Majima Family Residence Storehouse

About the Majima Family Residence Storehouse

The Majima Family Residence Storehouse (間島家住宅土蔵, Majima-ke Jūtaku Dozō) is a two-story earthen-walled storehouse of the early Shōwa period, which began in 1926, in Mure, Takamatsu City, Kagawa Prefecture, and it was registered as a Registered Tangible Cultural Property in 2006.

It stands north of the main house along the west side of the estate, with its ridge running roughly north to south. Built in the Dozo-zukuri manner with thick plastered earthen walls, it covers 55 square meters and measures 9 meters by 6 meters, according to the Agency for Cultural Affairs.

Why the Majima Storehouse was registered

It was registered for its contribution to the historic landscape. The Agency describes the Majima Family Residence Storehouse as a fairly large tool store and as the anchor of the northern point of the triangular estate.

That point is where the water channels on the east and west sides close in. The storehouse lines the west side, and the Agency's note on the outer wall names it as one of the buildings the wall takes into its line, so the storehouse wall itself forms part of the estate boundary.

Of the five structures, it belongs with the garden wall and the outer wall to the early Shōwa period. Next to the thatched main house and gatehouse of the late Edo period, this tiled storehouse represents the later layer of the Majima estate.

What to look for in the Majima Storehouse

The roof is a Kirizuma-zukuri gable in Hongawarabuki tile, and the entrance is on a long side, the Hirairi arrangement. The door is on the east face under a tiled Hisashi canopy, so the building is entered from the inside of the estate.

The west and north faces have only small windows set high in the wall. These two walls face outward, toward the water channels. Keeping the outer walls closed and placing the windows small and high reads as a choice made with the security of the contents in mind.

The use as a tool store comes from the Agency's description. We found no record of what the Majima Storehouse actually held.

Visiting the Majima Family Residence Storehouse

The Majima Family Residence Storehouse is part of a private home, and we found no notice that its interior is open. It sits in the line of the outer wall on the west side, but we could not confirm how much of it can be seen from across the channel. Please stay off the property.