Seto Family Residence

What Is the Seto Family Residence?

The Seto Family Residence (瀬戸家住宅, Seto-ke Jūtaku) is the estate of an old local family in Fujii, Fujita-cho, Gobo City, Wakayama Prefecture; seven of its structures, a grain storehouse dated 1842 and a main house, reception wing and outbuildings of the late Taisho and early Showa periods, became Registered Tangible Cultural Properties on 2 November 2018. The lot lies on the right bank of the lower Hidaka River and runs almost to the water.

Family tradition says the Setos settled here in the Tensho era (1573 to 1592). According to Wakayama Prefecture, they brewed sake from the late 17th century until about the end of the Meiji period, and in the late Edo period they served as ōjōya, the headmen who oversaw a whole cluster of villages for the domain.

The buildings that stand today were commissioned by Seto Kenzō, the twelfth head of the family. In 1920 he and Koike Sahei founded Nankai Paper Manufacturing, with Kenzō as president; the prefecture describes the firm as the forerunner of Asahi Kasei's Wakayama plant. The Kadono architectural office of Osaka designed the main house and the reception wing, and part of the original drawings is still kept at the Seto Family Residence.

Seven Registrations, One Estate

All seven Seto Family Residence buildings were entered on the national register in the same round, the 91st, on 2 November 2018, under consecutive numbers 30-0238 to 30-0244. The main house and the reception wing were registered as models of design; the other five were registered for their contribution to the historic landscape. The Agency for Cultural Affairs database gives these dates and sizes:

• Main House: late Taisho period, two-storey timber house, 201 square meters in plan
• Zashiki Reception Wing: early Showa period, extended around 1960, single-storey timber building, 180 square meters
• Former Maid's Room and Bathhouse: late Taisho period, single-storey, 30 square meters
• Document Storehouse: late Taisho period, two-storey earthen-walled storehouse, 13 square meters
• Grain Storehouse: 1842, moved in the late Taisho period, two-storey earthen-walled storehouse, 55 square meters
• West Storehouse: late Taisho period, two-storey earthen-walled storehouse, 54 square meters
• Front Gate and Wall: late Taisho period, gate 2.0 meters wide, wall 20 meters long

The database defines the late Taisho period as 1919 to 1926 and the early Showa period as 1926 to 1945. Of all seven, only the grain storehouse has a building date confirmed by a ridge tablet.

How the Estate Is Laid Out

At the Seto Family Residence the main house stands toward the east of the lot, facing south, with the reception wing beside it to the west. Behind the house, the north edge of the property meets a street, and along it four outbuildings stand in a single row; from east to west they are the former maid's room and bathhouse, the document storehouse, the grain storehouse and the west storehouse. The front gate sits southeast of the main house and opens onto a lane to the east, with a wall running south from it to close off that corner of the lot.

Gobo City describes the view of the large main house rising behind this line of smaller buildings as a fine historic streetscape. The gate and wall shape the formal face of the estate; the storehouses shape the street at the back.

The buildings date from three phases. The oldest is the grain storehouse, with a ridge tablet of 1842; when the main house went up in the late Taisho period, the storehouse was moved within the grounds by house-lifting. The main house, the former maid's room and bathhouse, the document storehouse, the west storehouse and the front gate and wall are all late Taisho work. For the reception wing, the national database gives the early Showa period, while the prefecture and city say its date is unknown and that it followed the main house. Its tea room at the southwest corner was added between 1959 and 1960.

Visiting and Getting There

The Seto Family Residence is privately owned and normally closed to the public. Visitors cannot enter the grounds, and chances to see the interiors are rare. On 27 and 28 April 2024, the main house and the tea room were opened for a private craft event held on the site. We found no regular opening schedule on the Gobo City or Wakayama Prefecture pages.

From outside, you can see the row of storehouses and service buildings along the street on the north side, and the front gate and wall on the lane to the east. The Seto Family Residence is private property, so please view it from the public road without stepping onto the grounds.

The nearest station is Dōjōji on the JR Kisei Main Line (Kinokuni Line). The estate lies about 600 meters south of the station in a straight line, roughly a 10-minute walk. Gobo Station, where limited express trains stop, is about 1.5 kilometers to the west.