A Privy for Brewers and Customers
The Muramatsu Family Residence Privy (村松家住宅厠) is an outdoor privy of the early Meiji era in Momozono, Minami Alps City, Yamanashi Prefecture, and was registered as a Registered Tangible Cultural Property (structure) on January 31, 2003 (Agency for Cultural Affairs).
The Agency records a single-storey timber building with a tiled roof and a building area of 5.5 square metres; registration number 19-0044.
An Outdoor Privy for Brewers and Customers
The Muramatsu Family Residence Privy stands south of an inner wall that meets the main house where the inner entrance adjoins the middle reception room (Agency for Cultural Affairs). It is recorded as an outdoor toilet either for the brewery hands of a sake brewery that once stood on the west side of the estate, or for customers of the family shop.
It measures 10 shaku (about 3 metres) by 1 ken (about 1.8 metres), with a gabled roof of interlocking pantiles (Agency for Cultural Affairs). The lower walls are clad in sasarako shitami, overlapping boards held by notched vertical battens.
Why It Was Registered
The Agency registered the Muramatsu Family Residence Privy for its contribution to the historic landscape. It describes the small building as carefully and soundly made, and counts it among the remains that reveal how the household ran its brewery and shop.
What to Look For
On the Muramatsu Family Residence Privy, look at the board cladding of the lower walls, with notched battens pressing each overlapping board in place. That such work went into a building of only 5.5 square metres is what the Agency means by careful craftsmanship.
It is also unusual that a privy survives as a separate building, and that it served brewery hands or customers rather than the family. The sake brewery to the west has gone, but the Muramatsu Family Residence Privy still points to where it stood.
Visiting
The Muramatsu Family Residence Privy stands inside a private estate, and no official information on public access was found (checked October 2026). Please do not enter the grounds.
Q&A
- When was the Muramatsu Family Residence Privy built?
- In the early Meiji era (Agency for Cultural Affairs).
- Who used the Muramatsu Family Residence Privy?
- It is recorded as an outdoor toilet for the hands of a sake brewery on the west side of the estate, or for customers of the shop.
- What should I look for at the Muramatsu Family Residence Privy?
- The careful board cladding of the lower walls, held by notched vertical battens.
- Can I visit the Muramatsu Family Residence Privy?
- It stands inside a private estate, and no official information on public access was found.
- When was the Muramatsu Family Residence Privy registered?
- On January 31, 2003 (Agency for Cultural Affairs).
Basic Information
| Name | Muramatsu Family Residence Privy (村松家住宅厠) |
|---|---|
| Location | 615-1 Momozono, Minami Alps City, Yamanashi Prefecture |
| Designation | Registered Tangible Cultural Property (Structure) |
| Year Designated | Registered 2003/01/31 (Heisei 15) |
| Quantity | 1 building |
| Dimensions | Single-storey timber, tile roof, 5.5 m² |
| Owner | Private owner |
| Public Access | Private home (no public access announced) |
References
- Muramatsu Family Residence Privy (Database of National Cultural Properties, Agency for Cultural Affairs)
- https://kunishitei.bunka.go.jp/heritage/detail/101/00003087
- Guide to Cultural Properties of Yamanashi: Muramatsu Family Residence Privy (Yamanashi Prefecture, Japanese)
- https://www.pref.yamanashi.jp/bunka/bunkazaihogo/bunkazai_data/yamanashinobunkazai_ty0029.html
- Muramatsu Family Residence (Minami Alps City, Japanese)
- https://www.city.minami-alps.yamanashi.jp/docs/muramatsukejyutaku.html
Last verified: 2026.10.29
