A granite storehouse standing south of the main house
The Degawa Family Residence Stone Storehouse is a two-storey granite storehouse of 1937 at 347 Makabe, Makabe-cho, Sakuragawa City, Ibaraki Prefecture, entered on Japan's national register as a Registered Tangible Cultural Property on 12 July 2005. It stands on the southern part of the plot, behind the timber main house, with its ridge running north to south.
The building measures 6.7 metres along the ridge and 4.0 metres across, under a Kirizuma-zukuri gabled roof laid with Sangawara-buki pantiles, and its registered building area is 35 square metres. Because the ridge runs north to south, the long walls face east and west while the gable ends face north and south. The doorway is cut into the northern gable, sheltered by a projecting lean-to hood. North is the side of the main house, so the plan puts the entrance where anyone leaving the house would meet it first.
The walls are laid in granite and measure 325 millimetres thick. Most storehouses in Makabe are Dozo-zukuri, their timber frames wrapped in layer upon layer of mud plaster and lime; the Degawa Family Residence Stone Storehouse instead stacks cut stone. The roof frame above is recorded as Wagoya, the traditional Japanese arrangement of short posts standing on beams, rather than an imported truss. Stone outside, carpentry inside.
The edokiri finish
The Agency for Cultural Affairs record singles out the long walls of the Degawa Family Residence Stone Storehouse, describing careful work in which the stone was laid with an Edokiri finish. Edokiri dresses only a narrow margin around the face of each block to a flat plane and leaves the centre of the face rough. Once the margins line up, the joints read as thin straight lines, and the contrast between the smooth border and the coarse middle catches the light differently across a single wall.
That treatment went on the east and west elevations, the long sides. Nothing about dressing a margin helps the wall stand up or keeps fire out, which is what a storehouse wall is for. The effort went into the faces people would see, and that choice is the clearest statement the building makes about its builder.
The stone has a history of its own. Sakuragawa City reports that the granite of the Tsukuba massif, known by its quarry districts as Makabe stone and Inada stone, was accepted in a submission of February 2024 as one of 55 Heritage Stones recognised worldwide by the International Union of Geological Sciences, the first such recognition in East Asia. Makabe has quarried and worked stone for centuries, so a stone storehouse here is no anomaly. The primary sources consulted do not, however, record where the blocks in this particular building were cut.
What the registration covers, and what is visible
The criterion cited is that the building contributes to the historic landscape of the country, and the register number is 08-0187, from the 46th round. The Degawa Family Residence Stone Storehouse is a Registered Tangible Cultural Property, a lighter status conferred by registration rather than by designation. It went onto the register the same day as the main house on the same plot, number 08-0186, yet the two are counted as separate entries. Around 100 registered properties stand in the Makabe district, and about 17.6 hectares of it were selected as an Important Preservation District for Groups of Traditional Buildings on 29 June 2010.
From the street, the line to follow is the horizontal. Stone laid in courses sends the joints straight across, and that grain runs against the vertical rhythm of posts in the timber building in front. The switch happens inside one property boundary.
A gabled roof means the northern end presents a plain triangle of wall above the doorway, with the hood throwing a patch of shade beneath it. Granite reads very differently depending on the angle of light, and the joints of the Degawa Family Residence Stone Storehouse show up far more sharply in raking evening light than under flat morning sun.
Visiting and access
The Degawa Family Residence Stone Storehouse is privately owned, and neither the interior nor the grounds are open. The walking map published by Sakuragawa City states plainly that registered properties are to be enjoyed from the outside and that visitors should not enter the sites or the buildings. Viewing is from the public road, and since the storehouse sits behind the main house, expect to see only part of it. Nothing prohibits photography, but this is somebody's home.
There is no railway station in Makabe. Iwase on the JR Mito Line is the nearest, about 20 minutes away by taxi according to the city. From Tsukuba Station on the Tsukuba Express, a Tsukuba city bus runs about 50 minutes to Tsukubasanguchi, where a Sakuragawa city bus toward the Iwase municipal office takes about 20 minutes more. Driving, it is about 20 minutes from the Sakuragawa-Chikusei interchange and about 50 minutes from the Tsukuba-kita interchange by National Route 125 and Prefectural Route 41. The Makabe Takagamicho car park at 279-1 Makabe, Makabe-cho takes 65 ordinary vehicles without reservation.
