A Storehouse Built for Cloth
The Kimono Storehouse of the Koyano Museum of Art Nishiwaki Building (コヤノ美術館西脇館（旧藤井家住宅）衣装蔵, Koyano Bijutsukan Nishiwaki-kan, Ishōgura, formerly the Fujii Family Residence) is a two-storey plastered storehouse in Ichihara-cho, Nishiwaki City, Hyogo Prefecture, built in the late Meiji period and entered on Japan's national register of Tangible Cultural Properties on 17 November 2015.
Its job was narrow. It held the household's clothing, and nothing else. In most farming families of the period, textiles lived in chests inside the house. The Fujii family gave them a building of their own, 79 square metres in footprint, walled thickly enough to slow a fire and to hold the interior steady through a humid Harima summer.
The construction type is dozō: a timber frame packed with clay and finished on the outside in white lime plaster. The ridge runs east to west beneath a roof of sangawara pantiles. Along the south face a lean-to roof, called a geya, projects to shelter two separate doorways, so one end could be opened for access without unsealing the whole interior.
The storehouse stands northwest of the main house and closes one side of an inner courtyard. Its long flank forms the northern edge of the walled estate.
The family who built it were no ordinary landowners. Fujii Shigekichi put his own money into the construction of the Kajiya railway line and had a hand in founding the Nishiwaki Commercial Bank. The house he left behind occupies roughly 3,000 square metres.
Why the Storehouse Was Registered
Japan runs two parallel systems for architectural heritage, and the difference matters when reading any Japanese property's status. Designation (shitei) covers a small number of buildings of outstanding national importance and brings strict controls. Registration (tōroku), introduced in 1996, is the lighter instrument: it records buildings worth keeping and asks owners to give notice before altering them. It was designed for structures that remain in use, which is exactly what happened here.
The Kimono Storehouse carries register number 28-0631 and was accepted in the 82nd round of registrations, under the criterion for buildings that contribute to the historic landscape of the country.
It was not registered alone. The main house of the former Fujii residence had gone onto the register on 24 December 2013. Eight further structures joined it on 17 November 2015, bringing the estate to nine registered entries in total. Hyogo Prefecture added the property to its own list of buildings important to the regional landscape in 2017.
What this particular building contributes to the group is evidence of specialisation. A separate rice storehouse stands on the same grounds under its own registration. A household able to devote one structure to grain and a second to clothing was working at a scale that most rural families in Meiji Hyogo never approached.
What to Look For Inside
Both floors are cut into an eastern half and a western half by a thick internal wall, and the two halves are framed differently overhead. The east side uses noboribari, beams that climb with the pitch of the roof. The west side uses curved beams set within a Japanese-style truss, a wagoya. Stand on the upper floor, look up, and the change reads clearly once you know it is there.
That dividing wall was fire policy rather than planning convenience. Splitting the volume in two gave a fire starting on one side a solid barrier to cross.
The storehouses now serve as exhibition rooms. Tatsuo Koyano, the museum's director, spent decades gathering antiques, folk implements and craftwork, and the displays change once a year, so the shelves on a second visit will not hold what they held on the first.
A guide accompanies every visit and the full circuit of the estate takes one to two hours. Photography indoors is allowed; flash and tripods are not, and unmanned aircraft may not be flown over the grounds. The museum opens on Sundays from 10:00 to 17:00, closing at 16:00 during December, January and February, and weekday visits can be arranged in advance. It shuts over the New Year period while the exhibits are swapped.
Come in spring and the cherry trees outside the neighbouring Kajiya Line Ichihara Station memorial hall, two minutes away on foot, are in flower.
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Q&A
- Can visitors see the Kimono Storehouse at the Koyano Museum of Art Nishiwaki Building, and when is it open?
- Yes. The storehouse sits within the museum grounds and is included in the guided circuit. The museum opens on Sundays, 10:00 to 17:00, with a 16:00 close in December, January and February. Weekday visits can be booked in advance by telephone. The museum closes over the New Year period for the annual change of displays.
- How much is admission to the Koyano Museum of Art Nishiwaki Building?
- Adults pay 1,000 yen and elementary or junior high school students pay 300 yen, with a 900 yen rate for groups of 18 or more. An annual pass costs 2,800 yen. The adult rate rose from 800 yen on 11 January 2025, so older listings may still quote the earlier figure.
- When was the Kimono Storehouse of the former Fujii Family Residence built?
- The Agency for Cultural Affairs database places it in the late Meiji period, between 1898 and 1912. The main house is older, dating to 1890, and was registered two years ahead of the storehouse.
- How do I reach the Koyano Museum of Art Nishiwaki Building from the nearest station?
- Nishiwaki-shi Station on the JR Kakogawa Line is the closest railway station, about ten minutes away by taxi or twenty minutes by city bus, which runs roughly hourly. Direct highway buses serve Nishiwaki (Apika) from Osaka, Shin-Osaka and Sannomiya, leaving a taxi ride of about seven minutes. There is parking on site, with room for coaches.
- Can I photograph the Kimono Storehouse and the other buildings on the site?
- Personal photography is permitted inside and out. Flash and tripods are not allowed, and location or commercial shooting requires prior arrangement with the museum. Sharing your own images on social media is fine; selling them is not, without agreement.
Basic Information
| Name | Koyano Museum of Art Nishiwaki Building (former Fujii Family Residence) Kimono Storehouse / コヤノ美術館西脇館（旧藤井家住宅）衣装蔵 |
|---|---|
| Location | 139 Aza-Hirohatake, Ichihara-cho, Nishiwaki City, Hyogo Prefecture |
| Designation | Registered Tangible Cultural Property (Structure), register no. 28-0631 |
| Year Designated | 2015 (registered 17 November) |
| Quantity | 1 building |
| Dimensions | Two-storey dozō construction, tiled roof, building area 79 m² |
| Owner | Koyano Co., Ltd. |
| Public Access | Open Sundays as part of the Koyano Museum of Art Nishiwaki Building; weekdays by advance reservation |
References
- National Cultural Properties Database, Agency for Cultural Affairs — Koyano Museum of Art Nishiwaki Building (former Fujii Family Residence) Kimono Storehouse
- https://kunishitei.bunka.go.jp/heritage/detail/101/00010861
- Cultural Heritage Online — Koyano Museum of Art Nishiwaki Building (former Fujii Family Residence) Kimono Storehouse
- https://online.bunka.go.jp/heritages/detail/276926
- Cultural Heritage Online — Koyano Museum of Art Nishiwaki Building (former Fujii Family Residence) Main House
- https://online.bunka.go.jp/heritages/detail/270866
- Koyano Museum of Art, official site — Nishiwaki Building
- https://koyafron.co.jp/museum/nishiwaki/index.html
- Koyano Museum of Art, official site — Access
- https://koyafron.co.jp/museum/nishiwaki/access.html
- Nishiwaki Tourism and Products Association — Koyano Museum of Art Nishiwaki Building
- https://www.nishiwaki-kanko.jp/guide/sightseeing/koyanobijutsukan.html
Last verified: 2026.08.26