About the Kawai Family Residence West Storehouse
The Kawai Family Residence West Storehouse (河合家住宅西土蔵, Kawai-ke Jūtaku Nishi Dozō) is a storehouse built in 1885 at the Kawai Family Residence in Ichishima, Hachiman-cho, Gujo City, Gifu Prefecture, and it became a Registered Tangible Cultural Property on April 28, 2000. It is the newer of the compound's two surviving storehouses, built 61 years after the east storehouse of 1824.
The Kawai west storehouse is a 2-storey Dozo-zukuri building with a tiled roof and a footprint of 36 square meters. Its plan is close to square, 3 by 3 ken, or about 5.5 meters a side. The ridge runs north to south, and the building stands southwest of the main house, next to the miso storehouse.
Why the West Storehouse Was Registered
The Kawai Family Residence West Storehouse was registered for contributing to the historic landscape of the country. With the east storehouse to the southeast, it frames the front of the main house from the other side and completes the headman's compound.
The Agency for Cultural Affairs also notes that the west storehouse was given a different look from the east one: a Namako-kabe wall on the east face and a decorated lintel over the door. Two storehouses built more than half a century apart show two different faces within one compound, and that layering of periods is part of what the registration records.
What to Notice
The namako-kabe east wall
The most striking part of the Kawai Family Residence West Storehouse is its east wall. Namako-kabe is made by fixing flat tiles to the wall and raising the joints between them in Shikkui lime plaster, producing a bold diagonal or square lattice. It shields the wall from rain and also dresses up the side meant to be seen. Here it is the entrance side, where the porch is.
The decorated lintel and the porch
The east face is a long side, parallel to the ridge, and an eave projects from it to form a Kuramae porch. The lintel across the top of the door is decorated as well. The porch follows the same pattern as the east storehouse; the difference lies in the finish of wall and lintel. Because the east storehouse opens to the west and this one opens to the east, the two doors face each other across the front of the main house.
From boards to tiles
The roof is a tiled Okiyane, set over the earthen body like a lid, but the Agency records that it was originally roofed with wooden boards. When it was changed to tile is not stated in the sources consulted.
Seeing the Kawai Family Residence West Storehouse
The Kawai Family Residence West Storehouse is not open to the public, and the interior cannot be entered. The namako-kabe wall and the porch face into the compound, so a frontal view from the road may not be possible.
Only the exterior can be viewed, from the public road. Take photographs from the road and do not step onto the property.
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Q&A
- When was the Kawai Family Residence West Storehouse built?
- The Agency for Cultural Affairs dates it to 1885, 61 years after the east storehouse.
- Why is the Kawai Family Residence West Storehouse a Registered Tangible Cultural Property?
- Together with the main house and the east storehouse it forms the headman's compound and was judged to contribute to the historic landscape. It was registered on April 28, 2000.
- How large is the Kawai Family Residence West Storehouse?
- It is a 2-storey earthen-walled storehouse with a tiled roof and a footprint of 36 square meters, about 3 by 3 ken, or 5.5 meters a side.
- Where is the namako-kabe on the Kawai Family Residence West Storehouse?
- On the east face, where the door and porch are. The lintel over the door is decorated too.
- Can I go inside the Kawai Family Residence West Storehouse?
- No. It is not open to the public. The exterior can be seen from the public road.
Basic Information
| Name | Kawai Family Residence West Storehouse |
|---|---|
| Location | 1545 Ichishima, Hachiman-cho, Gujo City, Gifu Prefecture |
| Designation | Registered Tangible Cultural Property (Structure) |
| Year Designated | Registered April 28, 2000 |
| Quantity | 1 building |
| Dimensions | Dozo-zukuri, 2 storeys, tiled roof; footprint 36 square meters |
| Owner | Unknown (the Agency's owner field is blank) |
| Public Access | Not open to the public (exterior visible from the public road) |
References
- Database of National Cultural Properties: Kawai Family Residence West Storehouse (Agency for Cultural Affairs, Japanese)
- https://kunishitei.bunka.go.jp/heritage/detail/101/00001615
- Cultural Heritage Online: Kawai Family Residence West Storehouse (Japanese)
- https://online.bunka.go.jp/heritages/detail/148225
Last verified: 2026.10.03
