A Storehouse Painted in Plaster
The Sasaki Risaburo Family Residence Rice Storehouse (佐々木利三郎家住宅米蔵) is the rice storehouse of a merchant family of the Taisho era (1912 to 1926) in Iwaki Kameda, Yurihonjo City, Akita Prefecture, and was registered as a Registered Tangible Cultural Property (structure) on November 29, 2016 (Agency for Cultural Affairs).
The Agency records a two-storey earthen-walled storehouse with a tiled roof and a building area of 86 square metres; registration number 05-0210.
A Store at the Back of the Lot
The Sasaki Risaburo Family Residence Rice Storehouse is a two-storey Dozo-zukuri earthen-walled store set at the north end of the lot, its ridge running east to west (Agency for Cultural Affairs). It is entered on the long side, and a tiled lean-to on the south front forms a covered work space, the Kuramae, before the door. Yurihonjo City gives its size as 12.1 metres by 6.0 metres and notes that the door was deliberately placed in line with the Toriniwa passage through the main house.
The roof is framed on sloping Nobori-bari beams, and the ground floor is divided into a passage at the front and a raised floor, split into two rooms (Agency for Cultural Affairs). The prefecture and the city describe both floors as divided down the middle, and note that some of the timbers carry ink inscriptions from the Tenpo era, decades before the store was built. The walls are finished in white Shikkui plaster with board cladding under the eaves, and Namako-kabe tiling, a lattice of square tiles set in raised plaster, seals the junction of the lean-to and the south wall.
Why It Was Registered
The rice storehouse was registered as a building that would be difficult to reproduce (Agency for Cultural Affairs). The reason is the painted Kote-e, pictures modelled in coloured plaster with a trowel, on the walls of the lean-to: the family's trade mark and crest to the east, and the gods of fortune Ebisu and Daikoku to the west, showing a high level of plastering skill. According to Yurihonjo City, the panels are large, about 1.1 metres by about 0.7 metres, and coloured kote-e of this kind are rare in Akita Prefecture.
What to Look For
The coloured kote-e facing each other across the lean-to are the highlight, and they can be seen straight down the passage of the main house (Yurihonjo City). The white plaster and the namako-kabe at the lean-to were plainly designed to be seen from the house. The city adds that, apart from some relaid floorboards, the store has stood for about 100 years without distortion.
Visiting
The Sasaki Risaburo Family Residence Rice Storehouse stands at the back of a private lot, behind the main house, and no official information on public access was found. Photographs of the kote-e appear in the prefectural and city documents listed below.
Q&A
- When was the Sasaki Risaburo Family Residence Rice Storehouse built?
- In the Taisho era, between 1912 and 1926 (Agency for Cultural Affairs).
- What do the kote-e on the Sasaki rice storehouse show?
- The family trade mark and crest on the east, and the gods of fortune Ebisu and Daikoku on the west.
- How large are the plaster pictures?
- About 1.1 metres by about 0.7 metres; coloured kote-e this size are rare in Akita Prefecture.
- Can I visit the Sasaki Risaburo Family Residence Rice Storehouse?
- It stands at the back of a private lot, and no official information on public access was found.
- When was the Sasaki Risaburo Family Residence Rice Storehouse registered?
- On November 29, 2016 (Agency for Cultural Affairs).
Basic Information
| Name | Sasaki Risaburo Family Residence Rice Storehouse (佐々木利三郎家住宅米蔵) |
|---|---|
| Location | Iwaki Kameda, Yurihonjo City, Akita Prefecture |
| Designation | Registered Tangible Cultural Property (Structure) |
| Year Designated | Registered 2016/11/29 (Heisei 28) |
| Quantity | 1 building |
| Dimensions | Two-storey earthen-walled storehouse, tiled roof, 86 m² |
| Owner | Private owner |
| Public Access | Private residence; no official information on public access |
References
- Sasaki Risaburo Family Residence Rice Storehouse (Database of National Cultural Properties, Agency for Cultural Affairs)
- https://kunishitei.bunka.go.jp/heritage/detail/101/00011234
- Sasaki Risaburo Family Residence (Akita Prefecture, Japanese)
- https://www.pref.akita.lg.jp/uploads/public/archive_0000011260_00/sasakirisaburokejutaku.pdf
- Sasaki Risaburo Family Residence (Yurihonjo City Board of Education, Japanese)
- https://www.city.yurihonjo.lg.jp/_res/projects/default_project/_page_/001/003/561/1003561_003.pdf
Last verified: 2026.10.20
