The Oldest Storehouse, With a Lattice-Plaster Wall
Standing just north of the front storehouse along the western side of the Ishida compound is the west storehouse, the earliest of the family's surviving storehouses. It is a two-story dozō of mud-walled fireproof construction, four ken long by two and a half deep, gabled and tiled, and about 54 square meters in area, with doorways on its east and south faces. Its walls are the familiar white plaster over battened weatherboard used across the compound, but one feature sets it apart from its neighbors.
On the east, a single-story lean-to called the miso-tamon extends from the main storehouse, three ken long by one and a half deep and built in the same mud-walled manner. As its name suggests, it was used to store miso, the fermented soybean paste central to the household's kitchen. Its eastern wall is finished in namako-kabe, "sea-cucumber wall," a grid of square tiles set on the diagonal and jointed with raised ridges of white plaster.
Why It Was Registered
The west storehouse was registered as a Tangible Cultural Property in 2006, alongside the other four Ishida structures. Dating to the late Edo period, it is a generation older than the front storehouse beside it, and the pairing of the two along the compound's western edge shows how a rural household added to its storage over time while keeping to a consistent local building manner.
The namako-kabe on the miso lean-to is more than decoration. The tile facing shields the mud wall from rain and damp, and the raised plaster joints shed water away from the seams. On a coast of heavy snow and sea spray, that pattern of black tile and white plaster is a practical armor that happens to be handsome.
What to Look For
Set the two western storehouses side by side and the differences emerge: the west storehouse is the smaller and older, its lean-to giving it an irregular, added-to profile, while the front storehouse to its south carries the Shakudani stone at its ridge. Together they read as a working storage yard rather than a showpiece.
The detail to find is the diagonal grid of the namako-kabe on the lean-to's east wall, where black tile and raised white plaster cross in a taut lattice. The storehouse belongs to a private residence and cannot be entered, so view it from the road, ideally where the west edge of the compound is visible.
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Q&A
- What is namako-kabe?
- A "sea-cucumber wall": flat square tiles set diagonally on a wall, jointed with rounded ridges of white plaster. It protects the wall from damp while forming a distinctive black-and-white grid.
- What was the lean-to used for?
- The miso-tamon stored miso, the fermented soybean paste. Its name pairs "miso" with tamon, a term for a long attached range.
- How does it compare to the front storehouse?
- The west storehouse is older, dating to the late Edo period, and smaller. The front storehouse just to its south is early Meiji and carries Shakudani stone at its ridge.
- How old is it?
- Late Edo period, roughly 1830 to 1867, making it the oldest of the Ishida storehouses.
- Can I go inside?
- No. The Ishida Residence is private and not open to the public; the storehouse can be seen from public roads only.
Basic Information
| Name | Ishida Residence West Storehouse (Ishida-ke Jutaku Nishi-gura) |
|---|---|
| Location | 33-87 Kawajiri-cho, Fukui City, Fukui Prefecture |
| Category | Registered Tangible Cultural Property (building); registered 18 October 2006 |
| Period | Late Edo period (1830-1867) |
| Structure | Two-story mud-walled storehouse construction, tiled roof; about 54 m2; 4 by 2.5 ken, gabled, with a miso lean-to featuring a sea-cucumber-tile wall on the east |
| Count | 1 building |
| Registration criterion | Contributing to the nation's historic landscape |
| Access | Private residence; exterior view only, not open to the public |
References
- National Database of Cultural Properties (Agency for Cultural Affairs) — Ishida Residence West Storehouse
- https://kunishitei.bunka.go.jp/bsys/maindetails/101/00005837
- Cultural Heritage Online (Agency for Cultural Affairs) — Ishida Residence West Storehouse
- https://online.bunka.go.jp/heritages/detail/185743
- Association for Community Building with Visible History — Ishida Residence
- https://www.fukui-rekimachi.jp/category/detail.php?post_id=27
- City of Fukui — List of Registered Buildings
- https://www.city.fukui.lg.jp/kankou/bunka/bunkazai/kennzoubutu.html
Last verified: 2026.07.04