The Only Three-Storey Storehouse in Shiraichi
Storehouses in old merchant towns are usually one or two storeys. The Ihara family built theirs three high. Standing to the north-east of the main house, this compact kura rises through three floors on a footprint of just 23 square metres, and it is the only three-storey storehouse in Shiraichi. The reason is practical: on a tight town plot, building upward was the way to add storage without buying more land.
The storehouse is a dozō, a fire-resistant building of thick, plastered earthen walls, roofed with pantiles in the gabled kirizuma form with its entrance on the gable end. A lean-to shelters the doorway on the south side. The white lime plaster is carried right up over the eaves so that no timber is exposed, and three raised horizontal bands (jōgi-suji) run around the walls; the lower section, the koshi, is finished in black lime plaster. Each floor is a single boarded room, with iron-shuttered windows opening to the east, and the top floor is finished with a saobuchi ceiling of slender battens. Built in the early Taishō period, roughly between 1912 and 1918, it is the newest of the four registered Ihara structures.
A Storehouse Built on Cast Metal
A family did not build a storehouse like this unless it had a good deal worth storing. The Ihara were imoji, casters of iron and bronze, and by the early twentieth century theirs was a long-established trade. An early ancestor is said to have trained under a caster in Kaita, in old Aki district, before the family set up independently in the Bunka era of the early 1800s. Later generations, all bearing the name Sōjūrō, are credited in family accounts with casting lanterns for the Kyoto Imperial Palace and the bronze lantern at Itsukushima Shrine, and with service as chief caster to the Hiroshima domain.
The foundry itself stood on the hillside behind the residence, and metalworking continued there into the early Shōwa era before the business finally closed. This storehouse, going up in the Taishō years, belongs to that later phase of the family's fortunes: a house at its commercial height, investing in a tall, well-plastered strongroom for its valuables and household goods. Shiraichi had grown wealthy as a market and post town, holding cattle and horse fairs from the early Edo period and sitting on the roads that linked Hiroshima, Kure, Takehara, Onomichi and Miyoshi, and the Ihara storehouse reads as one household's share in that prosperity.
Reading the Walls
Much of the interest of a storehouse of this kind is in its surfaces. The thickly plastered walls, the black-plastered lower band, the moulded jōgi-suji lines and the iron shutters were all defences against fire and theft, but they were also worked with a plasterer's care, so that a purely functional building carries a quiet finish. Because each floor is a single room stacked over the next, the interior gives an unusually clear sense of how a town storehouse was organised for height.
The three-storey storehouse was registered as a national tangible cultural property on 13 March 2025, one of four Ihara structures listed together with the main house, the detached quarters and tea room, and the gate and wall. It was recognised as an element contributing to the historic character of the national landscape. The storehouse is normally closed to the public and stands within a privately owned and inhabited plot, so it is best appreciated from the street; visitors are asked to respect the owners' privacy. The wider Shiraichi townscape, with its red-tiled houses climbing the old road, is freely open to walk.
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Q&A
- What makes this storehouse unusual?
- It has three storeys, which is rare for a town storehouse and unique in Shiraichi. Building upward let the family add storage on a small plot without taking more ground.
- When was it built, and what was it for?
- In the early Taishō period, about 1912 to 1918. It served as a storehouse for the family's valuables and household goods, at a time when the Ihara ironcasting business was prospering.
- What is the black band along the bottom of the walls?
- That is the koshi, the lower section of wall, finished here in black lime plaster. Above it the white plaster carries up over the eaves, and three raised horizontal lines run around the building.
- Can I go inside the storehouse?
- Normally no. It is a private building on a lived-in plot and is not routinely open. Please view it from the street and respect the owners' privacy.
- Where does it stand in relation to the main house?
- To the north-east of the main house, on the same plot as the detached quarters and tea room. All four registered structures belong to the Ihara Sōjūrō Residence.
Basic Information
| Name | Ihara Sōjūrō Family Residence, Three-Storey Storehouse (Ihara Sōjūrō-ke Jūtaku Sankai-gura) |
|---|---|
| Location | 1080 Shiraichi, Takaya-chō, Higashihiroshima, Hiroshima Prefecture |
| Category | Registered Tangible Cultural Property (Building); registered 13 March 2025 |
| Registration No. | 34-0316 |
| Date | Early Taishō period (approx. 1912–1918) |
| Structure | Earthen-walled dozō construction, three storeys, pantile roof; building area approx. 23 m²; one building |
| Access | Normally closed to the public; privately owned. View from the street |
References
- National Database of Designated Cultural Properties (Agency for Cultural Affairs) — Ihara Sōjūrō Family Residence Three-Storey Storehouse
- https://kunishitei.bunka.go.jp/bsys/maindetails/101/00015377
- City of Higashihiroshima — Two Shiraichi townhouses newly registered (Ihara Sōjūrō and Ōfuji residences)
- https://www.city.higashihiroshima.lg.jp/soshiki/kyoikuiinkaishogaigakushu/3/16/1/41583.html
- City of Higashihiroshima — Registered Tangible Cultural Property: Ihara Sōjūrō Family Residence Main House and three others
- https://www.city.higashihiroshima.lg.jp/soshiki/kyoikuiinkaishogaigakushu/3/11/bunkazai/town/takaya/42881.html
- Higashihiroshima Tourism (Higashiru) — The Shiraichi townscape
- https://higashihiroshima-kanko.jp/spot/shiraichi-townscape/
Last verified: 2026.07.04