Yabuki Family Residence New Storehouse

About the Yabuki Family Residence New Storehouse

The Yabuki Family Residence New Storehouse (矢吹家住宅新蔵, Yabuki-ke Jūtaku Shinkura) is a two-storey clay-walled storehouse built in 1928 in the southeast corner of the Yabuki family estate in Narukawa, Fukushima City, Fukushima Prefecture, and was registered as a Registered Tangible Cultural Property in 2015.

The Yabuki Family Residence New Storehouse has its ridge running east to west under a gabled roof of pantiles. The doorway is on the northwest face, sheltered by a lean-to roof (Geya). Its building area is 94 m².

A Detached Roof and Walls Sealed to the Eaves

The roof of the Yabuki Family Residence New Storehouse is an Okiyane, a separate roof set on top of the sealed clay body of the storehouse. If fire took the roof, the store beneath could survive.

A raised band, the Hachimaki, runs round the top of the walls, and the clay is carried right out to the eave ends so that no timber shows. The lower walls are Namako-kabe, a grid of tiles with raised white plaster joints.

Every face has windows closed by Kakegonuri shutters. Their edges, and those of the frames, are built up in stepped layers of plaster that lock together when shut, sealing out sparks.

Anchoring the Southeast Corner

The Agency for Cultural Affairs describes the Yabuki Family Residence New Storehouse as an imposing storehouse that sums up the old family's estate. It was registered as a Registered Tangible Cultural Property for its contribution to the historic landscape.

The Yabuki Family Residence New Storehouse holds the southeast corner of the plot. From its northwest corner the inner wall runs toward the main house, dividing the front garden from the main garden, and from its southwest corner the outer wall runs west along the southern boundary. Both walls start from this building, which shows how central it is to the layout.

Among the registered parts of the estate with an exact year, 1928 is the latest. The name shinkura, new storehouse, marks it as a later addition among the family's stores.

Seeing the Yabuki Family Residence New Storehouse

The interior of the Yabuki Family Residence New Storehouse is not open (checked October 2026).

Standing at the southeast corner, the Yabuki Family Residence New Storehouse faces both the street on the east and the outer wall on the south. It is probably one of the easier buildings to see from the road, and the plaster band and namako-kabe base are exterior details. Please photograph only from the public road and do not enter the grounds. Directions are on the Yabuki Family Residence page.