About the Former Katano Family Residence Miso Storehouse
The Former Katano Family Residence Miso Storehouse (旧片野家住宅味噌蔵, Kyū Katano-ke Jūtaku Miso-gura) is an earthen-walled storehouse for brewing miso in Hagurocho, Yokote City, Akita Prefecture, built in 1889 and entered on Japan's register of Registered Tangible Cultural Properties on March 6, 2024. It is a two-story Dozo-zukuri building with a sheet-metal roof and covers 137 square meters.
The miso storehouse is attached to the north side of the main house. It is the oldest firmly dated building on the Katano estate and the largest of its three storehouses, a reminder that miso, the fermented soybean paste at the heart of Japanese cooking, was once made at home in households like this one.
A Stone Floor for Brewing, Boards Above
The Former Katano Family Residence Miso Storehouse runs north to south under a gabled roof (Kirizuma-zukuri). According to the Agency for Cultural Affairs, the ground floor is a single stone-paved room that served as the brewery, and the upper floor a single board-floored room used for storage.
The division shows in the floors themselves: stone underfoot where the brewing was done, timber upstairs where things were kept.
On the south side is a lower gabled annex (Ochimune) with its entrance in the gable end, which served as a workroom. Storehouse and workroom form a single unit, laid out for the work of making miso.
Unfinished Plaster and Two Sizes of Post
The outer walls of the Former Katano Family Residence Miso Storehouse are thick Ōkabe walls left at the intermediate coat of plaster, without the white lime finish. The middle storehouse next door is finished in white; here the earthen wall shows its rougher, darker face.
Yokote City notes that while the miso storehouse shares much with the other storehouses, it uses through-posts of two different cross-sections and a different arrangement of the heavy floor beams. The 2023 report recommending registration calls it a powerful storehouse built with stacked heavy beams.
Why the Miso Storehouse Was Registered
The Former Katano Family Residence Miso Storehouse was registered for its contribution to the historic landscape of the country. The Agency for Cultural Affairs describes it as a large miso storehouse that conveys the character of an old established family.
With its brewery floor and attached workroom, the storehouse keeps an everyday side of such a household's life inside the estate.
Seeing the Miso Storehouse
The Former Katano Family Residence Miso Storehouse stands at the back of the estate, north of the main house, and is hard to see from the street. You can see its exterior when Yokote City opens the estate and you are inside the grounds.
Whether the interior is open varies from one open day to the next. If it is, look at the stone floor of the ground-floor brewery and the heavy beams. Follow the on-site instructions on photography. Open days and directions are on the Former Katano Family Residence page.
Q&A
- When was the Former Katano Family Residence Miso Storehouse built?
- In 1889. It is the oldest firmly dated of the five registered structures on the estate.
- What is inside the Former Katano Family Residence Miso Storehouse?
- The ground floor is one stone-paved room that served as the miso brewery, and the upper floor one board-floored storage room. A lower annex on the south side was the workroom.
- How big is the Former Katano Family Residence Miso Storehouse?
- It is a two-story earthen-walled storehouse with a building area of 137 square meters, the largest of the three storehouses on the estate.
- Why is the Former Katano Family Residence Miso Storehouse a Registered Tangible Cultural Property?
- It was registered on March 6, 2024, for its contribution to the historic landscape, as a large miso storehouse that conveys the character of an old established family.
- Can I visit the Former Katano Family Residence Miso Storehouse?
- You can see the exterior on days when Yokote City opens the estate. Whether the interior is open varies from one open day to the next.
Basic Information
| Name | Former Katano Family Residence Miso Storehouse (旧片野家住宅味噌蔵) |
|---|---|
| Location | 65 Hagurocho, Yokote City, Akita Prefecture |
| Designation | Registered Tangible Cultural Property (Structure) |
| Year Designated | 2024 (registered) |
| Quantity | 1 building |
| Dimensions | Building area 137 square meters (earthen-walled storehouse, 2 stories, sheet-metal roof) |
| Owner | Yokote City |
| Public Access | Open only on days set by Yokote City |
References
- Database of National Cultural Properties (Agency for Cultural Affairs): Former Katano Family Residence Miso Storehouse
- https://kunishitei.bunka.go.jp/bsys/maindetails/101/00014713
- Cultural Heritage Online: Former Katano Family Residence Miso Storehouse
- https://online.bunka.go.jp/heritages/detail/555251
- Agency for Cultural Affairs: Council for Cultural Affairs report on new registrations of structures (November 24, 2023)
- https://www.bunka.go.jp/koho_hodo_oshirase/hodohappyo/93969901.html
- Yokote City: About the Former Katano Family Residence (Japanese)
- https://www.city.yokote.lg.jp/shisei/1001176/1001456/1010279.html
Last verified: 2026.09.29
