A Storehouse Joined to the House
The Suzuki Family Residence Storehouse (鈴木家住宅蔵, Suzuki-ke Jūtaku Kura) is a 2-storey timber storehouse built in 1924 in Numa, Tateyama City, Chiba Prefecture, and registered as a Registered Tangible Cultural Property (building) in 2007. It stands just east of the Main House and connects to it through a small entry space, making it an inner storehouse (uchigura) rather than a free-standing one.
It measures 3 by 2 bays (Ken) and covers 32 square metres, under a gabled roof (Kirizuma-zukuri) laid with pantiles (Sangawara-buki). It was finished in the same year as the Main House and the front gate, and all three were registered on the same day.
Why It Was Registered
The Suzuki Family Residence Storehouse was registered as a building that contributes to the historic landscape of the nation. The listing values it less as a storehouse in its own right than as part of the face the property presents to the street.
The key is the wall finish. Both the walls and the thickened band beneath the eaves are coated in washed aggregate mortar (Araidashi) scored with joints to imitate cut stone. The east wall of the Main House is treated in exactly the same way, so the two buildings look like a single stone-built range. Structurally the storehouse is timber, yet it presents itself as masonry, a choice that says something about how the family thought about rebuilding right after the Great Kantō Earthquake.
What to Look For
On the south front, both floors have heavy plastered doors hung in the openings, each with its own small canopy. The same arrangement repeated on two levels gives the storehouse a neat, orderly face.
Look closely at the scored lines in the wall. From a distance they read as blocks of dressed stone; up close, the pebbly surface of the mortar gives the trick away. Compare it with the east end of the Main House and it is clear the two were finished together.
Visiting
The Suzuki Family Residence Storehouse is part of a private home and is not open to the public. Because it sits behind the east end of the Main House as seen from the gate, very little of it is visible from the street. The grounds are closed, so please do not try to peer in.
Since the Main House shares the same finish on its east side, a glimpse of that wall from the street shows you what the storehouse walls look like.
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Q&A
- Can you see the Suzuki Family Residence Storehouse in Tateyama?
- It is part of a private home and is not open to the public. It stands behind the east end of the Main House, so only a limited view, if any, is possible from the street.
- When was the Suzuki Family Residence Storehouse built?
- In 1924, immediately after the Great Kantō Earthquake, at the same time as the Main House and the front gate.
- Is the Suzuki Family Residence Storehouse a traditional earthen storehouse?
- No. It is a 2-storey timber building. Its walls are finished in scored washed aggregate mortar to look like stone.
- How is the Suzuki Family Residence Storehouse connected to the Main House?
- It is an inner storehouse joined to the Main House by a small entry space, and the east wall of the house carries the same stone-like finish.
- How big is the Suzuki Family Residence Storehouse?
- It is 3 bays by 2 bays with a building area of 32 square metres, under a gabled pantile roof.
Basic Information
| Name | Suzuki Family Residence Storehouse (鈴木家住宅蔵) |
|---|---|
| Location | 1619 Numa, Tateyama City, Chiba Prefecture |
| Designation | Registered Tangible Cultural Property (Building) |
| Year Designated | Registered 2007/5/15 (Heisei 19) |
| Quantity | 1 building |
| Dimensions | Timber, 2 storeys, tiled roof; building area 32 square metres |
| Owner | Private owner |
| Public Access | Not open to the public |
References
- Agency for Cultural Affairs database: Suzuki Family Residence Storehouse (Japanese)
- https://kunishitei.bunka.go.jp/bsys/maindetails/101/00006220
- Tateyama City: Suzuki Family Residence Main House, Storehouse and Front Gate (Japanese)
- https://www.city.tateyama.chiba.jp/syougaigaku/page009934.html
Last verified: 2026.09.25
