What the Yaguchi Family Residence Grain Storehouse is
The Yaguchi Family Residence Grain Storehouse is a single-storey clay-walled storehouse of the early Meiji era in the Sakurai district of Makabe, Sakuragawa City, Ibaraki Prefecture, entered in the national register as a Registered Tangible Cultural Property on 12 July 2005 under registration number 08-0196. It covers 66 square metres.
It stands on the western plot, east of the rear storehouse, with its ridge running north to south. The building is 6 by 3 bays under a Kirizuma-zukuri gable of Sangawara-buki pantiles. The Agency for Cultural Affairs record calls it tall for a single storey, and that phrase catches the Yaguchi Family Residence Grain Storehouse exactly: the eaves are carried high without a second floor being added.
On the street-facing eastern wall, toward the north, a Geya lean-to one bay deep is built out over a doorway hung with hinged fire doors. Roofing the point where goods came in and out was a decision made with wet weather in mind.
The name says what it held: grain. The Yaguchi household, headmen here since the early Edo period, pressed oil and brewed soy sauce in the late Edo years and reeled silk in the Meiji era. Through all of it the need to store rice and other grain stayed with the property.
Why it is registered
The Yaguchi Family Residence Grain Storehouse is listed under the criterion for buildings that contribute to the historic landscape. Three storehouses stand along the western side of the road, stone, rear and grain, their ridges all running north to south. It is the repetition that shapes this side of the street, and the repetition rather than any single elevation that carries the listing.
The survival of a grain store on the property means something as well. Makabe grew rich in the earlier Edo period as a cotton market, and in the later Edo years the centre of trade moved from cotton to rice and sake brewing. A building for handling grain corroborates that shift from inside a single household.
The Yaguchi Family Residence Grain Storehouse was registered in 2005 alongside the main house, the detached wing, and the stone and rear storehouses. Four more Yaguchi properties, the shop, the two sleeve storehouses and the gate, had been registered in 2000, bringing the compound to nine registered items.
Makabe's Important Preservation District for Groups of Traditional Buildings, about 17.6 hectares, was selected in 2010 and covers part of the Makabe district proper. Sakurai is not included.
What to look at
The windows of the Yaguchi Family Residence Grain Storehouse form an exact counterpoint to those of the rear storehouse beside it. Where that building opens six windows across its gables and side wall, this one has openings only high in the north and south gables. Few in number, and placed out of reach. Hinged fire doors close them.
The difference follows from the contents. Grain spoils in damp air, but too much draught brings insects and rats. Small openings set high are the compromise: heat escapes, intruders do not get in. Comparing the two buildings side by side shows that these stores were designed around what went into them.
The height is legible from outside as well. The eaves sit high although there is only one floor, so the wall reads as a tall unbroken plane. Grain gains capacity with depth of stacking, and height translates directly into volume. The broad surface also means a good deal of white Shikkui plaster faces the street.
The lean-to on the eastern wall is a full bay deep, closer to a small roof than to an overhang. Stand under it and the movements of someone carrying a straw bale of rice through the rain become easy to picture. It is the piece of the Yaguchi Family Residence Grain Storehouse most worth attention.
Visiting
The Yaguchi Family Residence Grain Storehouse is privately owned and the interior is closed. Only the exterior can be seen, from the road, and there is no charge. Sakuragawa City asks visitors to the town's registered properties not to enter private grounds. Photograph from the public road.
Iwase Station on the JR Mito Line is the gateway by rail: about 20 minutes by taxi, about 40 minutes by local bus to the Shimojuku stop. From Tsukuba Station, take the Tsukuba City bus about 50 minutes to Tsukubasan-guchi and change to the Sakuragawa City bus for a further 20 minutes. Drivers should allow about 20 minutes from the Sakuragawa-Chikusei interchange or about 50 minutes from Tsuchiura-kita via Route 125 and Prefectural Route 41.
The Makabe Takajomachi car park at 279-1 Makabe, Makabe-cho has 65 spaces. Sakurai is north of it on foot, and since registered buildings line the route, the walk is part of the visit.
During the Makabe Hina Matsuri, 4 February to 3 March, more than a hundred households and shops in the town display dolls and open their street-facing rooms. Viewing is free. Participation changes from year to year, so confirm current details with the Sakuragawa Tourism Association.
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Q&A
- Where are the windows on the Yaguchi Family Residence Grain Storehouse?
- High in the north and south gable walls only, each closed by hinged fire doors. The neighbouring rear storehouse, by contrast, has six windows.
- What does it mean that the building is tall for a single storey?
- The eaves are carried high without adding a floor. The Yaguchi Family Residence Grain Storehouse has one storey but an unusually tall wall.
- What was stored in the Yaguchi Family Residence Grain Storehouse?
- Grain, as the name indicates, though the registration record does not specify what kinds or in what quantities.
- What is the lean-to on the eastern wall of the Yaguchi Family Residence Grain Storehouse for?
- It roofs the doorway one bay deep so that goods could be loaded and unloaded out of the rain.
- Can I visit the Yaguchi Family Residence Grain Storehouse?
- The interior is closed, but the building faces the western side of the street and the exterior can be seen from the road.
Basic Information
| Name | Yaguchi Family Residence Grain Storehouse |
|---|---|
| Location | 172 Sakurai, Makabe-cho, Sakuragawa City, Ibaraki Prefecture |
| Designation | Registered Tangible Cultural Property (structure) |
| Year Designated | Registered 12 July 2005 |
| Quantity | 1 building |
| Dimensions | Building area 66 square metres |
| Owner | Private owner (no owner name recorded in the Agency for Cultural Affairs database) |
| Public Access | Not open to the public; exterior visible from the road |
References
- Agency for Cultural Affairs, National Cultural Properties Database: 谷口家住宅穀蔵
- https://kunishitei.bunka.go.jp/heritage/detail/101/00004711
- 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
- Sakuragawa City: The Townscape of Makabe
- https://www.city.sakuragawa.lg.jp/tourism_guide/learn/page000455.html
- Sakuragawa City: Walking Makabe (registered cultural property map, PDF)
- https://www.city.sakuragawa.lg.jp/data/doc/1487569963_doc_23_1.pdf
Last verified: 2026.09.08