Rice and Koji Under One Roof
The Nagasaki Family Residence Storehouse (長﨑家住宅土蔵, Nagasaki-ke Jūtaku Dozō) is a plaster-walled Dozo-zukuri storehouse at the back of a merchant family's plot in Hiketa, Higashikagawa City, Kagawa Prefecture, built in 1909 and registered as a Registered Tangible Cultural Property on October 28, 2011. It is the only one of the six registered structures at the Nagasaki Family Residence that dates from the Meiji era.
It is a single-storey building of 92 square metres with a tiled roof. The Agency for Cultural Affairs places it behind and to the west of the guest lavatory, its ridge running east and west under a Kirizuma-zukuri gable roof of heavy Hongawarabuki tiles, with a lean-to Geya roof along the south side. It is 17 metres long and narrow for its length.
Inside it is split in two: a former rice store at the east end and a former koji store at the west. The walls are finished in Shikkui lime plaster above a skirt of Shitami-itabari clapboard that protects the base from rain and splash. The Nagasaki Family Residence Storehouse gathers two different stores under a single roof.
A Trace of Hiketa's Soy Sauce Trade
The storehouse was listed for its contribution to the historic landscape, and the Agency for Cultural Affairs describes it as a surviving trace of soy sauce brewing in Hiketa.
According to the Hiketa town walking map on Higashikagawa City's tourism site, the Nagasaki family had traded in general goods since the Edo period and began brewing soy sauce in 1908. The storehouse went up the following year. Koji, grain inoculated with the mould that drives fermentation, is the starting point of soy sauce, and giving half the new building to koji suggests the family equipped itself for the change in business.
Hiketa is known as a soy sauce town, and working breweries still stand on the old highway. The Nagasaki Family Residence Storehouse is not a brewery's fermentation hall but a pair of stores inside a merchant's home, a reminder of how far the trade reached into the town's households.
What to Look For
Length defines the building. Over 17 metres the tiled gable roof runs in one straight line and ends in a clean triangle at each gable, while the lean-to on the south adds a lower eave along one flank.
The walls follow a common pattern for storehouses around the Seto Inland Sea: white plaster above for fire resistance and humidity control, dark clapboard below where wear is greatest.
Two uses inside, one continuous exterior outside. Built in 1909, the Nagasaki Family Residence Storehouse is 21 years older than the 1930 buildings that make up the rest of the registered group, and it carries the Meiji layer of the property.
Visiting the Storehouse
The storehouse stands at the back of the plot, west of the guest lavatory, and cannot be seen from the old highway. This is a private home, and no public opening could be confirmed during research for this article.
The entries in the Agency for Cultural Affairs database and on Cultural Heritage Online are the best way to see it. Please do not enter the property.
Q&A
- When was the Nagasaki Family Residence Storehouse built?
- The Nagasaki Family Residence Storehouse dates from 1909, making it the oldest of the six registered structures at the Nagasaki Family Residence. It was registered on October 28, 2011.
- What was the Nagasaki Family Residence Storehouse used for?
- The east end was a rice store and the west end a koji store. The Agency for Cultural Affairs regards it as a surviving trace of Hiketa's soy sauce brewing.
- How large is the Nagasaki Family Residence Storehouse?
- It is a single-storey plaster-walled storehouse of 92 square metres, 17 metres long, with a tiled gable roof, a lean-to on the south side, lime plaster walls and a clapboard skirt.
- How is the Nagasaki Family Residence Storehouse connected to soy sauce brewing?
- According to Higashikagawa City's Hiketa town walking map, the Nagasaki family began brewing soy sauce in 1908. The storehouse followed in 1909, with its western half given over to koji.
- Can I visit the Nagasaki Family Residence Storehouse?
- It stands at the back of a private property, out of sight of the street, and no public opening could be confirmed.
Basic Information
| Name | Nagasaki Family Residence Storehouse (長﨑家住宅土蔵) |
|---|---|
| Location | 2417-2 Hatakata, Hiketa, Higashikagawa City, Kagawa Prefecture, and other lots |
| Designation | Registered Tangible Cultural Property (building) |
| Year Designated | Registered 2011/10/28 (Heisei 23) |
| Quantity | 1 building |
| Dimensions | Building area 92 square metres; 17 metres long (plaster-walled storehouse, single storey, tiled roof) |
| Owner | Private (no owner named in the Agency for Cultural Affairs database) |
| Public Access | Not open to the public; not visible from the street |
References
- Agency for Cultural Affairs, Database of National Cultural Properties: Nagasaki Family Residence Storehouse
- https://kunishitei.bunka.go.jp/bsys/maindetails/101/00009075
- Cultural Heritage Online: Nagasaki Family Residence Storehouse (Japanese)
- https://online.bunka.go.jp/heritages/detail/208055
- Higashikagawa City: List of Designated and Registered Cultural Properties (Japanese)
- https://www.higashikagawa.jp/soshikikarasagasu/shogaigakushuka/gyomuannai/8/1/1085.html
- Higashikagawa City Tourism Information: Hiketa Town Walking Map (PDF, Japanese)
- https://higashikagawa.net/wp-content/uploads/2023/08/hiketa_map_k.pdf
Last verified: 2026.09.24
