The Inner Storehouse
The Shimanaka Family Residence Storehouse (島中家住宅蔵, Shimanaka-ke Jūtaku Kura) is an earthen-walled storehouse built in the early Meiji era, between 1868 and 1882, in Oshokita 2-chome, Amagasaki City, Hyogo Prefecture, and listed as a Registered Tangible Cultural Property in 2021.
It is joined directly to the north side of the main house and opened from the innermost room. This is not a storehouse out in the yard but one held within the household, and in its note on the neighbouring middle storehouse the Agency for Cultural Affairs refers to it as the uchigura, the inner storehouse.
Measuring 3 by 2 bays, it is a two-storey building in dozo-zukuri construction, with thick clay walls finished in plaster, and covers 23 square metres. It is the largest of the three storehouses on the property and the only one with an upper floor.
Why It Was Registered
The storehouse received registration number 28-0754 in the 99th round of national registrations, dated 2021/6/24, for contributing to the historic landscape of the country.
The Agency makes a point of noting that it is the biggest of the adjoining storehouses. The rear view of the homestead, with storehouses stepping down in size from west to east, begins here. The Shimanaka Family Residence Storehouse also preserves, inside and out, the arrangement of a storehouse built into the house itself.
What to Look For
A roof set on top
The gabled roof, kirizuma-zukuri in form, is laid with hongawara, the heavier tiling of alternating round and flat tiles. It is an okiyane, a roof built separately and set over the clay-sealed top of the storehouse. If fire took the roof, the earthen body beneath it was meant to survive.
Plaster band and board cladding
The walls are plastered up to the hachimaki, the thick band just under the eaves. Below that they are clad all over in vertical boards. The boarding shields the clay walls from rain and wind and can be replaced when it wears. The white band above the dark boards is the most striking thing about the outside of the Shimanaka Family Residence Storehouse.
A double doorway
The entrance has two sets of doors: a heavy single sliding door for fire and security, and a pair of sliding lattice doors that presumably let air in while the heavy door stood open. Inside, both floors are single open rooms.
Older than the house it adjoins
The national database dates the storehouse to 1868 to 1882 and the main house it is attached to to 1886. The storehouse is therefore the older of the two, but no source we found explains why.
Visiting
The storehouse is part of a private home and is not open; as of October 2026 we found no announcement of open days. It stands within the homestead, north of the main house, and we have not checked how much of it can be seen from outside. Please stay off the grounds and respect the residents' privacy.
A photograph of the west side is published in the Agency for Cultural Affairs database.
Q&A
- When was the Shimanaka Family Residence Storehouse built?
- The Agency for Cultural Affairs dates it to the early Meiji era, between 1868 and 1882, which makes it older than the main house of 1886 to which it is attached.
- Can I visit the Shimanaka Family Residence Storehouse?
- 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 do you get into the Shimanaka Family Residence Storehouse?
- Through the main house: the storehouse is joined to its north side and opened from the innermost room. The doorway has a heavy sliding door and a pair of lattice doors.
- How does the Shimanaka Family Residence Storehouse differ from the other storehouses?
- It is the largest of the three, at 23 square metres against 15 square metres for the middle storehouse and 12 square metres for the east storehouse, and the only one with two storeys.
- What is the okiyane roof on the Shimanaka Family Residence Storehouse?
- A roof built separately and set over the clay-sealed top of the storehouse, so that the earthen body could survive a fire. Here it is a gabled roof with hongawara tiling.
Basic Information
| Name | Shimanaka Family Residence Storehouse (島中家住宅蔵) |
|---|---|
| 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 | Dozo-zukuri, two storeys, tiled roof, building area 23 square metres (3 by 2 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 Storehouse
- https://kunishitei.bunka.go.jp/bsys/maindetails/101/00013851
- Cultural Heritage Online: Shimanaka Family Residence Storehouse (Japanese)
- https://online.bunka.go.jp/heritages/detail/591550
Last verified: 2026.10.08
