The Storehouse on the Street
The Sameshima Family Residence Storehouse (鮫島家住宅蔵, Sameshima-ke Jūtaku Kura) is a late Meiji-period single-storey earthen storehouse on the street front of the Sameshima estate in Kaseda Fumoto, Minamisatsuma City, Kagoshima Prefecture, registered as a Registered Tangible Cultural Property on 25 July 2011. Together with the gatehouse immediately to its east, it forms the public face of the house.
It is built in the Dozo-zukuri manner, 7.9 metres by 4.0 metres, with a building area of 31 square metres, under a gabled roof of Sangawara-buki pantiles, and its walls are finished in Shikkui lime plaster.
Weight Where the Street Can See It
The Agency for Cultural Affairs says the Sameshima Family Residence Storehouse gives the street a sense of solidity, and it is easy to see how. On the street side the plastered walls do not rise from the ground; they sit on a tall base of dressed stone. A passer-by meets stone at eye level and the white storehouse above it.
The doors are on the other side. The roof is carried down over the north face to make a covered forecourt, and a sliding door opens there, into the estate. The street gets a blank plastered wall; goods come and go out of sight. Inside there are 2 rooms.
In Kaseda Fumoto each lot is enclosed by stone walls and hedges and faces the lane through a gate. Here a building takes over part of that enclosure, joined to the stone wall on one side and the gatehouse on the other, and the listing was made under the criterion of contribution to the historic landscape.
What to Notice
Stand across the lane and look at where stone meets plaster. Compare the coursing of the base, the height of the white wall and the proportions of the gable end with those of the gatehouse next door; the two were plainly designed to be read together. The stone wall begins just west of the Sameshima Family Residence Storehouse.
Visiting
The storehouse belongs to a private home and its interior is closed, but because it stands on the street its exterior can be seen from the public road. Please do not enter the property. Directions to the district are given on the Sameshima Family Residence page.
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- Find tours, activities & transport passes near Sameshima Family Residence Storehouse
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Q&A
- Can the Sameshima Family Residence Storehouse be seen from the street?
- Yes. It stands on the street front of the estate, raised on a high base of cut stone, and its exterior is visible from the road. The interior is not open.
- How large is the Sameshima Family Residence Storehouse?
- It is a single-storey earthen storehouse of 7.9 metres by 4.0 metres, with a building area of 31 square metres.
- Where is the entrance of the Sameshima Family Residence Storehouse?
- On the north face, toward the inside of the estate, where the roof is carried down to shelter a forecourt and a sliding door.
- When was the Sameshima Family Residence Storehouse registered?
- On 25 July 2011, together with the main house, the gatehouse and the other listings of the Sameshima estate.
- How does the Sameshima Family Residence Storehouse relate to the gatehouse?
- The gatehouse adjoins it on the east, and both stand on high bases of cut stone, so together they form one continuous front to the street.
Basic Information
| Name | Sameshima Family Residence Storehouse (鮫島家住宅蔵) |
|---|---|
| Location | 18275 Kaseda Takeda, Minamisatsuma City, Kagoshima Prefecture |
| Designation | Registered Tangible Cultural Property (building), registration no. 46-0097 |
| Year Designated | Registered 2011/7/25 (Heisei 23) |
| Quantity | 1 building |
| Dimensions | Earthen storehouse, single-storey, tiled roof; building area 31 square metres (7.9 metres by 4.0 metres) |
| Owner | Private individual (not published) |
| Public Access | Not open to the public (private residence; exterior visible from the street) |
References
- National Cultural Properties Database, Agency for Cultural Affairs: Sameshima Family Residence Storehouse
- https://kunishitei.bunka.go.jp/bsys/maindetails/101/00008795
- Japan Heritage Portal, Agency for Cultural Affairs: Sameshima (Kenji) Family Residence
- https://www.japan-heritage.bunka.go.jp/ja/culturalproperties/result/4679/
- Satsuma Samurai Towns Japan Heritage Council: Sameshima (Kenji) Family Residence
- https://kagoshima-fumoto.jp/minamisatsuma/%E9%AE%AB%E5%B3%B6%E5%81%A5%E5%BF%97%E5%AE%B6%E4%BD%8F%E5%AE%85/
- National Cultural Properties Database, Agency for Cultural Affairs: Minamisatsuma-shi Kaseda Fumoto
- https://kunishitei.bunka.go.jp/bsys/maindetails/103/00000125
- Satsuma Samurai Towns Japan Heritage Council: Kaseda Fumoto
- https://kagoshima-fumoto.jp/minamisatsuma/
- Minamisatsuma Tourism Association: Kaseda Fumoto walking map (PDF)
- https://kanko-minamisatsuma.jp/wp-content/uploads/2018/03/feature-kasedamachiaruki.pdf
Last verified: 2026.09.25
