Nokoso: Konno Genpachiro House Evaluation

Japanese text here

September 2004

(Historical and Architectural evaluation)

Fukushima-ken, Soma-shi, Tsubota, Aza Kamiharada 1

Built in Meiji Period, circa 1890

A wooden Structure, 2 story, tile roof

Azumaya-zukuri (helmet roof)

Gabled-end 6 ken long x 12 ken long (ken=1.82 meter)

Space 474 square meters

This house is located in a village of Soma Han (a feudal domain) of the Edo period (1600-1867) which is famous for "Nomaoi", chasing wild horses festival. This tradition goes back over one thousand years. Soma Han was located north-east of Edo, now called Tokyo, a relatively a small clan with koku (production of rice), but flourished as a province with good rice. And in Meiji period (1968-1911), the country farmers made their living with silk cultivation industry as well.

The Konno family, which made a great success with silk was a wealthy farmer in Edo period. The residential quarter is situated on a gentle slope from North West down to South East covering 1,200 tsubo (one acre) of land.

The omoya （main house） stands in the middle of the slope facing in the South direction. It has a beautiful kura (treasure house) not too far from the pond and a detached yudono (bath house).

There were two other kuras, warehouses for grain and other treasures which don't exist anymore.

Although there are no specific documents or record (most old farmhouses don't have any records that tell us when it was built), the specific style, design, the way it was build and what we hear from the owner, it is safe to say the house was originally constructed in the Meiji period, circa 1890.

One of the features of the house is the exterior design. The house is as tall as 12 meters with kemuridash（ a smoke escape） at the top of the roof and has a kabuto (helmet) shape roof on both sides, called Azumaya-zukuri. The lower part of the gable end is truncated in a rhomboid shape. It is the reverse of the hipped and gabled roof. The big gable windows were devised to ensure plenty of light and air for cultivating silk worms in the attic. This style of helmet shape roof, Azumaya-zukuri does not have long history. It developed with the silk industry and was common in parts of Eastern Honshu（main island） where the silkworm industry flourished, and rare in the western part of Honshu. This house has a roof tile but when the roof was thatched, in olden days the exterior must have been very beautiful with large and complex roof lines.

The house is 12 ken on the side by 6 ken on the gable end. The entrance is on the side and has the earth floor stretching towards the hiroma (a large high ceiling living room) with irori (open fire hearth) built in the center of wooden floor. This large hiroma, about 864 square feet when the partitions are taken down, is a good example of the character and personality of the Japanese minka, or folk house. Many magnificent curved cross beams which serve as anchor beams are all exposed under 4.5 meters (15 feet) high ceiling of grand hiroma. On the right of this hiroma are a kamado (eathen floor kitchen and a newly built 8-jo kitchen (1 jo is the size of a 3x6 feet tatami rice straw mats). The hiroma was not only for living but also for working, receiving casual or everyday visitors, and the family center for a moment of rest surrounding the fire heart.

On the left of hiroma are 6 zashiki rooms, (rooms covered with tatami-mats). The first 3 rooms in a row on the south garden side are important rooms for various events such as ritual services, wedding, funeral and community meeting. Entering from hiroma the first 12 mats room, is called nakanoma(middle room), the second 12 mats room is called tsuginoma(waiting room), and the third room with 8 tatami is called butsuma (altar room) with a large gold lacquered Buddhist altar normally closed in by fusuma (paper sliding door).

On the back side parallel to front row are 3 private rooms. The first and the second rooms are called nando (bedroom) with 12 tatami-mats each. The third has 8 tatami mats and called okuzashiki (the inner most and distinguished guest room) with tokonoma (an alcove with shelves).

The windows have double rails, outside rail for amado (rain shutter) sliding door and inside rail for shoji (paper sliding doors) which transmit light from outside but shut out the cold air.

The interior wall is all plastered. Outside walls are covered partly with wooden board and partly plaster. While the west and east side are practically all wall structure there are very little wall space on both south and north side which is a traditional design. This is the wisdom of farmers to have a good ventilation in the summer time.

This large open space functions even better when amado and shoji (the removable sliding partition doors) are put away or stored in tobako( door pockets). Farmers can obtain a much larger open space which creates the merge of minka and large garden(well leveled and cleaned for working and drying crops, community gathering) where they can bring the whole nature into minka resulting in their living, working, and social events of community a lot easier, practical and comfortable.

As for the structure the attic has many layers of beams on top of which a large ridgepole is positioned. The minka of this region have very tall joya posts (main core colums) supporting the roof truss and have no geya (eaves) surrounding the joya (house core). This house has a big and deep roof supported by double rafters and segai-zukuri (extended purlin) which make the deep eave (more than 9 feet deep) structurally possible and give us a grand impression with tall elevation and its raised eve line.

Large posts and thick penetrating lintels of keyaki wood (zelkovia, with grain resembling western elm) eliminate number of posts and make a simple and practical layout where we can see the advanced skill and development of the minka design. This house has many aesthetic elements, typical farmhouse features as seen in hiroma and delicate and refined work done in okuzashiki and butsuma which is most appropriate for the upper class farmers in this region.

Overall this house is a rare minka example of traditional post and beam stucture together with tall posts, deep eaves, a big daikou-bashira (center colum) and sahsikamoi (penetrating lintels) which make the house most impressive and precious.

Furthermore research has to be done for more detailed and accurate information which we hope to do in the near future.

Yoshihiro Takishita

President

Nokosokai (revised 3 March 2005)