Animals Next Door
The Former Matsuoka Family Residence Stable (旧松岡家住宅馬屋, Kyū Matsuoka-ke Jūtaku Umaya) is a farm stable built in 1932 in Utamaru, Nagai City, Yamagata Prefecture, where horses and cattle were once kept; it was listed as a Registered Tangible Cultural Property on 2022/10/31.
It stands right beside the main house on the north, facing east, and according to Yamagata Prefecture it joins the house at its doma, the earth-floored work area. House and animals were directly linked. The building is wooden, with a footprint of 32 square metres, and was renovated in the mid-Showa period.
It is the youngest of the five listed buildings on the farm, and that is part of its interest: well into the Showa era, the household still kept its draught animals tucked against the house in the old way.
Why It Was Registered
The Former Matsuoka Family Residence Stable holds registration number 06-0206 from the 103rd round of national registrations, under the criterion of contributing to the historic landscape.
The Agency for Cultural Affairs values it as part of a single picture with the main house. Before tractors, horses and oxen did the ploughing and hauling on a rice farm, and they were housed accordingly. With its stalls and the marks of its tethering bars still in place, the stable shows exactly where the animals fitted into daily life.
What to Look For
A low loft and a long rear roof
The structure entry calls it single storey, while the description calls it tsushi-nikai, meaning it has a low attic floor tucked under the roof, which is usually not counted as a full storey. The roof is gabled, entered on the long side, and at the back it sweeps down low. It was originally thatched and now carries temporary sheet-metal roofing.
Plaster above, boards below
The outer walls are finished in white shikkui plaster down to door-head height, with boarding below. Hard-wearing planks at the bottom where animals and carts brushed past, clean plaster above: a practical skin for a working building.
Two stalls and the bar posts
Inside, the earth floor is on the east and two stalls are lined up on the west. At the boundary stand posts that held mase-bo, the horizontal bars laid across the stall openings to keep the animals in. The prefecture notes that the holes for those bars can still be seen in the posts. The national database includes a photograph of the room on the right at the north end.
Visiting
The stable is owned by Abe Shoten Co., Ltd. As of October 2026 we found no official announcement of interior openings, so please do not enter the grounds. Because it stands tight against the north side of the house, we have not confirmed how much of it can be seen from outside.
Photographs of the east elevation and the interior are in the Agency for Cultural Affairs database, and the Former Matsuoka Family Residence Stable also appears in the document Yamagata Prefecture published on registration.
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- Find tours, activities & transport passes near Former Matsuoka Family Residence Stable
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Q&A
- When was the Former Matsuoka Family Residence Stable built?
- In 1932, making it the newest of the five registered buildings on the farm. It was renovated in the mid-Showa period.
- What animals were kept in the Former Matsuoka Family Residence Stable?
- Horses and cattle, according to the Agency for Cultural Affairs. Two stalls are lined up along the west side.
- Can I go inside the Former Matsuoka Family Residence Stable?
- As of October 2026 we found no official announcement of interior openings. The owner is Abe Shoten Co., Ltd. Photographs of the exterior and interior are in the national database.
- What are the mase-bo bars in the stable?
- Horizontal bars laid across the stall openings to keep the animals in. Holes for them remain in the posts between the earth floor and the stalls.
- Why is the Former Matsuoka Family Residence Stable a Registered Tangible Cultural Property?
- It was registered in 2022 for contributing to the historic landscape, as a stable that forms a single scene with the main house.
Basic Information
| Name | Former Matsuoka Family Residence Stable (旧松岡家住宅馬屋) |
|---|---|
| Location | 1629 Kubo-ni, Utamaru, Nagai City, Yamagata Prefecture |
| Designation | Registered Tangible Cultural Property (Building) |
| Year Designated | Registered 2022/10/31 (Reiwa 4) |
| Quantity | 1 building |
| Dimensions | Wooden, single storey, thatched with temporary sheet-metal roofing, building area 32 square metres |
| Owner | Abe Shoten Co., Ltd. |
| Public Access | No public openings announced (privately managed) |
References
- Agency for Cultural Affairs, Database of National Cultural Properties: Former Matsuoka Family Residence Stable
- https://kunishitei.bunka.go.jp/bsys/maindetails/101/00014313
- Cultural Heritage Online: Former Matsuoka Family Residence Stable (Japanese)
- https://online.bunka.go.jp/heritages/detail/575622
- Yamagata Prefecture: registration notice for the Former Matsuoka Family Residence and others, 2022 (Japanese, PDF)
- https://www.pref.yamagata.jp/documents/19483/touroku.pdf
Last verified: 2026.10.07
