館(やかた)

やかた
noun
mansion; manor; grand residence
1. mansion; manor; grand residence
A large, imposing residence or stately building. Historically referred to the residence of a feudal lord or aristocrat. In modern usage, evokes a grand, often old or Western-style building with a sense of dignity or mystery.
丘(おか)の上(うえ)に古(ふる)い館(やかた)がある。
There is an old mansion on the hill.
あの館(やかた)には誰(だれ)も住(す)んでいないらしい。
Apparently nobody lives in that mansion.
探偵(たんてい)小説(しょうせつ)では謎(なぞ)の館(やかた)がよく舞台(ぶたい)になる。
In detective novels, mysterious mansions often serve as the setting.
2. covered structure on a boat; roofed boat
A roofed structure on a boat or barge, especially the covered pleasure boats used for river cruises and seasonal dining. This sense survives mainly in the compound 屋形船.
屋形船(やかたぶね)で隅田川(すみだがわ)を下(くだ)る。
To cruise down the Sumida River on a roofed pleasure boat.
夏(なつ)は屋形船(やかたぶね)で天(てん)ぷらを食(た)べるのが人気(にんき)だ。
In summer, eating tempura on a roofed boat is popular.
花見(はなみ)の季節(きせつ)に屋形船(やかたぶね)を予約(よやく)した。
I booked a pleasure boat for the cherry blossom season.

Also written 屋形(やかた). Historically, 館(やかた) referred to the residence of a person of high rank — a warrior lord's estate or an aristocrat's dwelling. In modern Japanese, the word carries a Gothic or literary flavor: it evokes grand old buildings, haunted mansions in mystery fiction, and atmospheric Western-style estates.

USAGE:

  • In mystery and horror fiction, 館(やかた) is a genre keyword — the classic 'mansion mystery' (館(やかた)もの) is a well-established subgenre.
  • The kanji 館(かん) is read differently in Sino-Japanese compounds: 図書館(としょかん) ('library'), 博物館(はくぶつかん) ('museum'), 旅館(りょかん) ('inn').
  • The compound 屋形船(やかたぶね) ('roofed pleasure boat') is the most common survival of sense 2 and refers to the traditional covered boats used for dinner cruises on Tokyo's rivers.

COMMON COLLOCATIONS:

  • 古(ふる)い館(やかた): old mansion
  • 謎(なぞ)の館(やかた): mysterious mansion
  • 洋館(ようかん): Western-style mansion
  • 屋形船(やかたぶね): roofed pleasure boat

SIMILAR WORDS:

  • 邸宅(ていたく): mansion; residence — a formal word for a grand private home, without the Gothic or literary overtone
  • 屋敷(やしき): estate; mansion — a large property with grounds, often historical; more grounded in real-estate reality than the literary 館(やかた)
  • 城(しろ): castle — a fortified residence of a lord, larger and more military in function

Related Words

Related: 館(かん) (Sino-Japanese reading)
general
Added 2026.4.18 4:35
24000/24134_yakata