The Oldest Building on the Site
The Hirota Family Residence Storehouse (廣田家住宅土蔵) is an earthen-walled storehouse of 1848 (Kōka 5) in Kamisakabe 2-chome, Amagasaki City, Hyogo Prefecture, and was registered as a Registered Tangible Cultural Property (structure) on 24 June 2021 (Agency for Cultural Affairs).
The Agency records it as a two-storey dozo-zukuri earthen storehouse with a tiled roof and 23 square metres of building area, registered for contributing to the historic landscape of the country; registration number 28-0761.
The Hirota Family Residence Storehouse stands north of the main house, right on the northern boundary of the plot, with the north annex built against its east side. The Agency for Cultural Affairs identifies it as the oldest building on the site, about sixty years older than the main house of 1908.
Construction
The storehouse is a two-storey dozo-zukuri building, three bays by two. Its kirizuma-zukuri gabled roof is laid in hongawarabuki tiles, with the ridge running east to west. The door opens near the east end of the south wall.
The walls are finished in shikkui plaster carried up to the hachimaki band under the eaves, with vertical boarding round the base. Both floors are single undivided rooms.
Why It Was Registered
The Agency values the Hirota Family Residence Storehouse as a building that shows the layout of a prosperous farming homestead. Its date of 1848 is also a clue that the family's household stood here well before the Meiji main house was built, though no published record describes the house that stood here then.
What to Look For
The walls of the Hirota Family Residence Storehouse are finished in white shikkui plaster carried right up to the hachimaki, the thickened band beneath the eaves, with vertical boarding protecting the base. The hachimaki was built up to keep fire from creeping in at the eaves, and it reads from outside as a broad white band.
Unlike the other buildings on the property, the storehouse is roofed in hongawarabuki, alternating flat and round tiles, rather than the simpler sangawara-buki used on the annex and gatehouse. The heavier ribbing of the tiles gives the difference away. The Agency database includes a photograph of the west side.
Visiting
The Hirota Family Residence Storehouse stands at the back of the plot on its northern edge and, as part of a private home, is not open to the public; Amagasaki City states that the residence does not admit visitors. Its exterior can be seen in the Agency database photograph.
Q&A
- When was the Hirota Family Residence Storehouse built?
- In 1848 (Kōka 5). The Agency for Cultural Affairs calls it the oldest building on the site, dating from the closing years of the shogunate.
- How is the Hirota Family Residence Storehouse built?
- It is a two-storey earthen storehouse, three bays by two, with a gabled roof of alternating flat and round tiles, plaster walls carried up to the eaves band, and vertical boarding at the base. Each floor is a single room.
- Is the Hirota Family Residence Storehouse older than the main house?
- Yes. The storehouse dates from 1848 and the main house from 1908, about sixty years later.
- Can I visit the Hirota Family Residence Storehouse?
- No. It is part of a private home, and Amagasaki City states that the residence is not open to the public.
- When was the Hirota Family Residence Storehouse registered?
- On 24 June 2021 (Agency for Cultural Affairs).
Basic Information
| Name | Hirota Family Residence Storehouse (廣田家住宅土蔵) |
|---|---|
| Location | 162 Kamisakabe 2-chome, Amagasaki City, Hyogo Prefecture |
| Designation | Registered Tangible Cultural Property (Structure) |
| Year Designated | Registered 2021/6/24 (Reiwa 3) |
| Quantity | 1 building |
| Dimensions | Two-storey dozo-zukuri, tiled (hongawarabuki), building area 23 square metres, 3 by 2 bays |
| Owner | Not listed in the Agency database (private residence) |
| Public Access | Not open to the public (private residence) |
References
- Agency for Cultural Affairs, Database of National Cultural Properties: Hirota Family Residence Storehouse (in Japanese)
- https://kunishitei.bunka.go.jp/bsys/maindetails/101/00013858
- Cultural Heritage Online: Hirota Family Residence Storehouse (in Japanese)
- https://online.bunka.go.jp/heritages/detail/519907
- Amagasaki City: Hirota Family Residence, registered cultural properties of Amagasaki (in Japanese)
- https://www.city.amagasaki.hyogo.jp/manabu/bunkazai_0/1028308/1028313/1028798.html
Last verified: 2026.10.19
