Former Fujimura Family Residence (Tamura Family Residence) Front Storehouse

The Storehouse on the Highway

The Former Fujimura Family Residence (Tamura Family Residence) Front Storehouse is a two-storey earthen-walled storehouse of the late Edo period (1830–1868) facing the old Hokkoku Kaidō in Nonoichi City, Ishikawa Prefecture, registered as a Registered Tangible Cultural Property in 2021.

It stands at the northwest corner of the lot with its west end to the highway. The ridge runs east to west under a gabled kirizuma roof of pantiles, the plan measures 4 by 4 ken bays, and the building covers 92 square metres. On the street side it throws out a generous kuramae, a roofed porch in front of the storehouse door.

It is the oldest of the eight registered structures at the Former Fujimura Family Residence, which means it was already standing here when Emperor Meiji stopped at the house in 1878.

A Wooden Store in an Earthen Coat

The Agency for Cultural Affairs notes that boards were fixed to the outer faces of the posts and then plastered over with clay, and concludes that the building was probably a timber storehouse (itagura) later converted into a dozo earthen storehouse. Nonoichi City's registration release says the late Edo building was altered in the late Meiji years. Either way, the walls record a practical upgrade: a wooden store wrapped in clay.

The structure was registered for its contribution to the historic landscape, and the Agency's description says plainly that it helps shape the character of the highway. The simple fact of a storehouse opening straight onto the old post road is the heart of its value.

What to Look For

From the road, the gable end of the storehouse rises behind the deep kuramae. These porches sheltered goods and people while the heavy storehouse doors stood open, and here it is unusually large, pushing the building's presence out toward the street.

Inside, both floors are single open rooms with one post at the centre carrying the ridge beam. It is a lean, rational frame: a single column holding up the middle of a square plan. You cannot go in, but the size of the building gives a fair sense of how much that one post is doing.

The Front Storehouse sits just north of the Front Gate, so storehouse, gate and Earthen Wall read as a single frontage. It is this building, anchoring the northern end, that sets the tone of the Former Fujimura Family Residence as seen from the highway.

Viewing the Front Storehouse

The Front Storehouse is privately owned and the interior is closed. Because it faces the old highway, however, the exterior is fully visible from the public road, making it one of the easiest of the eight structures to see.

The opposite side of the highway gives the best view of the west front and its porch. Please stay on the road rather than stepping under the porch or into the grounds. Directions are on the Former Fujimura Family Residence page.