What is the Yuasa Family Residence Rice Storehouse?
The Yuasa Family Residence Rice Storehouse (湯浅家住宅米蔵, Yuasa-ke Jūtaku Komegura) is a rice storehouse built in 1855 at the western end of the Yuasa Family Residence in Miyazaki, Takahama-cho, Oi District, Fukui Prefecture, and it was listed as a Registered Tangible Cultural Property (Registered Tangible Cultural Property) on March 13, 2025. It is a 2-story Dozo-zukuri building with a tiled roof and 49 square meters of building area, and it is the oldest building on the site.
Fukui Prefecture records that the Yuasa Family Residence Rice Storehouse was moved to its present position in 1933 by Hikiya, a method of jacking up a building and sliding it to a new spot without taking it apart. Its registration number is 18-0260. It was registered for its contribution to the historic landscape of the country, and the Agency for Cultural Affairs calls it a valuable storehouse, the oldest on the property.
Charred cedar boards up to the eaves
The Yuasa Family Residence Rice Storehouse has a gabled roof (Kirizuma-zukuri) laid with pan tiles (Sangawara-buki), and it is entered from a gable end (Tsumairi) rather than the long side. Over the lime-plaster walls (Shikkui), vertical boards of Yakisugi, cedar with a charred surface, run all the way up to the eaves.
The door opens in the north gable. The windows are small, and the agency describes the exterior as closed and inward-looking. Dark charred boards rising to the roof over white plaster, broken by few openings: the building looks exactly like what it was, a store guarding the household's rice.
A ridge carried on a heavy log
Inside, each floor is a single boarded room, with the stair in the northeast corner. In the roof space above the upper floor, a heavy timber called a jimune is laid across double tie beams, and short posts standing on it hold up the ridge beam.
The treasure storehouse next door to the east is framed differently, with sloping beams combined with level ones. Two storehouses built a generation apart stand in a row, each with its own way of framing the roof.
Seeing the Yuasa Family Residence Rice Storehouse
The Yuasa Family Residence Rice Storehouse stands within a privately owned compound, and no opening of the interior has been confirmed.
It lies in the northwest of the site, beyond the treasure storehouse, so whether the charred cedar walls can be seen from the street has not been confirmed. Do not enter the grounds, and keep any photographs to what can be taken from the public road.
Q&A
- How old is the Yuasa Family Residence Rice Storehouse?
- It was built in 1855, making it the oldest surviving building at the Yuasa Family Residence.
- Was the Yuasa Family Residence Rice Storehouse moved?
- Yes. In 1933 it was moved to its present position by hikiya, shifting the whole building without dismantling it.
- When did the Yuasa Family Residence Rice Storehouse become a Registered Tangible Cultural Property?
- On March 13, 2025, for its contribution to the historic landscape of the country. Its registration number is 18-0260.
- What does the Yuasa Family Residence Rice Storehouse look like?
- A gabled storehouse entered from the north gable end, with plastered walls covered by charred cedar boards up to the eaves and only small windows.
- Can I see inside the Yuasa Family Residence Rice Storehouse?
- It stands inside a private compound, and no opening of the interior has been confirmed. Please do not enter the grounds.
Basic Information
| Name | Yuasa Family Residence Rice Storehouse |
|---|---|
| Location | 10 Nishimiyazaki, 45 Miyazaki, Takahama-cho, Oi-gun, Fukui Prefecture |
| Designation | Registered Tangible Cultural Property (Building) |
| Year Designated | Registered March 13, 2025 |
| Quantity | 1 building |
| Dimensions | Clay-walled storehouse, 2 stories, tiled roof, building area 49 m² |
| Owner | Private individual |
| Public Access | Interior closed (within a private compound); visibility from the street unconfirmed |
References
- Database of National Cultural Properties: Yuasa Family Residence Rice Storehouse (Agency for Cultural Affairs, Japanese)
- https://kunishitei.bunka.go.jp/heritage/detail/101/00015308
- Cultural Heritage Online: Yuasa Family Residence Rice Storehouse (Japanese)
- https://online.bunka.go.jp/heritages/detail/596752
- Cultural Assets of Fukui: Yuasa Family Residence Rice Storehouse (Fukui Prefectural Board of Education, Japanese)
- https://bunkazai.pref.fukui.lg.jp/search_category/content?detail_id=986-0
Last verified: 2026.10.02
