What Is the Minamikubota Family Residence Old Storehouse?
The Minamikubota Family Residence Old Storehouse (南久保田家住宅古蔵, Minami-Kubota-ke Jūtaku Furugura) is a 2-storey timber storehouse of the early Meiji period (1868 to 1882) on the Minamikubota estate in Fukunaga, Yoshii-cho, Ukiha City, Fukuoka Prefecture, and it became a Registered Tangible Cultural Property on 23 February 2012. It covers 38 square meters.
It is the oldest of the eight registered buildings on the estate. It stands just east of the rice storehouse in the northwest corner, with its ridge running east to west.
Drawn on an 1895 House Plan
The Minamikubota Family Residence Old Storehouse already appears on a kasōzu dated 1895, a plan of the household drawn with attention to lucky and unlucky directions. Because the plan confirms it was there, the Agency for Cultural Affairs regards the Minamikubota Family Residence Old Storehouse as a record of how the estate looked at that time.
It was registered for its contribution to the historic landscape. It was standing before the rice storehouse of 1899 and before the main house of 1915, so the estate as it exists today grew around a site where this building already stood.
Plastered Right Up Under the Eaves
The Minamikubota Family Residence Old Storehouse measures 7.8 by 4.9 meters and has a gabled Kirizuma-zukuri roof of Sangawara-buki pantiles. Its walls are Ōkabe, with the posts hidden under white Shikkui plaster that is carried up and over the underside of the eaves. Sealing the eave timbers in plaster is a familiar way of protecting a storehouse against fire.
The lower part of each wall is sheathed in vertical boards. The door is on the south side under a small Hisashi canopy. The same pairing of plaster above and boards below turns up on the Tsukiatari Storehouse and the miso room.
Visiting
The Minamikubota Family Residence Old Storehouse is privately owned and its interior is not open to the public. It stands toward the north of the estate, inside the walls and grove, and we could not confirm how much of it can be seen from outside. We found no record of the 1895 house plan being shown publicly. Please do not enter the grounds.
Q&A
- When was the Minamikubota Family Residence Old Storehouse built?
- The Agency database dates it to the early Meiji period, 1868 to 1882. It is the oldest of the eight registered buildings on the estate.
- How do we know the Minamikubota Family Residence Old Storehouse is old?
- It is drawn on a house plan dated 1895, and the Agency cites this as evidence that it conveys the estate as it was then.
- What is special about the walls of the Minamikubota Family Residence Old Storehouse?
- They are plastered all over, including the underside of the eaves, with vertical boards along the base. The south door has a small canopy.
- When did the Minamikubota Family Residence Old Storehouse become a Registered Tangible Cultural Property?
- On 23 February 2012, the same day as the other seven buildings of the estate.
- Can I visit the Minamikubota Family Residence Old Storehouse?
- It is privately owned and its interior is not open to the public.
Basic Information
| Name | Minamikubota Family Residence Old Storehouse (南久保田家住宅古蔵) |
|---|---|
| Location | 160-2 Yashiki, Fukunaga, Yoshii-cho, Ukiha City, Fukuoka Prefecture |
| Designation | Registered Tangible Cultural Property (Structure) |
| Year Designated | Registered 23 February 2012 |
| Quantity | 1 building |
| Dimensions | 7.8 m by 4.9 m, 2-storey timber, tiled roof, building area 38 square meters |
| Owner | Private |
| Public Access | Closed to the public |
References
- Database of National Cultural Properties: Minamikubota Family Residence Old Storehouse (Agency for Cultural Affairs, in Japanese)
- https://kunishitei.bunka.go.jp/heritage/detail/101/00009230
- Cultural Heritage Online: Minamikubota Family Residence Old Storehouse (Agency for Cultural Affairs, in Japanese)
- https://online.bunka.go.jp/heritages/detail/243703
- Minamikubota Family Residence (Ukiha City, in Japanese)
- https://www.city.ukiha.fukuoka.jp/kiji0035115/index.html
- Minamikubota Family Residence (ukihalove.jp, Ukiha City tourism site, in Japanese)
- https://ukihalove.jp/contents/minamikubotakejyuutaku/
Last verified: 2026.09.28
