A Shed at the End of the Row
The Shimanaka Family Residence Barn (島中家住宅納屋, Shimanaka-ke Jūtaku Naya) is a small timber barn built in the mid-Meiji era, between 1883 and 1897, in Oshokita 2-chome, Amagasaki City, Hyogo Prefecture, and listed as a Registered Tangible Cultural Property in 2021.
It stands at the east end of the row of three storehouses on the north edge of the Shimanaka homestead, just beyond the east storehouse. At 1 and a half by 1 bays and 5.9 square metres, it is the smallest of the five registered buildings, roughly a fortieth of the size of the main house.
The Agency for Cultural Affairs describes the Shimanaka Family Residence Barn as a small barn standing close beside the large, medium and small storehouses. One timber shed added to the line of earthen stores rounds off the north side of the property at its eastern end.
Why It Was Registered
The barn received registration number 28-0757 in the 99th round of national registrations, dated 2021/6/24, for contributing to the historic landscape of the country.
Barns were standard on homesteads of this kind, but because they are small and plain they are among the first buildings to be replaced or pulled down. Surviving together with the Meiji storehouses, the Shimanaka Family Residence Barn shows how the service buildings of the property were arranged.
What to Look For
Built differently from the storehouses
The barn is a single-storey building with a gabled kirizuma-zukuri roof of lighter sangawara-buki pan tiles. The three storehouses beside it all have heavy hongawara tiling over thick dozo-zukuri clay walls. The barn instead is built in shinkabe style, its posts left visible, with plastered panels and vertical board cladding. Side by side, the difference in status between store and shed is plain to see.
A shared wall
The Agency's note says the barn's east side is open and that it shares the outer wall of the east storehouse. Since the barn stands east of that storehouse, it most likely uses the storehouse wall as one of its own and leaves part of the remaining sides open. The wording about which side is open is hard to square with the layout, so the database photograph is the best guide to the actual form.
One earth-floored room
The door is a single sliding board door on the south side. Inside is one doma room with an earth floor, and a post in each gable end carries the ridge beam directly: the simplest kind of frame for a building this small.
Later than the storehouses
The storehouses are dated to 1868 to 1882, the Shimanaka Family Residence Barn to 1883 to 1897. It appears to have been added at the end of the row once the storehouses were already standing.
Visiting
The barn is part of a private home and is not open; as of October 2026 we found no announcement of open days. We have not checked how much of it can be seen from outside the property. Please stay off the grounds and respect the residents' privacy.
A photograph taken from the south-east is published in the Agency for Cultural Affairs database.
Q&A
- When was the Shimanaka Family Residence Barn built?
- The Agency for Cultural Affairs dates it to the mid-Meiji era, between 1883 and 1897, later than the three storehouses beside it.
- Can I visit the Shimanaka Family Residence Barn?
- No. It is part of a private home and, as of October 2026, there were no announced public openings. The national database has a photograph of the exterior.
- How big is the Shimanaka Family Residence Barn?
- It measures 1 and a half by 1 bays, with a building area of 5.9 square metres, the smallest of the five registered buildings.
- How is the Shimanaka Family Residence Barn different from the storehouses?
- The storehouses are clay-walled dozo-zukuri buildings with hongawara tiling; the barn is timber-framed in shinkabe style with pan tiles, plaster and board cladding, and it shares the east storehouse's outer wall.
- What is inside the Shimanaka Family Residence Barn?
- A single earth-floored room. A post in each gable end supports the ridge beam directly. The entrance is a sliding board door on the south side.
Basic Information
| Name | Shimanaka Family Residence Barn (島中家住宅納屋) |
|---|---|
| Location | 126 Oshokita 2-chome, Amagasaki City, Hyogo Prefecture |
| Designation | Registered Tangible Cultural Property (Building) |
| Year Designated | Registered 2021/6/24 (Reiwa 3) |
| Quantity | 1 building |
| Dimensions | Timber, single storey, tiled roof, building area 5.9 square metres (1 and a half by 1 bays) |
| Owner | Not listed in the Agency for Cultural Affairs database (private residence) |
| Public Access | Not open to the public (private residence; no openings announced) |
References
- Agency for Cultural Affairs, Database of National Cultural Properties: Shimanaka Family Residence Barn
- https://kunishitei.bunka.go.jp/bsys/maindetails/101/00013854
- Cultural Heritage Online: Shimanaka Family Residence Barn (Japanese)
- https://online.bunka.go.jp/heritages/detail/586733
Last verified: 2026.10.08
