What the Tobe Goemon Family Residence Storehouse is
The Tobe Goemon Family Residence Storehouse (戸邉五右衞門家住宅土蔵, Tobe Goemon-ke Jūtaku Dozō) is an earthen-walled storehouse built in 1929 in Nakanodai, Noda City, Chiba Prefecture, and registered as a Registered Tangible Cultural Property on 2 October 2007.
It is a two-storey Dozo-zukuri building, the Japanese kura whose timber frame is buried in thick clay walls to keep out fire. The building area is 20 square metres and the plan measures 3 by 2 Ken bays, roughly 5.5 by 3.6 metres. The roof is a Kirizuma-zukuri gable laid in Sangawara-buki pantiles, and the entrance is in the gable end, the arrangement called Tsumairi. The walls are finished in white Shikkui lime plaster.
It stands behind the Western-style wing that was added to the main house in the same year, 1929, with a small forecourt, the kuramae, between the two. In 1949, when the Edo River was improved, the storehouse was moved to its present site along with the main house by Hikiya, lifted and shifted whole.
Why the Tobe Goemon Family Residence Storehouse was registered
It was registered, as number 12-0086, for its contribution to the historic landscape.
The Agency for Cultural Affairs describes the building as solid and heavy, and singles out three details that give its exterior variety: windows with small hoods, stout iron hooks called origugi, and a drip ledge built in two tiers. A plain white box of thick earth, in other words, relieved by a handful of working parts.
The storehouse is also careful with space. Besides its two floors, the void beneath the ground floor is used for storage too. With only 20 square metres of footprint, the building makes use of every level it has.
What to look at
The first thing to find on the walls of the Tobe Goemon Family Residence Storehouse is the origugi. These are L-shaped iron hooks projecting from the plaster. On Japanese storehouses they are generally used to hang scaffolding when the plaster is renewed, or boards to shield the walls in a fire. Here they are noted for their thickness.
Next, the drip ledge. A band stepped out from the wall catches rainwater running down the face and throws it clear, protecting the plaster below. On this building it is doubled, so two horizontal lines cross the white wall.
The windows carry small hoods of their own, which keep rain off the openings and, against the plain white wall, mark exactly where each window sits.
Because the entrance is in the gable end, the triangular gable is the storehouse's face. The outline of the roof, the hooded windows beneath it and the two lines of the drip ledge together make up that front.
Seeing the Tobe Goemon Family Residence Storehouse
The Tobe Goemon Family Residence Storehouse is part of a private home and the interior is closed.
Standing behind the Western wing of the main house, it is only partly visible from the public road, and the hooks and drip ledges may not be clear from there. The photograph of the storehouse on Cultural Heritage Online is a useful companion. Take pictures from the road only, and do not enter the grounds.
Q&A
- Can you visit the Tobe Goemon Family Residence Storehouse?
- The interior is closed, and because the building stands behind the main house's Western wing, only part of it can be seen from the public road.
- When was the Tobe Goemon Family Residence Storehouse built?
- In 1929. It was moved to its present site by hikiya in 1949 during improvement works on the Edo River.
- What are the iron hooks on the Tobe Goemon Family Residence Storehouse?
- They are origugi, L-shaped iron hooks set into the plaster. On storehouses they are generally used to hang scaffolding for replastering or boards to protect the walls in a fire. The ones on this building are thick and heavy.
- How big is the Tobe Goemon Family Residence Storehouse?
- Two storeys on a 3 by 2 bay plan, with a building area of 20 square metres. The space under the ground floor is also used for storage.
- When did the Tobe Goemon Family Residence Storehouse become a Registered Tangible Cultural Property?
- On 2 October 2007, as number 12-0086, for its contribution to the historic landscape.
Basic Information
| Name | Tobe Goemon Family Residence Storehouse |
|---|---|
| Location | 702-1 Kawagishi, Nakanodai, Noda City, Chiba Prefecture |
| Designation | Registered Tangible Cultural Property (building) |
| Year Designated | Registered on 2 October 2007 (Heisei 19) |
| Quantity | 1 building |
| Dimensions | Building area 20 square metres |
| Owner | Private owner |
| Public Access | Interior closed (part of a private home). Exterior partly viewable from the public road |
References
- National Cultural Properties Database, Tobe Goemon Family Residence Storehouse (Agency for Cultural Affairs)
- https://kunishitei.bunka.go.jp/bsys/maindetails/101/00006375
- Cultural Heritage Online, Tobe Goemon Family Residence Storehouse
- https://online.bunka.go.jp/heritages/detail/142138
- Tobe Goemon Family Residence Main House and others (Chiba Prefectural Board of Education)
- https://www.pref.chiba.lg.jp/kyouiku/bunkazai/bunkazai/q111-019.html
- Tobe Goemon Family Residence (Noda City)
- https://www.city.noda.chiba.jp/kurashi/kyoiku/bunka/1000585/1000589.html
Last verified: 2026.09.25
