Zorokuen Storehouse 2 (Kitamae Ship Owner's Residence, Former Sakaya Choichiro Family Residence)

The smallest storehouse on the estate

Zorokuen Storehouse 2 is a two-storey earthen-walled storehouse in Hashitatemachi, Kaga City, Ishikawa Prefecture, built in 1890 and listed as a Registered Tangible Cultural Property on 17 February 1999.

At 20 square metres it is the smallest of the 11 registered entries. Zorokuen Storehouse 2 stands southeast of the main house and turns its gable to the road. It held art objects and utensils.

The storehouses here were divided by contents: miso in one, documents in another, fishing gear, rice. This one gave the smallest floor area to the most fragile things, which says something about how carefully that part of the household property was kept.

Altered, and registered anyway

The criterion was contribution to the historic landscape. The Agency for Cultural Affairs description states plainly that the north and west faces of the forecourt joining the main house have been altered, while the principal fabric of the building survives in good condition.

Alteration did not disqualify it. That is where registration differs from designation, and Zorokuen Storehouse 2 shows the difference well. On an estate still lived in and still trading, a rule that excluded every modified building would leave almost nothing on the list.

Plaster at the eaves, boards below

The finish is practical. Only the eaves band is worked in Shikkui plaster; the rest of the wall is vertical boarding. Fire travels along an eaves line, so that is what gets sealed, and the wall below is covered more cheaply.

Seen from the street, the intent behind the arrangement becomes clear. Storehouses run along the road through this part of Kaga Hashitate, and Zorokuen Storehouse 2 sits at the head of that run, on the southeast corner of the main house. For 20 square metres it holds the corner firmly.

Seeing Storehouse 2

Because Zorokuen Storehouse 2 presents its gable to the road, the exterior can be studied without entering the estate. The junction between boarding and plaster, and the line the gable draws down from the ridge, both read better from the street than from inside the grounds.

Whether the interior is open varies from day to day and is not confirmed by any primary source. Ask about that and about photography before you go. Hours and directions for the estate are given on the Zorokuen page.