Zorokuen Storehouse 5 (Kitamae Ship Owner's Residence, Former Sakaya Choichiro Family Residence)

Miso below, documents above

Zorokuen Storehouse 5 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 38 square metres it is the largest of the storehouses on the estate. Zorokuen Storehouse 5 runs along the front road, entered at the gable in the Tsumairi manner, and stands on a base of dressed stone.

The two floors had separate jobs. Miso was kept at ground level and documents were stored above. Paper goes high and heavy barrels stay low, which is straightforward enough, but for a shipping family the ledgers and contracts were the business itself, and they lived above the miso.

Few openings, by design

The criterion was contribution to the historic landscape, and Zorokuen Storehouse 5 carries more of that street frontage than any other store here.

The exterior is closed. Windows appear only on the gable ends, and the Agency for Cultural Affairs calls the result extremely closed in character. Given the contents that follows: miso needs a steady temperature, documents need darkness and protection from fire. Fewer openings mean more wall, and more wall means a heavier presence from the road. A practical decision turned into a contribution to the streetscape.

Plaster at the eaves, boarding below

Only the eaves band is plastered; the rest is vertical boarding. The logic repeats across the estate, sealing the line where fire runs and covering the wall more cheaply. Because the treatment is shared, five or six storehouses in a row still read as one frontage.

Walking south past Zorokuen Storehouse 5 brings you to Storehouse 6 and then to Storehouses 7 and 8. Stand at the gable of Storehouse 5, note how little is opened up and how much is wall, then compare the next building along.

Seeing Storehouse 5

Zorokuen Storehouse 5 stands directly on the front road, so the exterior is visible from the street, gable end first, windows included.

No primary source confirms whether the interior is open. Ask about access and photography before visiting. Opening hours and directions for the estate are on the Zorokuen page.