The black storehouse at the back of the plot
The Sakurai Family Residence New Storehouse (桜井家住宅新蔵, Sakurai-ke Jūtaku Shingura) is a plastered storehouse standing in Makabe, Sakuragawa City, Ibaraki Prefecture, dating from the late Meiji era within the span 1868 to 1911, and it became a Registered Tangible Cultural Property on 17 February 2004.
Its site lies east of the west storehouse, ridge running north to south. Construction is Dozo-zukuri over 2 floors; the roof is Kirizuma-zukuri, covered in Sangawara-buki pantiles. Entry comes on the long eaves side, the manner called Hirairi. The frame runs 4 ken by 2 and a half ken for a building area of 46 square meters, and a plastered canopy 1 ken wide reaches out along the west face, sheltering the working ground beneath it.
The record adds a line that changes how the building reads. It is said to have been the family pawn storehouse, the shichigura, where goods pledged against loans were kept until they were redeemed.
Why the Sakurai Family Residence New Storehouse is on the register
Registration number 08-0118. Under criterion, the entry for the Sakurai Family Residence New Storehouse reads that the building would be difficult to reproduce. The main house and the west storehouse joined the register on that same ground.
Pawnbroking placed this building at the center of the household's business. Makabe had traded cotton, rice and sake since the Edo period, and by the Meiji era local capital, the Makabe Bank among it, was being organized in the town. A storehouse holding pledges had to keep other people's property safe for months at a stretch, a heavier obligation than storing a family's own goods, and it was set at the far end of the plot.
The finish separates it from its neighbor. Where the west storehouse was plastered white, the Sakurai Family Residence New Storehouse was coated in black lime plaster, and the pairing of a pale storehouse with a dark one is the first thing the yard shows.
Buildings of this kind are not rare here. Registered Tangible Cultural Property listings in Makabe run to roughly 100, and about 17.6 hectares at the core of the town became an Important Important Preservation District for Groups of Traditional Buildings in 2010.
Details worth picking out
Look first at the base of the walls. The gable ends and the lower part of the east wall are sheathed in sasarako-shitami, a form of Shitami-itabari with notched battens holding the boards, while the rest stays black Shikkui. The boarding stops at waist height because that is where splash and knocks do their damage.
The eaves are the piece the registration record singles out. Bargeboards are fitted along the gable edges, and the carpentry around the eaves of the Sakurai Family Residence New Storehouse is treated with more care than a purely utilitarian building would need. Storehouses were seen. A merchant house that kept other people's valuables had reason to look solvent.
The white and black pair is the clearest thing to take away from the yard. Two storehouses, one generation apart, one pale and gable-entered, the other dark and entered on its flank, both wrapped in the plaster technique that spread through Makabe after the great fire of 1837.
Visiting the Sakurai Family Residence New Storehouse
The Sakurai Family Residence New Storehouse is inside a private plot and is not open. Sakuragawa City asks visitors to enjoy the registered buildings from outside while walking and to keep off the grounds. This storehouse stands furthest from the road of the four registered Sakurai buildings, so expect a glimpse of roof and upper wall rather than a full elevation.
Photography from the public street is unrestricted, with the courtesies due to an occupied property.
Buses reach the town. From Tsukuba Station on the Tsukuba Express the Tsukubus northern shuttle runs to Tsukubasan-guchi in about 50 minutes, and the Sakuragawa city bus Yamazakura GO carries on for about 20 minutes. From Iwase Station on the JR Mito Line, Yamazakura GO takes roughly 20 to 35 minutes. Get off at Shimo-juku or Kami-juku.
The municipal Makabe Takajōmachi car park at 279-1 Makabe, Makabe-cho, takes vehicles in and out between 9 a.m. and 7 p.m. Parking is free through most of the year and charged during the Makabe Hina Matsuri, usually 4 February to 3 March, and the Makabe Gion Festival from 23 to 26 July.
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Q&A
- Can you go inside the Sakurai Family Residence New Storehouse?
- No. It sits on private ground and is closed to visitors. Sakuragawa City asks that the registered buildings be viewed from outside without entering the site.
- What was the Sakurai Family Residence New Storehouse used for?
- The registration record states that it is said to have served as the family pawn storehouse, holding goods pledged against loans.
- When was the Sakurai Family Residence New Storehouse built?
- The Agency for Cultural Affairs assigns it to the late Meiji era, within the span from 1868 to 1911, making it the later of the two storehouses on the plot.
- Why is the Sakurai Family Residence New Storehouse black?
- Its exterior carries black lime plaster, recorded as such by the Agency for Cultural Affairs, in contrast to the white coating on the west storehouse standing beside it.
- How do you reach the Sakurai Family Residence New Storehouse?
- By bus. From Tsukuba Station take the Tsukubus northern shuttle to Tsukubasan-guchi, about 50 minutes, then Yamazakura GO for about 20 minutes. From Iwase Station on the JR Mito Line, Yamazakura GO takes roughly 20 to 35 minutes. Alight at Shimo-juku or Kami-juku.
Basic Information
| Name | Sakurai Family Residence New Storehouse |
|---|---|
| Location | 409 Makabe, Makabe-cho, Sakuragawa City, Ibaraki Prefecture |
| Designation | Registered Tangible Cultural Property (Structure) |
| Year Designated | Registered in 2004 (Heisei 16) |
| Quantity | 1 building |
| Dimensions | 4 ken by 2 and a half ken, 2-story storehouse, building area 46 square meters |
| Owner | Private individual (no owner name recorded in the Agency for Cultural Affairs database) |
| Public Access | Not open to the public. Partial exterior view from the street only |
References
- Agency for Cultural Affairs, National Cultural Properties Database: Sakurai Family Residence New Storehouse
- https://kunishitei.bunka.go.jp/heritage/detail/101/00003782
- Cultural Heritage Online: Sakurai Family Residence New Storehouse
- https://bunka.nii.ac.jp/heritages/detail/169092
- 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: Walking Makabe, map of registered cultural properties (PDF)
- https://www.city.sakuragawa.lg.jp/data/doc/1487569963_doc_23_1.pdf
- Sakuragawa City: Frequently asked questions on tourism, parking in Makabe
- https://www.city.sakuragawa.lg.jp/faq.php?mode=detail&lc=3&c=26&code=112
- Sakuragawa City: Yamazakura GO city bus timetable (PDF)
- https://www.city.sakuragawa.lg.jp/data/doc/1743411093_doc_23_0.pdf
Last verified: 2026.09.07