The old residence of Naoya Shiga

Continued from Reflections at Takabatake Salon.....

Takabatake-cho is an area of scenic beauty close to the primitive forests of Mt. Kasuga and is a lovely old residential area in Nara City.  Naoya Shiga (1883-1971), a man of letters, had his house built there according to his own design, employing the carpenter skilled for Sukiya-style architecture. He lived there with his wife and six children for nine years from 1929.   Let's enter and explore the old residence of his.

The house is registered as a tangible cultural property.

guest room on the second floor

Built at the beginning of Showa era (1926-1989), this house is pure Japanese Sukiya
Style architecture and has a few elements of Western and Chinese style. 

Japanese traditional house is designed so as to cope with hot and humid summer.   House is well ventilated: wind goes through from window to window.  Woods, clay, or papers absorb humidity, deep eaves shut out strong summer sun and also keep out the rain, floor is slightly elevated off the ground in order to avoid moisture from the ground, and abundant foliage around the house cools air.

The house is designed so that almost all the windows serve as the picture windows.

his Western style study with picture windows

Shiga had two studies: one was Japanese tatami-mat room facing south and the other Western flooring room facing north which was mainly used in summer.   His masterpiece “Anya Koro”, or “Dark Night’s Passing” (1937), was completed in the former.

tea room

Ceilings are made of bamboos, reeds, or other woods, not only in Japanese tatami-mat room but also in Western style rooms.  Most of Japanese tatami-mat room have "tokonoma", or an alcove.

He loved his family most of all.  His wife’s room and children’s room were located in the sunny, cozy part, while his study and living room were in the north, which shows his tender affection toward family. 

from kitchen, sun room on the right,  dining room on the left

This is the place called  "Takabatake Salon" where neighboring artists used to get together. (Details are in Reflections at Takabatake Salon.)

from left top clockwise, statue of Shiga, bathroom with bath tub, skylight,
children's study room with lattice, corridor, and kitchen

He watched over children studying in their study room through lattice while relaxing in his own living room.



front garden, house, courtyard close to tea room, stone paved path

What a posh house and a glamorous lifestyle!  Many writers have been strugglign with their lives. 

Why did Shiga leave Nara where he loved so much?  It is said that he left Nara for Tokyo for the sake of his children's education and also because he found himself falling behind the times while being absorbed into the old cultures and nature of Nara.   He changed his residence as many as 26 times during his life and expressed that he deeply missed Nara.

The house was used by occupation forces for years after the end of WWII. Some parts of the house were converted for their convenience.  Recently, the concerned people about preservation restored the house back to the original floor plan and decor.  Now the house is owned and managed by an incorporated educational institution, Nara Gakuen.  It is open to the public when it is not being as a seminar house.

old windowpane

古い家に学ぶ 小説家・志賀直哉 奈良の自邸 (here in Japanese)

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