Yabuki Family Residence Miso Storehouse

About the Yabuki Family Residence Miso Storehouse

The Yabuki Family Residence Miso Storehouse (矢吹家住宅味噌蔵, Yabuki-ke Jūtaku Misogura) is a clay-walled storehouse of the early Showa era (1926 to 1945) standing midway along the east side of the Yabuki family estate in Narukawa, Fukushima City, Fukushima Prefecture, between the front gate and the tool storehouse. It was registered as a Registered Tangible Cultural Property in 2015.

The Yabuki Family Residence Miso Storehouse is a tiled clay-walled building of two storeys with a single-storey part, with a building area of 94 m². The two-storey miso store has a single-storey section with tatami rooms on its south side, and a gate attached at its north end.

Store, Rooms and Gate in One Front

At the north end of the Yabuki Family Residence Miso Storehouse, a small gate opens between it and the neighbouring tool storehouse. Seen from the street, the single-storey rooms, the two-storey store and the little gate read as a single frontage.

The street-side wall is finished in continuous Namako-kabe, tiled panels with raised white plaster joints, from the store through to the rooms. Windows line both floors of the store, closed by stepped Kakegonuri shutters. Parts of different heights are held together by one wall finish, giving the street an unbroken face.

Rhythm on the Street

The Agency for Cultural Affairs notes that the Yabuki Family Residence Miso Storehouse brings variety to the streetscape. It was registered as a Registered Tangible Cultural Property for its contribution to the historic landscape.

Two storeys, then one, then a low gate: the roofline steps down three times while the namako band runs on without a break. Between the heavy front gate to the south and the long wall of the tool storehouse to the north, this is the building that gives the street its rise and fall.

Miso was traditionally made and stored at home by farming households. A whole storehouse given over to it suggests how many people lived and worked on the estate.

Seeing the Yabuki Family Residence Miso Storehouse

The Yabuki Family Residence Miso Storehouse faces the street on the east side of the estate and is one of the easiest buildings on the Yabuki Family Residence to see from the road; the run of namako walls and the windows on both floors are clear from outside. The interior is not open (checked October 2026).

Please do not linger in front of the small gate or the front gate, or enter the grounds. Photograph the Yabuki Family Residence Miso Storehouse from the public road opposite. Directions are on the Yabuki Family Residence page.