Ota Family Residence North Storehouse

What the Ota Family Residence North Storehouse Is

The Ota Family Residence North Storehouse (太田家住宅北土蔵, Ōta-ke Jūtaku Kita Dozō) is a late Meiji storehouse, dated to between 1898 and 1912, that was moved in the early Showa era to the northeast corner of the Ota family estate in Saijo-Okamachi, Higashihiroshima City, Hiroshima Prefecture; it was entered on the national register as a Registered Tangible Cultural Property on 4 February 2021.

It is a two-storey Dozo-zukuri storehouse with a gabled Kirizuma-zukuri roof in red pantiles and a ridge running north to south. The footprint is 24 square metres. The door is in the south gable, sheltered by a small roof.

Only two of the six registered structures on the lot date from the Meiji era: the main house and the Ota Family Residence North Storehouse. Where the storehouse originally stood is not recorded in the published sources.

Why the Ota Family Residence North Storehouse Was Registered

The Ota Family Residence North Storehouse was registered for contributing to the historic landscape of the nation.

The Agency for Cultural Affairs describes it as the building that gives shape to the back of the estate. If the main house and south storehouse are the public face along the highway, the Ota Family Residence North Storehouse and the gate beside it form the rear elevation. With a storehouse at each end, the plan of the estate feels complete.

Its history adds interest. The reason for the move is not recorded, but the result is that a Meiji storehouse was folded into the early Showa reworking of the estate, the same period that produced the tea room building, the annex, and the gate and fence.

What to Look For

A Tiled Drip Course Between Floors

A narrow band of tiled roofing wraps around the Ota Family Residence North Storehouse at the line between the ground and upper floors. This mizukiri throws rainwater clear of the wall below, and visually it draws a single horizontal stroke across the white walls.

Door and Window on the South Gable

The door sits in the south gable under its own small roof, and the upper window on the same face has a tiled hood as well. Together with the drip course, that gives the gable three stacked lines of tile, easiest to read if you look up at it from the south.

A Roof Frame Built on Curved Beams

Inside, the roof is carried on naturally bowed beams, with a secondary beam laid across them and short posts rising to the ridge. The builders used the curve of the timber rather than fighting it. The interior of the Ota Family Residence North Storehouse is closed, so this detail is known from the official record rather than from a visit.

Visiting the Ota Family Residence North Storehouse

The Ota Family Residence North Storehouse stands in the northeast part of the estate, close to the north gate. The interior was not open to the public as of September 2026.

From the old highway the main house blocks the view, so the approach is from the lane on the north side of the lot, looking toward the gate. The Ota Family Residence North Storehouse stands inside the fence line; please view it only from the road.