Marugame Domain Border Guardhouse
- Period:
End of the 1700s (Late Edo Period)
- Former Location:
Toyohama, Kanonji, Kagawa Prefecture
- Designation:
Kagawa Prefecture Registered Tangible Cultural Property
Observe a layout unlike any private home
In the Edo period (1603-1867), guardhouses were put at important locations throughout Japan to inspect and coordinate the movement of people and goods. This building, with its yosemune-zukuri (*1) structure, stood at Minoura, a port town on the border between Kagawa and Ehime. At the time, there was another on the seaward side of Minoura, but it no longer exists. It is rare to find any extant examples of such guardhouses anywhere in Japan. It served as a home prior to being moved here.
Family Crest
The family crest of the Kyogoku family, who served as the lords of the Marugame domain, can be seen on the onigawara tiles and round end tiles on the eaves.
Interior
The floor plan includes five rooms, with an earthen floor doma on the left side, three rooms in the center, and two rooms on the right side. The central room is entirely walled off, creating a floor plan not seen in ordinary houses.
*1: Yosemune-zukuri—A type of hipped roof structure where the surfaces descend from the ridge in four directions.