Aizanso First Storehouse

About the Aizanso First Storehouse

The Aizanso First Storehouse (愛山荘一の蔵, Aizansō Ichi-no-kura) is a two-storey earthen storehouse built around 1916 at the northwest corner of Aizanso in Wakatake-cho, Echizen City, Fukui Prefecture, and was registered as a Registered Tangible Cultural Property in 2017.

It measures 7.4 metres by 4.7 metres and is entered at its gable end (Tsumairi). With a tiled roof and a building area of 47 square metres, it is the smallest of the three earthen storehouses at Aizanso. On its east face, inside the grounds, it has a roofed forecourt (kuramae).

To the south come the gate and wall and then the second storehouse, and together the three make up the street front of Aizanso. The Aizanso First Storehouse anchors the north end of that line.

Why it was registered

The Aizanso First Storehouse was registered for its contribution to the historic landscape. What the national description singles out is how differently it treats its inner and outer faces.

On the south side, facing into the grounds, it has two pairs of double-leaf windows on each floor. The north side, on the street, has a single doorway and nothing else. The walls are finished in Shikkui lime plaster right up into the underside of the eaves, with timber boarding along the base. From the street you see an almost closed face of white plaster and wood, which gives the roadside a calm, settled look.

Inside, the storehouse is built solidly in zelkova. It is plain outside and sturdy within, as a storehouse built to protect goods should be.

What to look for

Plaster under the eaves

Look up at the Aizanso First Storehouse from the street and you will see that the underside of the eaves is plastered white as well. Sealing the timber of the eaves in plaster was slow work done against fire, and it lets the white surface run unbroken up to the roof.

The boarded base

Timber boards protect the lower wall from rain and splashing mud. White above and wood below divide the elevation in two. The second storehouse finishes its base in black plaster instead, so the two storehouses, built at about the same time, were given different finishes.

Closed outside, open inside

From the street to the north, the storehouse is a closed box with one door. Its south face, inside the grounds, has two tiers of double windows. Keeping the street out and opening only toward the garden matches the way Aizanso as a whole is closed off by its gate and wall.

Seeing it

The official website does not say how the Aizanso First Storehouse is used today. If you would like to see the zelkova interior, contact the restaurant in advance.

The north face is on the street and can be seen from the road at any time. The windowed south face is inside the grounds and visible from the garden. Directions and opening hours are on the Aizanso page.