Aizanso Second Storehouse

About the Aizanso Second Storehouse

The Aizanso Second Storehouse (愛山荘二の蔵, Aizansō Ni-no-kura) is a two-storey earthen storehouse built around 1916 on the west side of Aizanso, facing the street, in Wakatake-cho, Echizen City, Fukui Prefecture. It was registered as a Registered Tangible Cultural Property in 2017.

It measures 9.4 metres by 5.6 metres, is entered on its long side (Hirairi), and has a tiled roof and a building area of 74 square metres. On its east face, inside the grounds, it has a roofed forecourt (kuramae). The gate and wall stand immediately to the north, with the first storehouse at the corner beyond, and together these three give Aizanso its street front.

Since November 2025 the Aizanso Second Storehouse has served as a gallery of local crafts: Echizen knives, lacquerware, ceramics, washi paper and chests of drawers.

Why it was registered

The Aizanso Second Storehouse was registered for its contribution to the historic landscape.

Inside, both floors are single rooms with Shikkui lime-plaster walls and board linings. The double doors on the main face have edges stepped in five tiers of plaster (kakego-nuri), and the base of the walls is finished in black plaster. Black against white shows off the thickness of the walls.

The stepped edges interlock with the door frame to keep out fire and smoke, and each extra step means more work for the plasterer. Five is a generous number. This was a storehouse built to protect goods, and built carefully.

What to look for

The five-step doors

Look at the edge of the closed doors from the side and you can count the five steps. The main face appears to be the east side, where the forecourt is, so this is seen from inside the grounds.

The black plaster base

Black plaster at the foot of the wall hides splashes and wear and gives the building a firm base line. Where it meets the white plaster above, it sets the horizontal rhythm of the whole elevation.

From the street

From the road on the west, the first storehouse, the gate and wall, and the Aizanso Second Storehouse line up in a row. Echizen City's list says this storehouse faces the street on its east side, but the national database says west, which agrees with the description of the gate and wall as closing the west side of the site, so this article follows the national record.

Seeing it

The Aizanso Second Storehouse is open as a crafts gallery. Restaurant guests can walk over through the garden before or after their meal. Inside, each floor is a single dim room, with the crafts set out along the walls.

The street side can be seen from the road at any time. Follow the staff's guidance on photography in the gallery. Directions and opening hours are on the Aizanso page.