aboutRegistered Tangible Cultural Property

Observations

Itoya, founded in the 21st year of the Meiji era by Ito Shuzo to accommodate government officials, is also known as an inn related to the poet Shimazaki Toson.

The main building constructed in the fifteenth year of the Taisho era is south-facing on the east side of the property, with the Oku Building, believed to be constructed before the Great Taisho Earthquake, to its north. The Oku Building has its first floor built on the lower tier of the mountain's base and the second floor spans both tiers, featuring a hip-and-gable roof with tile roofing. The main room on the second floor has a floor space in the east, a storage space in the north, and a flat study and storage space in the south. It's rare to have windows in the back walls of the study and the different shelves, with narrow latticed glass shoji doors, and above the study windows, glass transoms with flower latticed patterns are fitted. The interior specifications include carefully crafted 3.5-inch square cypress pillars and inner beams, with tangodo surfaces below them. The ceiling is a pole-edge ceiling, walls are earthen, and the room dividers have plum, bamboo, and pine carvings. The south entrance side is made into a veranda-like structure with a decorative attic and small dance ceiling, fitting a middle floor with delicate lattice glass sliding doors above and below, and glass transoms above. The second-floor parlor is said to have been stayed in by Duke Tokudaiji, the former chamberlain to Emperor Meiji.

The first floor extends three feet beyond the second floor to the south entrance side with copper sheet flat roofing. The layout includes an eight-tatami room and a six-tatami room facing the south entrance side, with stairs on the west of the six-tatami room, and a washbasin at the back of the east entrance side. The eight-tatami room is equipped with a floor space and closet on the north side.

The Oku Building, a pre-Great Taisho Earthquake structure, is a modern Japanese-style building featuring thin 3.5-inch square cypress pillars and extensive use of delicate lattice glass shoji doors. Particularly, the main room on the second floor is characterized by having windows on the back walls of the study and different shelves, with narrow latticed glass shoji doors set up, a feature not seen elsewhere. Therefore, it meets the criteria for Registered Tangible Cultural Properties under "Category III: Items not easily replicated."

Observations

The Itoya Ryokan main building is located on the right-hand side upon entering the south gate. The main building, a two-story tower-style structure facing south, features a hip-and-gable roof with tile roofing. The second-floor parlor is well preserved in its original form. The layout has a ten-tatami room to the east and an eight-tatami room to the west of the south entrance, with a six-tatami anteroom behind. The ten-tatami room has a floor space in the center of the east side, a flat study and storage space to the south of the floor, and a different shelf to the north. The design of windows in the back walls of the different shelves and study, fitted with glass shoji, is the same as in the Oku Building's main room. The east eight-tatami room has a floor space on the west side and a flat study to the south, while the west eight-tatami room similarly has a floor space and study on the east side. The interiors use thin 3.6-part square cypress columns and inner beams, with pole-edge ceilings, earthen walls in each parlor. The south and west entrance sides feature decorative attic and small dance ceilings, with the south entrance side in a veranda-style design, fitting delicate lattice glass shoji doors to the south.

The main building, a two-story tower-style structure, is known to have been ridgepole raised in the Taisho 15th year according to the ridgepole label. The main building of Itoya Ryokan, built at the end of the Taisho era when Yugawara Hot Springs were developed, is a modern Japanese-style building with extensive use of thin 3.6-part square cypress columns and delicate lattice glass shoji doors. Particularly, the main room's unique feature is the windows in the back walls of the different shelves and attached study, fitted with narrow latticed glass shoji doors. Therefore, it is considered to meet the criteria for Registered Tangible Cultural Properties under "Category II: Architectural standards" and "Category III: Items not easily replicated."

Observations

Itoya Ryokan faces the south county road with low stone walls and granite gate pillars on the east side of the entrance. Inside the stone walls, trees are planted, forming a tranquil scenery with the mountains behind. Itoya is known as an inn associated with the poet Shimazaki Toson. Toson used to take breaks and refine his ideas here after submitting his manuscripts of "Before the Dawn" to Chuo Koron magazine in 1929.

The gate pillars are made of granite, with the east pillar positioned more inward than the west. The space between the pillars is 6.40 meters. Recently, with the construction of sidewalks along the county road, the west side pillar and stone wall were slightly relocated inside the property. The stone wall, made of Honkomatsu and mixed-stone masonry, is two to three layers high with a capstone, topped with a cucumber-shaped white granite. The mixed stones and capstones are rounded at the edges, creating a gentle and plump wall surface. The east side stone wall has one step difference. The mixed-stone masonry is two layers high near the gate pillars and four to five layers high towards the east end of the property. The arrangement of placing a capstone on top of the mixed stones, with a cucumber-shaped white granite above, is the same as the west side. Old photos from the Taisho to early Showa eras show the gate pillars and stone walls, with the old building entrance visible through the gate pillars. This suggests that the gate pillars and stone walls might have been built before the main building's construction in the Taisho 15th year.

The stone walls of Itoya Ryokan are characterized by their gentle construction with rounded surfaces on Honkomatsu mixed stones and capstones. The stone walls, along with the planted interior, form a serene and refreshing streetscape. Therefore, it is considered to meet the criteria for Registered Tangible Cultural Properties under "Category II: Architectural standards" and "Category III: Items not easily replicated."