The town's doll festival runs from 4 February to 3 March in most years, drawing crowds and closing some streets to traffic on certain days. Quiet light on a stone wall is easier to find outside those weeks. Journey times and parking were checked in September 2026.
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Q&A
- Can you go inside the Degawa Family Residence Stone Storehouse?
- No. The building is privately owned and neither it nor the grounds are open to visitors. Sakuragawa City asks that registered properties be viewed from outside only. Because the storehouse stands behind the main house at the back of the plot, the view from the public road is partial.
- How is the Degawa Family Residence Stone Storehouse built?
- It is a two-storey granite building measuring 6.7 metres along the ridge and 4.0 metres across, with a registered building area of 35 square metres. The walls are 325 millimetres thick, the gabled roof carries sangawara pantiles, and the roof frame is recorded as a traditional wagoya rather than a Western truss. The doorway opens in the northern gable end under a projecting hood.
- What does edokiri mean on the Degawa Family Residence Stone Storehouse?
- Edokiri is a stone finish in which only a narrow border around each visible face is dressed flat, the centre being left rough. The joints then read as fine straight lines and the wall looks crisp. The Agency for Cultural Affairs record cites this finish on the long walls as a mark of careful workmanship.
- When was the Degawa Family Residence Stone Storehouse registered?
- On 12 July 2005, under register number 08-0187. The building itself dates from 1937. Note the wording: this category is conferred by registration, not by designation, and the two terms are not interchangeable in Japanese heritage law.
- How do you reach the Degawa Family Residence Stone Storehouse?
- Makabe has no station. Iwase on the JR Mito Line is about 20 minutes away by taxi. From Tsukuba Station, take a Tsukuba city bus about 50 minutes to Tsukubasanguchi and change to a Sakuragawa city bus for about 20 minutes. By car it is roughly 20 minutes from the Sakuragawa-Chikusei interchange, with 65 spaces at the Makabe Takagamicho car park.
Basic Information
| Name | Degawa Family Residence Stone Storehouse |
|---|---|
| Location | 347 Makabe, Makabe-cho, Sakuragawa City, Ibaraki Prefecture |
| Designation | Registered Tangible Cultural Property (structure) |
| Year Designated | Registered 2005 (Heisei 17) |
| Quantity | 1 building |
| Dimensions | 6.7 metres along the ridge, 4.0 metres across; walls 325 millimetres thick; building area 35 square metres |
| Owner | Private (no owner name recorded in the Agency for Cultural Affairs national database) |
| Public Access | Not open. Interior and grounds are closed; viewing from the public road only |
References
- Agency for Cultural Affairs, National Cultural Properties Database: Degawa Family Residence Stone Storehouse
- https://kunishitei.bunka.go.jp/heritage/detail/101/00004702
- Cultural Heritage Online: Degawa Family Residence Stone Storehouse
- https://online.bunka.go.jp/heritages/detail/170012
- Agency for Cultural Affairs, National Cultural Properties Database: Degawa Family Residence Main House
- https://kunishitei.bunka.go.jp/heritage/detail/101/00004701
- Sakuragawa City: Makabe Important Preservation District for Groups of Traditional Buildings
- https://www.city.sakuragawa.lg.jp/education/bunkazai/city_bunkazai/kuni_bunkazai/page003423.html
- Ibaraki Prefectural Board of Education: Makabe Important Preservation District
- https://kyoiku.pref.ibaraki.jp/bunkazai/bunkazai-8557/
- Sakuragawa City: Makabe stone recognised as the first IUGS Heritage Stone in East Asia
- https://www.city.sakuragawa.lg.jp/kankou_bunka_sports/news_bunka/page009237.html
- Sakuragawa City: Walking guide to Makabe (PDF)
- https://www.city.sakuragawa.lg.jp/data/doc/1487569963_doc_23_1.pdf
- Sakuragawa City: The townscape of Makabe
- https://www.city.sakuragawa.lg.jp/tourism_guide/learn/page000455.html
- Sakuragawa City: Makabe Hina Matsuri
- https://www.city.sakuragawa.lg.jp/tourism_guide/play/page002066.html
Last verified: 2026.09.07