What Is the Minamikubota Family Residence Tsukiatari Storehouse?
The Minamikubota Family Residence Tsukiatari Storehouse (南久保田家住宅ツキアタリ蔵, Minami-Kubota-ke Jūtaku Tsukiatarigura) is a 2-storey timber storehouse of the late Taisho period (1919 to 1926) 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 56 square meters.
It stands on the west side of the estate, ridge running north to south, between the rice storehouse to the north and the agricultural warehouse to the south. According to the Agency for Cultural Affairs, the Minamikubota Family Residence Tsukiatari Storehouse was originally used to store household goods.
The Name and the Job
Tsukiatari is written in katakana in the register, and we found no source that explains it. In everyday Japanese tsukiatari (突き当たり) means the point where a path or corridor comes to an end, so the name may refer to the building's position, but nothing confirms this.
The Minamikubota Family Residence Tsukiatari Storehouse was registered for its contribution to the historic landscape. Between a rice store and a farm warehouse divided into barns and work rooms, it completes a north-south row on the west side of the estate where rice, tools and household goods each had a building of their own, and the Minamikubota Family Residence Tsukiatari Storehouse sits in the middle of that row.
A Lean-To for Firewood, Two Floors Inside
The Minamikubota Family Residence Tsukiatari Storehouse measures 9.9 by 4.9 meters and has a gabled Kirizuma-zukuri roof of Sangawara-buki pantiles. Its length matches the 9.9 meters of the rice storehouse next door, but at 4.9 meters it is much narrower than that building's 6.9 meters.
A Geya lean-to runs the full length of the east side, where the door is, and is partitioned into bays for firewood and other things. The storehouse itself is sealed in Ōkabe walls of white Shikkui plaster with vertical boards along the base, so a stack of fuel sits under the eaves of a building otherwise wrapped against fire.
Inside, the ground floor is an earth-floored Doma and the upper floor is boarded. Heavy work was presumably done at ground level, with household goods kept on the dry boards above.
Visiting
The Minamikubota Family Residence Tsukiatari Storehouse is privately owned and its interior is not open to the public. It stands in the middle of the storehouse row inside the walls and grove, and we could not confirm how much of it can be seen from outside. Please do not enter the grounds.
Q&A
- When was the Minamikubota Family Residence Tsukiatari Storehouse built?
- The Agency database dates it to the late Taisho period, 1919 to 1926.
- What was the Minamikubota Family Residence Tsukiatari Storehouse used for?
- According to the Agency for Cultural Affairs, it was originally a storehouse for household goods, with an earth floor below and a boarded floor above.
- What does the name of the Minamikubota Family Residence Tsukiatari Storehouse mean?
- We found no source that explains it. Tsukiatari sounds like the everyday word for the end of a passage, but the origin of the name is not recorded.
- What is the lean-to on the east side of the Minamikubota Family Residence Tsukiatari Storehouse for?
- It runs the full length of the east side and is divided into bays for storing firewood and other items.
- Can I visit the Minamikubota Family Residence Tsukiatari Storehouse?
- It is privately owned and not open to the public. It became a Registered Tangible Cultural Property on 23 February 2012.
Basic Information
| Name | Minamikubota Family Residence Tsukiatari Storehouse (南久保田家住宅ツキアタリ蔵) |
|---|---|
| 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 | 9.9 m by 4.9 m, 2-storey timber, tiled roof, building area 56 square meters |
| Owner | Private |
| Public Access | Closed to the public |
References
- Database of National Cultural Properties: Minamikubota Family Residence Tsukiatari Storehouse (Agency for Cultural Affairs, in Japanese)
- https://kunishitei.bunka.go.jp/heritage/detail/101/00009231
- Cultural Heritage Online: Minamikubota Family Residence Tsukiatari Storehouse (Agency for Cultural Affairs, in Japanese)
- https://online.bunka.go.jp/heritages/detail/176674
- 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
