The Storehouse and the Front Garden
West of the main house at the Nishioka Family Residence stands a clay-walled storehouse that does more than store. With its eaves and shuttered windows facing the open ground before the shop, it forms one of the main features of the compound's front garden.
The storehouse rises west of the main house on a north-south ridge. It is a two-story dozo, a clay-walled storehouse, roofed in clay pantile and built in the gabled, eaves-entry form, with a floor area of about 57 square meters. The plan measures five bays by three and a half.
On the east face, eaves shelter two doorways. The south gable carries shuttered windows that open like double doors, the kannon-biraki form, on both floors, with the same on the upper north gable, and two small windows on the lower north gable. Local records place the building in the middle of the Meiji period.
Registration and Its Place in the Compound
The storehouse was entered on the national register of Tangible Cultural Properties on June 9, 2004, gazetted on June 24, together with the main house and shop of the same compound. Registration is the lighter of Japan's two heritage categories, set apart from the stricter designation used for National Treasures and Important Cultural Properties, and it protects the buildings that make up the everyday fabric of a historic town.
Beyond its own form, the storehouse matters for the scene it helps create. It is a main element of the open garden ground in front of the shop, giving that part of the compound its shape. The Nishioka compound began as a sake brewery and later handled miso and soy sauce along with the retail of the nearby brewery's Hananoi sake.
What to Notice
As part of a private property, the storehouse is viewed from the street rather than entered. The east face, with its eaves and paired doorways, and the shuttered kannon-biraki windows on the gables are the features to look for. Plastered walls and few, well-guarded openings are the marks of a storehouse built to resist fire and keep its contents safe.
Standing with the main house it adjoins and the shop set back from the road, the storehouse rounds out the group. The granite marker in front records the registration.
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Visitor Questions
- What is special about this storehouse?
- Besides its own construction, it forms a main feature of the garden ground in front of the shop, shaping that part of the compound. Its east face has eaves over two doorways, and the gables carry shuttered double-leaf windows.
- Can I go inside?
- It is part of a private residence and is normally seen from the street only, like many registered storehouses in Makabe.
- What were these storehouses used for?
- Clay-walled storehouses kept goods safe from fire and damp. This compound was a brewing household, raised first as a sake brewery and later used for miso, soy sauce, and the sale of the Nishioka brewery's sake.
- How does it relate to the Nishioka brewery?
- The Nishioka Family Residence is linked to the Nishioka brewery, selling its Hananoi sake. The working brewery is a short walk away in the same town.
- How do I reach Makabe?
- The town has no railway today. Most visitors come by car, about 20 to 25 minutes from the Sakuragawa-Chikusei interchange, or by local bus from JR Iwase Station on the Mito Line.
Basic Information
| Name | Nishioka Family Residence Storehouse (西岡家住宅土蔵) |
|---|---|
| Location | Kamijuku-machi 56-1, Makabe, Makabe-machi, Sakuragawa City, Ibaraki Prefecture |
| Category | Registered Tangible Cultural Property (Building) |
| Registered | June 9, 2004 (gazetted June 24, 2004) |
| Count | 1 building |
| Structure | Two-story clay-walled storehouse (dozo), pantile roof |
| Floor area | Approx. 57 m2 |
| Period | Meiji period (1868-1911); mid-Meiji per local records |
| Access and viewing | Private residence; exterior viewing from the street |
References
- Agency for Cultural Affairs, National Database of Cultural Properties: Nishioka Family Residence Storehouse
- https://kunishitei.bunka.go.jp/bsys/maindetails/101/00004116
- Sakuragawa City Tourism Association: Makabe and its registered cultural properties
- https://www.kankou-sakuragawa.jp/page/page000255.html
- Sakuragawa City, official site: Makabe Hina Matsuri
- https://www.city.sakuragawa.lg.jp/data/hina_fes/hina_low.html
Last verified: 2026.06.25