Teranishike Abeno Row Houses

The Teranishike Abeno Row Houses were built in Showa 7 (1932) and in Heisei 15 (2003) became the first nagaya, or row house, in the country to be registered as a national cultural property. It is a wooden two-storey row house of four dwellings in one building under a tiled irimoya (hip-and-gable) roof; the fire walls that divide it every two dwellings rise higher than the roof and carry projecting wing walls. Each dwelling has its own wooden gate. The ground floor had an entrance, a living room, a Japanese-style room, a kitchen, a gas bath and a toilet, and the upper floor was made up of two Japanese-style rooms. The exterior was refurbished in Heisei 16 (2004), and the tenants who moved in afterwards converted the interiors into restaurants. The Teranishi Family House was built in Taisho 15 (1926) and is typical of the detached houses of the time. It is a wooden two-storey building with an irimoya roof, Japanese in style, with a Western reception room attached beside the entrance. It is still lived in, and is also used as a venue for events including a monthly rakugo storytelling gathering, flower arrangement shows and displays of handmade work.

Translated and shortened from the Osaka Prefecture and Osaka City tourist listings (観光施設一覧, CC BY 4.0).