A two-storey godown in the far corner of the plot
The Murakami Family Residence Storehouse is a Dozo-zukuri godown of around 1902 in the Takajōmachi block of Makabe, Sakuragawa City, Ibaraki Prefecture, entered on the national register as a Registered Tangible Cultural Property on 12 July 2005. It occupies the northeast corner of the plot, east of the annex, with its ridge running north and south.
The building measures 3.5 bays by 2, under a gabled Kirizuma-zukuri roof of Sangawara-buki pantiles, entered on the eaves side in Hirairi fashion. It rises two storeys and covers 33 square metres. That is small beside the main house, yet the mass reads heavier, because the walls are thick enough to change the proportions of everything they enclose.
A mud-plastered canopy reaches out over the west face. It shelters the Tomae, the doorway of the godown, from rain and from sparks. Hung in that doorway is a pair of fire doors that close inward on each other. One window, and one only, breaks the south gable at first-floor level, and it too carries a matching pair of fire shutters. Openings were kept to the minimum, and every opening that remained was made to shut.
A building shaped by fear of fire
The criterion recorded for the Murakami Family Residence Storehouse is contribution to the historic landscape of the country, under register number 08-0183. Godowns survive in such numbers here, and are listed in such numbers, because Makabe once lost itself to a fire.
In the Edo period the town belonged to the Kasama domain and a Jinya administrative post stood at its centre. Roofs were mostly thatch. The great fire of 1837 ended that. The jinya was rebuilt with tiles and a hipped-gable roof, merchants turned to shop storehouses and godowns, and the oldest buildings standing in the town today date from the years right after the blaze. This storehouse is much later, a Meiji building, but its logic descends directly from that moment.
In dozo construction the timber frame disappears. Posts and tie beams are buried under layers of mud plaster and finished in Shikkui lime, so that nothing combustible faces outward and the heat of a neighbouring fire is held at the wall. Minimal openings, doubled shutters: the Murakami Family Residence Storehouse is that principle built at domestic scale.
More than 300 shop storehouses, godowns and gates remain in the town centre, roughly 100 of them nationally registered. Selection as an Important Preservation District for Groups of Traditional Buildings came on 29 June 2010 over about 17.6 hectares. The 2011 Great East Japan Earthquake then hit this district harder than any other preservation district in the country, damaging over 90 percent of its traditional buildings. Heavy plastered walls do badly in a long shake, and repair work has continued since.
Where you can and cannot see it
Plainly put, the Murakami Family Residence Storehouse is barely visible from the road. Sitting in the northeast corner puts it as far from the street as the plot allows, and from in front of the gate a visitor catches only part of a gable above the roof of the main house. It is still worth picking out.
Look for the white margin under the tiles. On a godown the plaster wraps up into the gable and around the eaves soffit, so a thick pale band appears beneath the roof edge, quite unlike the exposed timber eaves of the house and the annex in front of it. Height helps too: being two storeys, this storehouse clears the single-storey roofs around it by a head.
Walk the streets of Makabe and the same construction keeps appearing in different positions. Some godowns face the road squarely as shopfronts, some flank the main house, and some, like this one, hide at the back of the plot. Position tells you purpose. A storehouse put on show was selling something; a storehouse put out of sight was keeping something.
Practical notes for a visit
The Murakami Family Residence Storehouse forms part of a private home and its interior is closed. Because it stands deep in the plot, even the exterior can only be glimpsed at certain angles from the road. The registered cultural property map issued by Sakuragawa City states that listed buildings are not open and asks visitors not to enter the grounds, so approaching the godown itself is not an option.
Photography is limited to what can be taken from the public road. Aiming a lens over the boundary wall into the property is best avoided.
Anyone who wants a closer understanding of how these godowns are built should call at the history museum in Makabe Denshokan, 198 Makabe, open 9:00 a.m. to 4:30 p.m., admission free, closed Mondays. One room explains the registered buildings of the district through old photographs and scale models, and models make the position of a rear-plot storehouse far easier to grasp than a street view ever will.
Getting here: from Iwase Station on the JR Mito Line, the Yamazakura GO city bus reaches Makabe in about 20 minutes for a flat 200 yen, with Suica, PASMO and similar cards accepted. From Tsukuba Station, the Tsukuba-san Shuttle runs about 50 minutes to Tsukuba-san Guchi, then the city bus covers the last 20 minutes. Drivers leave the Kita-Kanto Expressway at Sakuragawa-Chikusei, take National Route 50 and Prefectural Route 41, and park at Takajōmachi car park, 279-1 Makabe, normally free of charge.
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Q&A
- Can I go inside the Murakami Family Residence Storehouse, or see it from outside?
- The interior is closed. Standing in the northeast corner of the plot, the godown shows only as part of a gable above the roof of the main house when seen from the road, and Sakuragawa City asks visitors not to enter the grounds of listed buildings.
- How is the Murakami Family Residence Storehouse built?
- It is a two-storey dozo godown of 3.5 bays by 2, covering 33 square metres, with a gabled tiled roof entered on the eaves side. A mud-plastered canopy shelters the west doorway, which carries inward-closing fire doors, and the single window in the south gable has fire shutters of its own.
- When was the Murakami Family Residence Storehouse built and listed?
- Built around 1902 and placed on the national register as a Registered Tangible Cultural Property on 12 July 2005 under number 08-0183. The main house, the annex and the front gate on the same plot were listed the same day.
- Why does Makabe have so many godowns like the Murakami Family Residence Storehouse?
- The great fire of 1837 changed how the town built. After thatched houses burned, merchant families chose plastered storehouse construction instead. Over 300 shop storehouses, godowns and gates survive in the town centre, about 100 of them nationally registered.
- How do I get to the Murakami Family Residence Storehouse, and where can I park?
- Ride the Yamazakura GO city bus about 20 minutes from Iwase Station on the JR Mito Line, a flat 200 yen. From Tsukuba Station, take the shuttle to Tsukuba-san Guchi and change buses. By car, exit at Sakuragawa-Chikusei, follow National Route 50 and Prefectural Route 41, and use Takajōmachi car park, normally free.
Basic Information
| Name | Murakami Family Residence Storehouse |
|---|---|
| Location | 232 Takajomachi, Makabe, Makabecho, Sakuragawa City, Ibaraki Prefecture |
| Designation | Registered Tangible Cultural Property (Structure) |
| Year Designated | Registered in 2005 (Heisei 17) |
| Quantity | 1 building |
| Dimensions | 2-storey dozo construction, sangawara tiled roof, building area 33 square metres |
| Owner | Private. No owner name recorded in the Agency for Cultural Affairs database |
| Public Access | Not open. Standing deep in the plot, it is only partly visible from the street |
References
- Agency for Cultural Affairs, National Cultural Properties Database: Murakami Family Residence Storehouse
- https://kunishitei.bunka.go.jp/heritage/detail/101/00004698
- 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 Preservation District, Sakuragawa City
- https://kyoiku.pref.ibaraki.jp/bunkazai/bunkazai-8557/
- Sakuragawa City: Registered Cultural Property Map (reverse)
- https://www.city.sakuragawa.lg.jp/data/doc/1487569963_doc_23_1.pdf
- Sakuragawa City: Makabe Denshokan History Museum
- https://www.city.sakuragawa.lg.jp/education/bunkazai/page006835.html
- Sakuragawa City: Yamazakura GO city bus service
- https://www.city.sakuragawa.lg.jp/kurashi/koutsu/page005762.html
Last verified: 2026.09.08