The Storehouse Beside the Main House
The Shibuya Family Residence Rice Storehouse (澁谷家住宅米蔵) is an earthen-walled rice storehouse of 1848 in Nakasatsuma, Kamagaya City, Chiba Prefecture, and was registered as a Registered Tangible Cultural Property (structure) on August 17, 2020 (Agency for Cultural Affairs).
The Agency records a two-storey earthen-walled storehouse with a tiled roof and a building area of 35 square metres, renovated between 1975 and 1984; registration number 12-0301.
An Earthen Storehouse Southeast of the House
The Shibuya Family Residence Rice Storehouse stands southeast of the main house, facing west (Agency for Cultural Affairs). It is a two-storey earthen-walled storehouse, 3 bays by 2, under a gabled roof of pantiles. The walls are finished in lime plaster and clad in horizontal weatherboards up to the level of the upper windows, and the upper floor has hooded windows in the south gable and the back wall.
Inside, the walls are lined with vertical boards and the roof is carried on sloping rafter beams (Agency for Cultural Affairs). The city plan notes that part of the ground floor was partitioned into small rooms with paper-sealed joints, a sign that it really was used to store rice.
The Agency dates it to 1848. The city plan notes that its size matches the storehouse drawn on a house-planning chart of that year, and, judging from where traditional and Western nails were used, places its construction no later than the middle Meiji period. A similar chart of 1933 is damaged where the storehouse would appear.
Why It Was Registered
The Agency notes that together with the gate to its northeast it sets off the layout of an old family homestead, and registered it for its contribution to the historic landscape.
The city plan adds that it survives in good condition as one of the main buildings of the homestead alongside the main house, within plot divisions dating from the Edo period, and that because it can be seen from outside the gate it is an important part of the local landscape.
What to Look For
From outside the gate you can see the white plaster walls with dark weatherboarding over their lower half. The hooded window in the south gable gives the storehouse a tighter, more compact face than the thatched house beside it.
On the front, marks show where an earlier entrance canopy was attached (Kamagaya City conservation plan). The roof tiles and the present canopy were renewed between 1975 and 1984.
Visiting
The Shibuya Family Residence Rice Storehouse holds the family's documents and is not open inside. Under the city plan it will remain a document store after the homestead opens, so visitors will see it from outside only.
Q&A
- When was the Shibuya Family Residence Rice Storehouse built?
- The Agency for Cultural Affairs gives 1848; the city plan places it no later than the middle Meiji period.
- Where is the Shibuya Family Residence Rice Storehouse?
- In Nakasatsuma, Kamagaya City, Chiba Prefecture, southeast of the main house.
- What does the Shibuya Family Residence Rice Storehouse look like?
- Lime-plastered walls clad in weatherboards up to the upper windows, with hooded windows in the south gable and back wall.
- Can I go inside the Shibuya Family Residence Rice Storehouse?
- No. It is used to store the family documents (Kamagaya City).
- When was the Shibuya Family Residence Rice Storehouse registered?
- On August 17, 2020 (Agency for Cultural Affairs).
Basic Information
| Name | Shibuya Family Residence Rice Storehouse (澁谷家住宅米蔵) |
|---|---|
| Location | 77 Nakasatsuma 1-chome, Kamagaya City, Chiba Prefecture |
| Designation | Registered Tangible Cultural Property (Structure) |
| Year Designated | Registered 2020/08/17 (Reiwa 2) |
| Quantity | 1 building |
| Dimensions | Two-storey earthen-walled storehouse, tiled roof, 35 m² |
| Owner | Kamagaya City |
| Public Access | Exterior only (interior closed; grounds to open in fiscal 2027) |
References
- Shibuya Family Residence Rice Storehouse (Database of National Cultural Properties, Agency for Cultural Affairs)
- https://kunishitei.bunka.go.jp/heritage/detail/101/00013351
- Conservation and Use Plan for the Shibuya Family Residence, main volume (Kamagaya City, Japanese PDF)
- https://www.city.kamagaya.chiba.jp/kanko-bunka-sports/bunka/sibuyakehozonnintei.files/honbunsibuya.pdf
- Conservation and Use Plan, summary (Kamagaya City, Japanese PDF)
- https://www.city.kamagaya.chiba.jp/kanko-bunka-sports/bunka/sibuyakehozonnintei.files/gaiyousibuya.pdf
- Cultural Properties of Kamagaya (Kamagaya City, Japanese)
- https://www.city.kamagaya.chiba.jp/kosodate-kyouiku/kyoikuindex/bunka_menu/bunkazai.html
Last verified: 2026.10.20
