Saito Family Residence Rice Storehouse

A Tall Storehouse on the Old Road

The Saito Family Residence Rice Storehouse (齋藤家住宅米蔵, Saitō-ke Jūtaku Komegura) is a late Edo period (1751 to 1830) plastered storehouse on the eastern edge of the Saito family compound in Funatsucho, Sabae City, Fukui Prefecture, built right up against the old Hokuriku Road, and was registered as a Registered Tangible Cultural Property on November 29, 2016, under number 18-0160. It is a single-storey Dozo-zukuri building with a tiled roof and a building area of 71 square metres.

Its ridge runs north to south, parallel to the road. Though it has only one storey, it rises unusually high. On the west side, facing into the compound, a lean-to roof (Geya) shelters a broad working area in front of the doors, which would have served for moving goods in and out.

As the name says, this was where rice was kept, and for a family of major landowners it was likely central to the household economy.

Why It Was Registered

The Saito Family Residence Rice Storehouse was registered for contributing to the historic landscape of the country. The Agency for Cultural Affairs notes that it announces the standing of an old family along the highway and gives the whole property its character.

Of all the buildings in the compound, this is the one travellers on the road saw first. On the corner where the highway bent toward the Hino River ferry, a big white-walled storehouse served as a very public statement of the family's wealth.

Its age matters too. The rice storehouse belongs to the oldest layer of the property, alongside the main block of the main house.

What to Look For

The walls change finish halfway up. The upper part is white Shikkui lime plaster; the lower part is sasarako shitami-ita, horizontal weatherboarding held in place by vertical battens notched to fit each board. The boards protect the base of the wall from rain splash, and the two-tone contrast gives the road front its crisp look.

On the east face, toward the road, two small windows sit high in the wall, out of reach. It is the classic storehouse compromise between security and ventilation, and the small openings make the wall look even more massive.

Stand on the old road and look along the length of the building to take in its height. Seen together with the stone gateposts next to it, it gives a clear sense of how the Saito household presented itself to the street.

Visiting

The rice storehouse is privately owned, and Sabae City notes that the interior is not open. Because it stands directly on the old Hokuriku Road, however, the exterior can be seen from the public street, making it the easiest of the eight Saito Family Residence buildings to view.

Photograph from the road and keep out of the way of traffic. Directions are on the Saito Family Residence page.