A storehouse raised on granite
The Kamiya Family Treasure House (神谷家住宅宝蔵, Kamiya-ke Jūtaku Hōzō) is a two-storey mud-walled storehouse of the early Taisho period in Izumicho, Anjo City, Aichi Prefecture, registered as a National Registered Tangible Cultural Property on 18 April 2008. It measures 9.1 metres by 5.5 metres, 50 square metres in floor area, and stands towards the northwest of the compound on a plinth of three courses of granite.
The roof is gabled and tiled, with an eave over the south face. The walls carry three drip courses, and the lower band is finished in namako tilework, flat tiles set with raised plaster joints. The eave soffit is plastered over, and the joinery around the openings is carefully worked.
As the name suggests, this was where the household kept its heirlooms. The Kamiya Family Treasure House carries registration number 23-0296 and is the most formally treated of the four storehouses on the estate.
Why the stone plinth matters
The registration criterion is contribution to the historic landscape of Japan. What separates this building from the other storehouses starts at the bottom: three courses of granite, with the structure set on top of them.
Lifting the floor off the ground answers damp and flooding. The Anjo plain became paddy land after the Meiji Yosui canal was cut, and water is never far away. At the same time, a stone plinth raises the standing of a building. Neither the rice store nor the grain store has one. What was being protected was of a different order.
The date is worth noting too. Construction on this estate began with the early Meiji reception room, continued through the mid-Meiji storehouses and the late Meiji inner wing, and ended with a group of early Taisho buildings: this store, the miso storehouse and library, and the carpenter's room. The Kamiya Family Treasure House belongs to that final phase.
What to look for
Count the drip courses. These horizontal projections throw rainwater clear of the wall below, and one or two is the usual provision. Three signals an unusual determination to keep water off the plaster, and it also stacks horizontal lines across the elevation.
The plastered eave soffit is the second thing. Rather than leaving rafters exposed, the builders wrapped them in plaster. It is laborious, and it keeps burning embers out. Fire protection and finish work in the same gesture.
Below, the namako tilework guards the base of the wall. Three drip courses, tiled base, sealed eaves, granite plinth: the exterior of the Kamiya Family Treasure House is assembled from layer upon layer of horizontal incident.
Visiting and access
The building is part of a private home and is not open to the public. Standing towards the northwest of the compound, it is hard to make out from the road. What visitors can see is the perimeter of the estate, its main gate and fences. Photograph from the public road, not into the grounds. The City of Anjo asks the same of visitors to local historic buildings, most of which are privately owned.
Take the JR Tokaido Line to Anjo or Mikawa-Anjo Station, then the city Ankuru bus on the Nanbu line to Kaminokiri or Izumi Jozanen. Services are limited, so check the timetable in advance. Seven minutes' walk to the south is Jozanen, a garden and study hall built by the city on the birthplace of the early Edo poet Ishikawa Jozan. Open 9:00 to 17:00, last entry 16:30, closed Mondays with the following day substituted for a national holiday, and over the new year.
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Q&A
- Can I visit the Kamiya Family Treasure House?
- No. It is part of a private home, and its position towards the northwest of the compound makes it difficult to see from the public road.
- How big is the Kamiya Family Treasure House?
- 9.1 metres by 5.5 metres, 50 square metres of floor area, two storeys, dating from the early Taisho period.
- Why is it built on a stone plinth?
- Three courses of granite lift the floor clear of damp and flooding, and the plinth also marks the building as the most formal of the four storehouses.
- What is a drip course?
- A horizontal projection that throws rainwater off the wall below. This storehouse has three of them, which also gives the elevation a layered set of horizontal lines.
- When was it registered?
- On 18 April 2008, under number 23-0296, together with thirteen other buildings on the estate.
Basic Information
| Name | Kamiya Family Treasure House (神谷家住宅宝蔵) |
|---|---|
| Location | 13 Kaminokiri, Izumicho, Anjo City, Aichi Prefecture |
| Designation | Registered Tangible Cultural Property (Building) |
| Year Designated | 2008 (Heisei 20), registered |
| Quantity | 1 building |
| Dimensions | Frontage 9.1 m, depth 5.5 m, floor area 50 square metres |
| Owner | Private |
| Public Access | Not open to the public; exterior of the estate visible from the public road |
References
- Agency for Cultural Affairs, National Cultural Properties Database: Kamiya Family Residence Treasure Storehouse
- https://kunishitei.bunka.go.jp/bsys/maindetails/101/00007045
- Cultural Heritage Online: Kamiya Family Residence Treasure Storehouse
- https://online.bunka.go.jp/heritages/detail/120117
- City of Anjo: Historic Buildings
- https://www.city.anjo.aichi.jp/shisei/shisetsu/kyoikushisetsu/maibun-structure.html
- Anjo City Cultural Properties Catalogue: Kamiya Family Residence Main House
- https://www.katch.ne.jp/~anjomuse/bunkazai_zuroku/kamiyake_jyuutaku/index.html
- City of Anjo: Jozanen Garden
- https://www.city.anjo.aichi.jp/shisei/shisetsu/kyoikushisetsu/jozanen.html
Last verified: 2026.08.30