Uto Family Residence Main House

What Is the Uto Family Residence Main House?

The Uto Family Residence Main House (宇藤家住宅主屋, also written Utō) is the main house of an early Meiji farmstead in Hoshiya, Wakayama City, Wakayama Prefecture, and was registered as a Registered Tangible Cultural Property (structure) on January 8, 2009 (Agency for Cultural Affairs).

The Agency records the Uto Family Residence Main House as a single-storey timber house with a tile roof and a building area of 206 square metres, built in the early Meiji period, extended in the early Taisho period and renovated in 2000. The year column of its database gives ranges only: 1868 to 1911 for the house and 1912 to 1925 for the extension. Wakayama Prefecture writes that the exact date is unclear but that the house is said to be early Meiji.

A Single Storey under Layered Roofs

The Uto Family Residence Main House stands in the middle of the plot and faces south. Its core has a hip-and-gable roof with the ridge running east to west, and lean-to eaves (geya) wrap around it (Agency for Cultural Affairs).

A hip-and-gable wing (tsunoya) projects from the south front. To the west, a reception wing sits under a lowered ridge (ochimune), and its hip-and-gable roof is finished in the stepped shikoro-buki manner. According to the prefecture, this reception room measures 12 and a half tatami mats and was added around the Taisho period.

The house is only one storey high, yet 3 hip-and-gable roofs sit side by side at different heights. This is what the Agency means when it speaks of a varied exterior.

Why It Was Registered

The Uto Family Residence Main House was registered as a Registered Tangible Cultural Property in 2009 under the criterion for buildings that are a model of design (Agency for Cultural Affairs). The nagayamon gate, barn and gate registered on the same day were listed for their contribution to the historic landscape; the main house alone was recognised for its design.

The Agency sums it up as a modern farmhouse with a varied exterior. Wakayama Prefecture likewise values the residence as a well-kept example of a traditional farmstead on the outskirts of the city.

What to Look For

On the front of the Uto Family Residence Main House, look at the colour of the walls. The Agency notes black plaster on the upper wall and, below, wainscot boards (koshiita) with yellow plaster. This black-over-yellow scheme sets the house apart from the white plaster and board walls of the gatehouse and barn.

Then follow the roofs: the long east-west ridge of the core, the gable of the south wing, and the stepped roof of the reception wing dropping to the west.

Visiting

The Uto Family Residence Main House is a private home, and no information on public opening was found. It stands in the middle of the plot behind the nagayamon gate on the south, the barn on the east and the wall on the west, so from the road visitors see mainly its roofs above the walls. Please stay off the property and photograph with care.

Directions from Hoshiya Station and the layout of the whole compound are on the Uto Family Residence page.