A farm storehouse angled off the main house
The Kishi Family Residence Outer Storehouse (季子家住宅外蔵, Kishi-ke Jūtaku Sotogura) is a two-storey Dozo-zukuri earthen farm storehouse in Yoshino, Masuda-machi, Yokote City, Akita Prefecture, built in the late Meiji period (1898-1912) and registered as a Registered Tangible Cultural Property of Japan on February 4, 2021. It was altered around 1969.
The Kishi outer storehouse joins the southwest of the main house at a right angle (Kaneore) and runs north to south, turned slightly off square from the house. With a building area of 122 square meters, it is a size up from the inner storehouse to the northwest, which covers 85 square meters.
A gabled storehouse wrapped in boards
The Kishi Family Residence Outer Storehouse measures 5 ken by 3.5 ken (one ken is roughly 1.8 meters) under a gabled roof (Kirizuma-zukuri), with its doorway on the south side. The walls are sealed in Shikkui lime plaster, and a board-clad saya, or protective shelter, wraps around the outside.
The roofing is described two ways. The structural entry in the Agency for Cultural Affairs database lists board roofing under temporary steel sheeting, and the commentary says steel-sheet roofing. Either way, the roof surface you see today is metal.
The Agency identifies the building as a farm storehouse. A store for crops and tools linked directly to the family's living quarters says a good deal about how a Yoshino farm household organized its work.
A bold roof frame of stacked beams
What the Agency singles out at the Kishi Family Residence Outer Storehouse is the Roof frame, the timber frame that carries the roof. It uses stacked beams, laid one over another, and the commentary calls the result bold and powerful.
The outer storehouse was registered as a model of design, under registration number 05-0232. The inner storehouse earned its place through finishes like its earthen door and lacquered trim; here the praise is for the strength of the structure.
A note on the name: the Agency reads 外蔵 as sotogura. Yokote City, describing the merchant houses of the Masuda townscape, calls the storehouses at the back of a plot togura, so the same characters carry two readings in the area.
Seeing the Kishi Family Residence Outer Storehouse
The Kishi Family Residence Outer Storehouse is part of a private home, and no opening days or admission details appear in Agency or Yokote City sources. The stacked-beam roof frame is inside, so assume it cannot be seen.
View the exterior from the road only and do not enter the grounds. Since the doorway faces south, a spot with a view of the southwest side of the main house shows the board-clad shelter and the slight twist in its alignment. The Agency's database page includes a photograph of the south face.
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Q&A
- What is the Kishi Family Residence Outer Storehouse?
- A two-storey earthen farm storehouse built in the late Meiji period (1898-1912), joined at a right angle to the southwest of the main house. It was registered as a Registered Tangible Cultural Property on February 4, 2021.
- What is special about the Kishi Family Residence Outer Storehouse?
- Its roof frame of stacked beams, which the Agency for Cultural Affairs describes as bold and worth seeing.
- How big is the Kishi Family Residence Outer Storehouse?
- It measures 5 by 3.5 ken with a building area of 122 square meters, the larger of the two registered Kishi storehouses.
- How is the name of the Kishi Family Residence Outer Storehouse read?
- The Agency reads it Kishi-ke Jūtaku Sotogura. Yokote City calls outer storehouses in the Masuda townscape togura.
- Can visitors see the Kishi Family Residence Outer Storehouse?
- No public opening has been announced; it is part of a private home. View the exterior from the road and do not enter the grounds.
Basic Information
| Name | Kishi Family Residence Outer Storehouse (季子家住宅外蔵) |
|---|---|
| Location | 58 Muranoato, Yoshino, Masuda-machi, Yokote City, Akita Prefecture |
| Designation | Registered Tangible Cultural Property (Building), registration no. 05-0232 |
| Year Designated | Registered February 4, 2021 |
| Quantity | 1 building |
| Dimensions | Earthen storehouse, 2 storeys, gabled roof, board roofing under temporary steel sheeting, 5 x 3.5 ken, building area 122 square meters |
| Owner | Private owner |
| Public Access | Private residence; no public opening announced (exterior from the road) |
References
- Database of National Cultural Properties (Agency for Cultural Affairs): Kishi Family Residence Outer Storehouse
- https://kunishitei.bunka.go.jp/bsys/maindetails/101/00013491
- Cultural Heritage Online: Kishi Family Residence Outer Storehouse
- https://online.bunka.go.jp/heritages/detail/588330
- Yokote City: Traditional Buildings of Masuda (Japanese)
- https://www.city.yokote.lg.jp/masuda/1003585.html
- Yokote City: List of Cultural Properties by Category, as of July 22, 2026 (PDF, Japanese)
- https://www.city.yokote.lg.jp/_res/projects/default_project/_page_/001/005/071/080722itiran.pdf
Last verified: 2026.10.06
