Registered Tangible Cultural Properties · Gunma

Fujiu Family Residence Inner Storehouse

Fujiu Family Residence Inner Storehouse: A Vault Joined to the House

An early-Meiji storehouse in Kiryu, Gunma, linked to the Fujiu main house through a ten-mat room, with white plaster walls and fireproof window doors. Private.

Designation Registered Tangible Cultural Properties

Location Gunma

Fujiu Family Residence Inner Storehouse: A Fireproof Vault Built Into the House

The Fujiu Family Residence Inner Storehouse (藤生家住宅内蔵, Fujiu-ke Jūtaku Uchigura) is a two-story earthen-walled Dozo-zukuri storehouse of the early Meiji era, attached to the northwest corner of the main house at the Fujiu family estate in Hirosawa-chō, Kiryu City, Gunma Prefecture, and registered as a Registered Tangible Cultural Property on May 15, 2007.

Most farm storehouses stand apart in the yard. This one is an uchigura, an inner storehouse, tied into the living quarters through a single-story reception room called the kuramae zashiki. The storehouse itself measures 3 by 2 ken, and the registered building area, room included, is 56 square meters.

The Room in Front of the Vault

The kuramae zashiki is what makes the Fujiu Family Residence Inner Storehouse unusual. It is a ten-mat room with a tokonoma alcove and a veranda on the west. Anything taken out of the vault could be laid out right there, a step away from the family rooms, and put back just as easily.

The storehouse was registered for contributing to the historic landscape of the country. Its arrangement of house, reception room and vault shows in plan how a well-off farming family protected its possessions and still kept them within easy reach.

Details Worth Noticing on the Fujiu Inner Storehouse

The walls are finished in white Shikkui lime plaster, with Shitami-itabari clapboard around the base to keep rain splash off the plaster. The entrance is on the south side.

The west wall carries the most telling feature: windows on both floors fitted with hinged, plaster-coated doors. Swung shut, they seal the openings with the same fire-resistant clay as the walls. A storehouse protected its contents only as well as its doors and shutters could be closed.

Visiting the Fujiu Family Residence Inner Storehouse

The Fujiu Family Residence Inner Storehouse sits toward the northwest, behind the main house, so it cannot be seen clearly from the road. Neither the vault nor the reception room is open to visitors.

The estate is a private home. Please remain outside the gates and enjoy the buildings only from the public road.

📍 Plan Your Visit to Gunma: Find tours, activities & transport passes near Fujiu Family Residence Inner Storehouse; [ Kusatsu Onsen & Tomioka Silk Mill Heritage Tours ]

Q&A

QWhy is the Fujiu Family Residence Inner Storehouse called an inner storehouse?: ABecause it is not a free-standing storehouse in the yard. It is connected to the main house through a reception room, placing it inside the living quarters.

QWhat is the reception room in front of the Fujiu Family Residence Inner Storehouse?: AIt is the kuramae zashiki, a single-story ten-mat room with a tokonoma alcove and a west veranda, where goods from the storehouse could be used close to the family rooms.

QWhat are the plastered window doors on the Fujiu Family Residence Inner Storehouse for?: AThe west windows on both floors have hinged plaster-coated doors. Closing them seals the openings and keeps fire out of the storehouse.

QWhen was the Fujiu Family Residence Inner Storehouse built?: AIt dates to the early Meiji era and was registered as a Registered Tangible Cultural Property on May 15, 2007.

QCan I visit the Fujiu Family Residence Inner Storehouse?: ANo. It stands behind the main house as part of a private residence and is not open to the public.

Basic Information

Name	Fujiu Family Residence Inner Storehouse
Location	5-1179 Hirosawacho, Kiryu City, Gunma Prefecture
Designation	Registered Tangible Cultural Property (Building)
Year Designated	Registered May 15, 2007 (54th round, registration no. 10-0215)
Quantity	1 building
Dimensions	Building area 56 square meters including the reception room; storehouse 3 by 2 ken
Owner	Private owner
Public Access	Not open to the public (private residence)