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Description

A house built in 1907 by Shinretsu Ohama for his nephew, Shinken Ohama. Shinretsu was the father of Nobumoto Ohama, who held an honorary position at a famous university in Japan. In 2008, the building was moved from its old location to Yaima Village in Ishigaki and restored. As of 2021, the building is 114 years old. As a medical doctor, Shinken made great achievements in eradicating the malaria that had been afflicting the people of Yaeyama. The Ohama residence was divided into two buildings, a residence and a hospital, and was used as a residence for doctors. The materials used are, in Yaeyama dialect, ”Kyaangi” (Inumaki/Buddhist pine), "Kurukii" (Ryukyu ebony) for the "Tokonoma" (decorative alcove), and island woods called "Fukun" (fukugi tree), "Iijoo（Iiju）" (mokkoku tree/cleyera), and "Sendan(shindan)" (chinaberry). The floor plan consists of a Tokonoma and Buddhist altar room both 13.26 square meters in size, a living room of 9.95 square meters, and three more rooms alongside the central building, while a wooden plank walkway covered by "amahaji"(extending eaves) surrounds the entire building. This was a very large house for its time, and it is a quintessential example of the traditional architectural style used by gentry.