Kurakazu Family Residence Barn

What Is the Kurakazu Family Residence Barn?

The Kurakazu Family Residence Barn (倉員家住宅納屋, Kurakazu-ke Jūtaku Naya) is a two-storey wooden barn built in 1876 in Kitakawauchi, Joyo-machi, Yame City, Fukuoka Prefecture, and registered as a Registered Tangible Cultural Property of Japan in 2018.

The Kurakazu Family Residence Barn stands on the south side of the compound, in front of the storehouse, and faces north. Its building area is 51 m², the same as the storehouse. It is the oldest of the four registered buildings, nine years older than the main house.

Why the Kurakazu Family Residence Barn Was Registered

The Kurakazu Family Residence Barn was registered as a Registered Tangible Cultural Property on November 2, 2018, for its contribution to the historic landscape, under registration number 40-0158.

The Agency for Cultural Affairs describes the barn, like the storehouse, as an ancillary building that shows the traditional layout of a farmstead. It faces the main house across the front yard and, with the storehouse, occupies the south side of the compound. Its position within the homestead counts for as much as its own construction.

What to Look for at the Kurakazu Family Residence Barn

Along the front of the Kurakazu Family Residence Barn runs a Geya, a lean-to roof over the ground floor. Just above that roof, the upper wall is pierced by a window screened with vertical wooden bars.

The main roof is a Kirizuma-zukuri gable in Sangawara-buki pantiles. The walls are finished in Shikkui lime plaster with vertical boarding around the base, the same treatment as the storehouse next to it, so the two buildings on the south side share the same outer finish.

Inside, the whole ground floor is a Doma with an earthen floor, and the front is left open with no wall. The upper floor is used for storage. The result is a simple arrangement: an open earth-floored space facing the yard, with a storage loft above it.

Visiting the Kurakazu Family Residence Barn

The Kurakazu Family Residence Barn stands on private residential land and is not open to the public. It sits on the south side of the lot in front of the storehouse, but how much of it can be seen from the road has not been confirmed. Please view it only from outside the property. Directions are on the page for the Kurakazu Family Residence.