Registered Tangible Cultural Properties · Chiba

Mogi Shichiroemon Family Residence Main Storehouse

Mogi Shichiroemon Family Residence Main Storehouse: Late Edo Dozo

One of the oldest buildings on a Noda soy brewer's estate: a late-Edo two-storey storehouse with gravel packed inside its walls against fire and theft. Not open.

Designation Registered Tangible Cultural Properties

Location Chiba

One of the Oldest Buildings on the Estate

The Mogi Shichiroemon Family Residence Main Storehouse (茂木七郎右衛門家住宅本蔵, Hongura) in Noda, Chiba Prefecture, is a two-storey Dozo-zukuri earthen storehouse from the late Edo period on the estate of a soy sauce brewing family, and it was entered on the national register as a Registered Tangible Cultural Property on 27 March 2018. It covers 44 square metres and was renovated in 2010.

The Agency for Cultural Affairs gives a date range of 1751 to 1830, which puts it, together with the Okubunko storehouse, among the oldest structures on the property. With the main house from mid-Meiji and the shoin from 1905, the Mogi Shichiroemon Family Residence Main Storehouse was standing here before the rooms the family now lives in.

It sits behind the main house, toward the west, aligned east to west, with the Shingura storehouse beside it.

Walls Packed with Gravel

The storehouse measures 9.1 metres by 4.9 metres. The Kirizuma-zukuri gabled roof is laid with Sangawara-buki pantiles, and each floor is a single boarded room.

The roof frame combines two systems: a sasu truss, with pairs of rafters leaning together like hands in prayer, and the post-on-beam Wagoya frame. Mixing them can point to later alteration or to a deliberate choice from the start, and the published sources do not say which.

What the Agency highlights is the gravel packed inside the walls. A layer of stones within an earthen wall makes it heavier and thicker, harder to burn through and harder to break through. It is for those measures against fire and theft that the Mogi Shichiroemon Family Residence Main Storehouse is valued.

The House's Principal Store

The name Hongura, the principal storehouse, marks it as the family's main store. No source consulted records exactly what a brewing family kept here, but its place right behind the main house and walls reinforced down to their core suit a building meant to guard the most important things.

It was registered for its contribution to the historic landscape, under registration number 12-256.

Visiting

The storehouse stands behind the main house inside a private residence, and it cannot be visited, even from the outside. Whether it can be seen from beyond the property has not been confirmed. Kotohira Shrine next door opens on the 10th of every month, but the storehouse is not part of that visit.

Directions to the estate are on the Mogi Shichiroemon Family Residence page.

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Q&A

QCan I visit the Mogi Shichiroemon Family Residence Main Storehouse?: ANo. It stands behind the main house inside a private residence and is not open to the public, including its exterior.

QHow old is the Mogi Shichiroemon Family Residence Main Storehouse?: AIt dates from the late Edo period; the Agency for Cultural Affairs gives 1751 to 1830. It was renovated in 2010 and is among the oldest buildings on the estate.

QHow big is the Mogi Shichiroemon Family Residence Main Storehouse?: AIt is a two-storey building measuring 9.1 metres by 4.9 metres, with a building area of 44 square metres.

QHow was the Mogi Shichiroemon Family Residence Main Storehouse protected against fire and theft?: AGravel was packed inside its walls. The Agency for Cultural Affairs describes it as a storehouse built with careful measures against both.

QWhere on the estate is the Mogi Shichiroemon Family Residence Main Storehouse?: ABehind the main house toward the west, aligned east to west, with the Shingura standing beside it.

Basic Information

Name	Mogi Shichiroemon Family Residence Main Storehouse (茂木七郎右衛門家住宅本蔵)
Location	339 Noda, Noda City, Chiba Prefecture
Designation	Registered Tangible Cultural Property (building), registration no. 12-256, criterion: contributing to the historic landscape
Year Designated	Registered 2018/3/27 (Heisei 30)
Quantity	1 building
Dimensions	Earthen storehouse, 2 storeys, tiled roof, building area 44 square metres, 9.1 metres by 4.9 metres
Owner	Private owner
Public Access	Not open to the public (private residence; grounds and interior closed)