upper floor, a single decorative curve set into the plastered facade.
- How large is the Kusumoto Family Residence Main House and how is it laid out?
- It is a tsushi 2-story house with a hip-and-gable pantile roof and lean-to eaves on all sides, with a building area of 117 square meters. Inside, a doma on the east side adjoins four rooms in the yomadori plan.
- Can I visit the Kusumoto Family Residence Main House?
- The interior is closed because it is a private home, but the front of the house can be seen from the old Kōya Kaidō road.
Basic Information
| Name | Kusumoto Family Residence Main House (楠本家住宅主屋) |
|---|---|
| Location | 123 Shimizu, Hashimoto City, Wakayama Prefecture |
| Designation | Registered Tangible Cultural Property (Building) |
| Year Designated | Registered 2005-07-12 (Heisei 17) |
| Quantity | 1 building |
| Dimensions | Building area 117 square meters |
| Owner | Private |
| Public Access | Not open to the public (private residence) |
References
- Database of National Cultural Properties (Agency for Cultural Affairs): Kusumoto Family Residence Main House
- https://kunishitei.bunka.go.jp/bsys/maindetails/101/00004812
- Cultural Heritage Online: Kusumoto Family Residence Main House
- https://online.bunka.go.jp/heritages/detail/170122
- Wakayama Cultural Properties (Wakayama Prefectural Board of Education, Cultural Heritage Division): Kusumoto Family Residence
- https://wakayama-bunkazai.jp/bunkazai/bunkazai-spot-407/
Last verified: 2026.10.10
