A Plank-Walled Granary in the Corner of the Yard
Heishi Family Residence Grain Storehouse (瓶子家住宅穀蔵, Heishi-ke Jūtaku Koku-gura) is a small timber granary at Moriai in Fukushima City, Fukushima Prefecture, built in the early Showa period between 1926 and 1945, moved to its present site within the grounds in 1984, and entered on the register of Registered Tangible Cultural Property on 29 November 2016. It occupies the northwest corner of the Heishi family compound and measures 5.5 metres by 1.9 metres, a building area of 10 square metres.
It is a single-storey Kirizuma-zukuri gabled building under a Sangawara-buki tiled roof. The walls carry no earth plaster. Instead, posts stand at intervals of one and a half shaku, about 45 centimetres, with horizontal boards dropped into the gaps between them. This is an itagura, a plank-walled store, rather than a plastered earthen storehouse.
The granary is the only Showa-era building among the six at the Heishi Family Residence. The household shrine of 1888 stands just south of it, facing east, and both were moved in the same year, 1984.
Why It Was Registered
Heishi Family Residence Grain Storehouse was registered for its contribution to the historic landscape. The Agency for Cultural Affairs describes it as a granary that conveys the layout of a wealthy farming estate. Alongside the main house, annex, document storehouse and gate, it shows that a place for storing the harvest survives within the compound.
Its interior divisions reveal how it was used. From the south, the plan is split into four compartments of half a bay, one bay, half a bay and one bay. That totals 3 bays, and at roughly 1.8 metres to the bay the sum matches the 5.5-metre length closely. On the east side of each half-bay compartment, the intermediate post can be removed to open a doorway.
With two half-bay compartments each opening to the east, the likely arrangement is that each half bay served as an access chamber for the one-bay bin beside it. Take out the post and boards to get at the grain, slot them back in when finished: a store whose openings could be remade as the harvest came and went.
What to Look For
Look first at the post spacing. The posts of Heishi Family Residence Grain Storehouse stand only about 45 centimetres apart, far closer than in an ordinary building, so that the row of posts becomes the frame of the plank wall itself. Dropping boards in one by one between such close posts also keeps the wall from bulging outward under the weight of stored grain.
Consider the scale as well. Four compartments are fitted into a narrow plan just 1.9 metres deep with a building area of 10 square metres. For an estate with a great main house and a long gatehouse this is a modest store, and it may have held particular stocks, such as seed rice or grain for the household, rather than the whole harvest.
The relocation is worth a thought too. The move in 1984 came more than thirty years before registration and seems to have been part of the family's own reordering of the northwest corner. The shrine was moved the same year, as if the back corner of the yard was being set aside for grain and the household god together.
Visiting
Heishi Family Residence Grain Storehouse is part of a private home and is not open to the public. Neither the Agency nor Fukushima City lists any open days (checked 1 October 2026).
The granary stands in the northwest corner of the grounds. It is a small single-storey building and how much of it can be seen from outside depends on the surroundings. No notice prohibiting exterior photography could be found, but please do not aim a camera into the grounds for long.
Directions and general visiting conditions are on the Heishi Family Residence page.
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Q&A
- Can I go inside the Heishi Family Residence Grain Storehouse?
- No. It is part of a private residence and the interior is closed. No open days are listed by the Agency for Cultural Affairs or Fukushima City (checked 1 October 2026).
- When was the Heishi Family Residence Grain Storehouse built?
- In the early Showa period, between 1926 and 1945. It was moved to its present position within the grounds in 1984.
- How big is the Heishi Family Residence Grain Storehouse?
- It is a single-storey timber building measuring 5.5 metres by 1.9 metres, with a building area of 10 square metres.
- How is the Heishi Family Residence Grain Storehouse constructed?
- It is a plank-walled store. Posts stand about 45 centimetres apart and horizontal boards are dropped into the gaps between them. The gabled roof is covered in pantiles.
- Where is the entrance to the Heishi Family Residence Grain Storehouse?
- The interior is divided from the south into compartments of half a bay, one bay, half a bay and one bay, and the east side of each half-bay compartment opens as a doorway when its intermediate post is removed.
Basic Information
| Name | Heishi Family Residence Grain Storehouse (瓶子家住宅穀蔵 / Heishi-ke Jūtaku Koku-gura) |
|---|---|
| Location | 35-1 Aza-Dai, Moriai, Fukushima City, Fukushima Prefecture |
| Designation | Registered Tangible Cultural Property (Structure), registration no. 07-0172 |
| Year Designated | Registered 2016/11/29 (Heisei 28), 85th round |
| Quantity | 1 building |
| Dimensions | Timber, single storey, tiled roof, building area 10 square metres, 5.5 metres by 1.9 metres |
| Owner | Private individual |
| Public Access | Not open to the public |
References
- National Cultural Properties Database (Agency for Cultural Affairs): Heishi Family Residence Grain Storehouse
- https://kunishitei.bunka.go.jp/heritage/detail/101/00011250
- Cultural Heritage Online: Heishi Family Residence Grain Storehouse
- https://online.bunka.go.jp/heritages/detail/254705
- Fukushima City: Registered Tangible Cultural Properties (Structures), 66 Entries
- https://www.city.fukushima.fukushima.jp/soshiki/7/1032/2/1/3/725.html
Last verified: 2026.10.01
