The storehouse that got used every day
The Kamiya Family Residence Rear Storehouse (神谷家住宅奥の蔵, Kamiya-ke Jūtaku Oku-no-Kura) is a two-storey mud-walled storehouse of the middle Meiji period in Izumicho, Anjo City, Aichi Prefecture, registered as a National Registered Tangible Cultural Property on 18 April 2008. It measures 8.2 metres across the front by 4.8 metres deep, with a floor area of 39 square metres, and stands near the centre of the compound, west of the inner reception wing.
The roof is gabled and tiled. The south gable end serves as the entrance, sheltered by a projecting porch roof. The walls are treated differently on different faces: the south gable and the surrounds of the openings are finished in thick plaster, while the remaining faces are clad in horizontal boarding held by vertical battens.
The Kamiya Family Residence Rear Storehouse stands close to the main house and was used to hold everyday tools and utensils. Its registration number is 23-0295.
Storehouses built for different jobs
The registration criterion is contribution to the historic landscape of Japan. This estate has four storehouses of quite different character: one for rice, one for miscellaneous grain, a treasure storehouse, and this one. The rice store covers 80 square metres, and the treasure store sits on a plinth of three courses of granite. Neither was a building you opened casually.
The Kamiya Family Residence Rear Storehouse works on a different principle. At 39 square metres it is modest, and it was placed within easy reach of the house. What went inside was seasonal equipment and household ware, things taken out and put back several times a day. English tends to flatten every kura into the single word storehouse; on this estate you can see the category broken apart into size, position and use.
What to look for
Look first at the porch over the entrance. Mud-walled storehouses are vulnerable to damp, and their heavy doors should not be opened into driving rain. The projecting roof creates a buffer where the doors can be swung in wet weather. It reads as an ornament and functions as maintenance.
The divided wall finish repays attention as well. The south gable, which faces the house and is seen daily, and the window surrounds, which decay first, are sealed in plaster. Everything else is boarded. Boards can be swapped out by a village carpenter; replastering is a slower and costlier job. The walls of the Kamiya Family Residence Rear Storehouse are an honest ledger of that calculation.
The proportions stay in the memory too. Two storeys, but 8.2 metres wide against 4.8 deep, giving a low broad box rather than the tall tower shape a storehouse often takes.
Visiting and access
This building is part of a private residence and is not open to the public. Standing near the middle of the compound, it cannot be seen in full from outside. What is visible from the road is the perimeter of the estate: the main gate, the fences and the roofs beyond. Photograph from the street rather than into the grounds. The City of Anjo makes the same request in respect of local historic buildings, noting that most belong to private owners or private bodies.
From Anjo or Mikawa-Anjo Station on the JR Tokaido Line, take the city Ankuru bus on the Nanbu line and get off at Kaminokiri or Izumi Jozanen. Services are sparse, so check the timetable in advance. About seven minutes' walk south is Jozanen, a garden laid out by the city on the birthplace of the early Edo poet Ishikawa Jozan. It opens 9:00 to 17:00, last entry 16:30, and closes on Mondays, with the following day substituted for a national holiday, and over the new year.
- 📍 Plan Your Visit to Aichi
- Find tours, activities & transport passes near Kamiya Family Residence Rear Storehouse
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Q&A
- Can I visit the Kamiya Family Residence Rear Storehouse?
- No. It is inside a private home and is not open to the public. Because it stands near the centre of the compound it is not visible from the road either.
- What was the Kamiya Family Residence Rear Storehouse used for?
- It served as a tool store close to the main house, holding equipment and utensils that were taken in and out in the course of ordinary daily life.
- How big is this storehouse?
- 8.2 metres wide, 4.8 metres deep, 39 square metres of floor area, in two storeys with a gabled tiled roof.
- What is the porch in front of the doors for?
- Called a kuramae, it is a small roofed area before the entrance that lets the heavy doors be opened in rain without wetting the mud walls inside.
- When was it registered?
- On 18 April 2008, as registration number 23-0295, in the same batch as thirteen other buildings on the estate.
Basic Information
| Name | Kamiya Family Residence Rear Storehouse (神谷家住宅奥の蔵) |
|---|---|
| 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 8.2 m, depth 4.8 m, floor area 39 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 Rear Storehouse
- https://kunishitei.bunka.go.jp/bsys/maindetails/101/00007044
- Cultural Heritage Online: Kamiya Family Residence Rear Storehouse
- https://online.bunka.go.jp/heritages/detail/183256
- 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