About the Nemoto Family Residence South Storehouse
The Nemoto Family Residence South Storehouse (根本家住宅南倉, Nemoto-ke Jūtaku Minamigura) in Ichibu, Abiko City, Chiba Prefecture, is a 2-storey timber storehouse built in 1867 and entered on the national register as a Registered Tangible Cultural Property on October 14, 2021.
It stands on the south side of the entrance to the Nemoto homestead, at the point where the approach, having come down the eastern edge of the property, turns west into the grounds. With a footprint of 40 m² it is the larger of the 2 storehouses; the North Storehouse across the entrance covers 27 m². Its registration number is 12-0316.
A Storehouse From the Last Year of the Shogunate
Of the 4 registered buildings at the Nemoto homestead, the Nemoto Family Residence South Storehouse is the only one pinned to a specific year of the Edo period. The main house is dated only broadly to the late Edo period, the North Storehouse to 1900 and the household shrine to the late Meiji period.
The year 1867 is the year the Tokugawa shogunate handed political authority back to the emperor, and the Meiji era began the following year. The South Storehouse was therefore built in the final months of the order under which the Nemoto family had served as headmen of Ichibu village.
How the Nemoto South Storehouse Is Built
The Nemoto Family Residence South Storehouse has a gabled roof (Kirizuma-zukuri) of pantiles (Sangawara-buki). Its walls follow the Shinkabe method, with posts left exposed, and are finished in white lime plaster (Shikkui) above a band of horizontal weatherboarding (Shitami-itabari). Windows open on the south side.
The distinctive part is on the west. A lean-to (Geya) attached there holds the doorway, and its southern end is partitioned off as a small room. Inside the main body each floor is a single room, so this enclosed space in the lean-to is what sets the South Storehouse apart in plan. The official descriptions do not say what the room was used for.
Why the Nemoto South Storehouse Was Registered
The Nemoto Family Residence South Storehouse was registered as a building that contributes to the historic landscape of the nation, valued as part of the homestead's setting.
When the North Storehouse was added 33 years later it followed this building closely in roof, wall finish and the placing of its door in a west lean-to. The matched pair that now frames the entrance seems to have taken the South Storehouse as its model.
Seeing the Nemoto Family Residence South Storehouse
The Nemoto Family Residence South Storehouse stands inside a private homestead and is not open to visitors. No opportunity to see the lean-to room or the storehouse interior had been announced as of September 2026.
The Agency for Cultural Affairs database publishes a photograph of the west elevation, where the projecting lean-to can be seen, and one of the upper floor.
Q&A
- Is the Nemoto Family Residence South Storehouse open to visitors?
- No. The Nemoto Family Residence South Storehouse is within a private homestead that is not open to the public. Exterior and upper-floor photographs are available in the Agency for Cultural Affairs database.
- When was the Nemoto Family Residence South Storehouse built?
- In 1867, the year the shogunate returned power to the emperor. It is the only one of the 4 registered Nemoto buildings dated to a specific Edo-period year.
- What is unusual about the lean-to on the Nemoto Family Residence South Storehouse?
- The lean-to on the west side holds the doorway, and its southern end is partitioned as a small room. The storehouse's main floors are each a single room, so this enclosed space is its most distinctive feature in plan.
- How large is the Nemoto Family Residence South Storehouse?
- It is a 2-storey timber building with a footprint of 40 m², larger than the 27 m² North Storehouse opposite it.
- When did the Nemoto Family Residence South Storehouse become a Registered Tangible Cultural Property?
- On October 14, 2021, on the same day as the main house, the North Storehouse and the household shrine, as a building contributing to the historic landscape of the nation.
Basic Information
| Name | Nemoto Family Residence South Storehouse |
|---|---|
| Location | 93-1 Shukudori, Ichibu, Abiko City, Chiba Prefecture |
| Designation | Registered Tangible Cultural Property (Building) |
| Year Designated | 2021 |
| Quantity | 1 building |
| Dimensions | Building area 40 m², 2-storey timber |
| Owner | Private owner |
| Public Access | Not open to the public (within a private residence) |
References
- Agency for Cultural Affairs, Database of National Cultural Properties: Nemoto Family Residence South Storehouse (Japanese)
- https://kunishitei.bunka.go.jp/bsys/maindetails/101/00013963
- Agency for Cultural Affairs, Database of National Cultural Properties: Nemoto Family Residence North Storehouse (Japanese)
- https://kunishitei.bunka.go.jp/bsys/maindetails/101/00013962
- Cultural Heritage Online: Nemoto Family Residence South Storehouse (Japanese)
- https://online.bunka.go.jp/heritages/detail/587143
- Abiko City, Abiko Digital Archaeology Museum: Nemoto Family Residence (Japanese)
- https://www.city.abiko.chiba.jp/kouko/siteibunkazai/nemotokejyuutaku.html
Last verified: 2026.09.25
