Former Horikiri Family Residence Tool Storehouse

About the Former Horikiri Family Residence Tool Storehouse

The Former Horikiri Family Residence Tool Storehouse (旧堀切家住宅道具蔵, Kyū Horikiri-ke Jūtaku Dōgugura) is a two-story earthen-walled storehouse northeast of the main house on the Kyu Horikiri-tei estate in Iizaka-machi, Fukushima City, Fukushima Prefecture, built in the early Meiji era (1868 to 1882) and registered as a Registered Tangible Cultural Property in 2020.

According to the Kyu Horikiri-tei website, the Horikiri Tool Storehouse predates the fire of 1880. Household utensils and tableware went on the ground floor and bedding upstairs; it was where the everyday equipment of a large household was put away.

It is a two-story Dozo-zukuri building with a building area of 37 square meters, the largest of the three storehouses, and a corridor connects it to the main house.

Why the Tool Storehouse Was Registered

The Former Horikiri Family Residence Tool Storehouse was registered for its contribution to the historic landscape. The Agency for Cultural Affairs observes that the storehouses on the site share one design, which gives the area behind the main house a unified look.

The tool storehouse, the biggest of the three, anchors the eastern end of that row. Reached by a corridor running northeast from the main house, it shows how far back the row of storehouses extends.

What to Look For at the Tool Storehouse

The Former Horikiri Family Residence Tool Storehouse measures 4 ken by 2.5 ken, with its ridge running north to south under a gabled (Kirizuma-zukuri) roof of red pantiles (Sangawara-buki). The doorway and windows are closed by double-leaf earthen doors (Tsuchido) finished in Shikkui plaster, the storehouse's defense against fire.

The website draws attention to the floor. Openings for ventilation are cut into parts of the plank floor to keep damp away from the stored goods, a modest but practical detail for a building full of bedding and utensils.

Inside hang portraits of Ryōhei, the 14th head, his son Zenbei, the 15th, and Zenbei's brother Zenjirō. There are also photographs of Zenbei as a student visiting the homes of Ōkuma Shigenobu and Fukuzawa Yukichi, and a bag said to have been used during his time as ambassador to Italy (checked October 2026).

Visiting the Tool Storehouse

The Former Horikiri Family Residence Tool Storehouse can be visited during Kyu Horikiri-tei's opening hours, free of charge. The website says only the ground floors of the new and middle storehouses are open, but gives no such note for the tool storehouse, so ask on site if the upper floor is accessible.

The ventilation openings are at your feet, so glance down at the floorboards as you look at the displays.

From the northeast side of the main house you can take in the tool storehouse together with the other two. With the tool storehouse in the foreground and the new and middle storehouses beyond, the unity the Agency describes is easy to see.