A storehouse raised against the river
The Former Murakami Family Residence Storehouse (旧村上家住宅土蔵, Kyū Murakami-ke Jūtaku Dozō) is a storehouse of the middle Meiji era, built between about 1883 and 1897, in the Shihocho quarter of Ozu City, Ehime Prefecture, and was listed as a Registered Tangible Cultural Property on 7 August 2023. It stands behind the main house of the Murakami wax-merchant compound, separated from it by a courtyard, and turns its front towards the back lane rather than towards Shihocho Street. Two storeys of timber under a tiled roof, 34 square meters of floor area.
Ozu grew inside a wide bend of the Hijikawa, and the town has been flooded by that river again and again. The Former Murakami Family Residence Storehouse was built with the water in mind. It sits on a foundation of dressed stone blocks that lifts the ground-floor boards well clear of the earth. The raised floor is engineering, not ornament.
The building is later than the main house of about 1869, going up in the years when the Murakami fortune from mokurō, the vegetable wax used for Japanese candles, was at its height and Murakami Chōjirō was helping to found the Ozu Bank. It was repaired in 2019.
The one building of the four listed on different grounds
The Former Murakami Family Residence Storehouse was listed under the criterion for works that set a standard of form. The main house, the annex and the rental house, listed on the same day, all came in under the criterion for buildings contributing to the historic character of the national landscape. Those three were judged as townhouses that shape a street. This one was judged on how it is made.
What that means comes down to the walls. The structure is Dozo-zukuri, finished in white Shikkui plaster. The lower band of wall carries Namako-kabe: flat tiles laid in a grid with the joints between them built up in plaster to a rounded profile. The raised joints were thought to resemble sea cucumbers, which is where the name comes from. Ehime Prefecture records that three faces of the Former Murakami Family Residence Storehouse are treated this way.
That tiling sheds rain and resists damp, so it protects exactly the part of the wall most at risk. Raise the floor above the flood line, armour the base of the wall against water: the two decisions belong to the same argument.
Above all this the roof is Kirizuma-zukuri, entered on the long side in the Hirairi manner and tiled with Sangawara-buki pantiles. Japan's registration system protects buildings that stay in use, which matters most for structures like storehouses, whose original purpose disappears long before the building does.
What to look for
Start at the base. Cut stone rises from the ground and the white wall sits on top of it, the whole building lifted by the height of that plinth. Everything you need to know about living beside the Hijikawa is in that step.
Then the tiled band around the lower wall. Smooth plaster above, a grid of raised plaster joints below, the same white in two entirely different textures. It reads even on an overcast day, because the joints stand proud and cast their own small shadows.
Inside, each floor is a single boarded room with no partitions, and the stair runs up the western side. A storehouse exists to be stacked, so the floors are plain boards and the space is left open; the Former Murakami Family Residence Storehouse follows that logic exactly. The present operator says the building once served as a treasury for armour and folding screens.
Because it faces the back lane, the storehouse cannot be seen from Shihocho Street where the main house presents its front. Walk around to the rear of the compound and the white walls stand facing the alley.
Visiting
The Former Murakami Family Residence Storehouse belongs to the OKI wing of NIPPONIA HOTEL Ozu Castle Town and has been converted into a guest room, so the interior is open to overnight guests only. The exterior can be seen from the back lane at no charge.
Photographing the exterior from the lane is unrestricted. The interior is a guest room, so follow the operator's guidance there.
The nearest station is Iyo-Ōzu on the JR Yosan Line, about 1.5 kilometers to the north: around 20 minutes on foot, 5 minutes by car. The operator will collect you from the station if you book by the previous day. Drivers leave the Matsuyama Expressway at the Ozu-Kōnan interchange, about 10 minutes away, and guest parking is at the Ohanahan-dōri car park.
To find it, locate the front of the main house on Shihocho Street first, then work around to the east side of the compound. A courtyard lies between the two buildings.
- 📍 Plan Your Visit to Ehime
- Find tours, activities & transport passes near Former Murakami Family Residence Storehouse
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Q&A
- Can I go inside the Former Murakami Family Residence Storehouse?
- It has been converted into a hotel guest room, so the interior is open to overnight guests only. The exterior can be seen free of charge from the back lane.
- Why is the ground floor of the Former Murakami Family Residence Storehouse raised?
- To keep flood water from the Hijikawa out of the building. It stands on a foundation of dressed stone that lifts the floor above ground level.
- When was the Former Murakami Family Residence Storehouse built and listed?
- It is thought to date from the middle Meiji era, roughly 1883 to 1897. It was listed as a Registered Tangible Cultural Property (structure) on 7 August 2023.
- Was the Former Murakami Family Residence Storehouse listed under a different criterion from the other buildings?
- Yes. The main house, annex and rental house came in under the criterion for contributing to the historic character of the national landscape; the storehouse was listed as a work setting a standard of form.
- How do I reach the Former Murakami Family Residence Storehouse?
- It lies about 1.5 kilometers south of Iyo-Ōzu Station on the JR Yosan Line, some 20 minutes on foot or 5 minutes by car. The operator runs a station pick-up if reserved by the day before, and the Ozu-Kōnan interchange on the Matsuyama Expressway is about 10 minutes away.
Basic Information
| Name | Former Murakami Family Residence Storehouse (旧村上家住宅土蔵) |
|---|---|
| Location | 379 Shihocho Higashi, Ozu, Ozu City, Ehime Prefecture |
| Designation | Registered Tangible Cultural Property (structure) |
| Year Designated | Registered 7 August 2023 (Reiwa 5) |
| Quantity | 1 building |
| Dimensions | Timber, 2 storeys, tiled roof, floor area 34 square meters |
| Owner | KITA Co., Ltd. |
| Public Access | In use as a hotel guest room. Exterior viewable from the back lane; interior limited to overnight guests |
References
- National Cultural Properties Database, Former Murakami Family Residence Storehouse (Agency for Cultural Affairs)
- https://kunishitei.bunka.go.jp/bsys/maindetails/101/00014695
- Cultural Heritage Online, Former Murakami Family Residence Storehouse
- https://online.bunka.go.jp/heritages/detail/527327
- Cultural Properties of Our Town: Former Murakami Family Residence (Ozu City)
- https://www.city.ozu.ehime.jp/site/bunkazai/66298.html
- Cultural Properties of Ehime: Former Murakami Family Residence Main House and three others (Ehime Prefecture)
- https://www.pref.ehime.jp/ehimenotakara/758.html
- NIPPONIA HOTEL Ozu Castle Town, OKI wing
- https://www.ozucastle.com/stay/oki
- NIPPONIA HOTEL Ozu Castle Town, Access
- https://www.ozucastle.com/access/
Last verified: 2026.09.04