The Second Storehouse, and the Line It Completes
Yasuda Family Residence Storehouse No. 2 (安田家住宅土蔵二, Yasudake Jūtaku Dozō Ni, also written Yasudake Jutaku Dozo Ni) is a two-storey plaster-walled storehouse in the Minamibeppu district of Chiran, Minamikyushu City, Kagoshima Prefecture, dating from the middle of the Meiji era and entered on the national register of Tangible Cultural Properties on 5 December 2007.
It stands directly south of Storehouse No. 1, sharing the same north-south ridge line, so that the two read as a continuous run along the road side of the property. Its footprint matches its neighbour exactly: three ken by two and a half, 25 square metres of building area, gabled roof tiled in sangawara pantile.
One thing separates the two, and it is easy to miss until you look along the line rather than at either building. The ridge of Storehouse No. 2 sits slightly lower than that of Storehouse No. 1. Two storehouses of identical plan, set end to end, with a small deliberate step between their roof lines.
The doorway is on the east face, turned toward the main house across the yard. Windows are cut into the south wall.
Where the Plaster Stops
The Agency for Cultural Affairs records that on this building the lime plaster is carried right up to the eaves on the front elevation alone. Elsewhere the finish stops short. Since the doorway is set in the east face, the front is most likely the side turned toward the main house, though the record does not say so outright.
Carrying plaster to the eaves, a treatment called nurikome, seals the exposed timber of the eaves soffit behind the same fireproof skin that protects the walls. It is more work and more material, and Meiji farming households did not spend either without reason. Applying it to one elevation and not the rest is a small piece of household economics preserved in mortar: this is the face that mattered, and these are the sides that did not.
Below the plaster, the base is kiriishi nunozumi, dressed stone laid in level courses, matching Storehouse No. 1 and, on a larger scale, the seventy-seven metres of cut-stone walling that rings the plot.
Registration on 5 December 2007 came under the criterion concerning contribution to the historic landscape. The Agency's description says the building forms the road-side aspect of the residence, and that is the whole of the case for it. Three of the four Yasuda structures registered that day were listed on those grounds; only the main house was cited as a model of design.
Registration differs from designation as an Important Cultural Property in more than name. Created by the 1996 revision of the Law for the Protection of Cultural Properties, the register covers buildings over fifty years old that remain in ordinary use, and asks owners to notify rather than seek approval before making changes. A pair of farm storehouses still standing behind an occupied house is exactly the sort of thing the lighter system was written for.
Practical Notes for Visitors
The Yasuda property is a private residence. It has no public opening, no admission charge and no visitor access to any interior. The grounds are not to be entered.
From the public road, the two storehouses can be seen as the pair they were built to be, and the small drop from one ridge to the next is the detail to watch for. Photography from the road is not prohibited by any posted notice, but the courtesy owed to a family home applies: keep residents out of shot, do not linger at the boundary, and do not fly a drone over the property.
The site sits in farmland south of the Chiran town centre, apart from the samurai quarter, with no bus service, no parking and no explanatory panel. Questions about the buildings should go to the Cultural Properties Division of Minamikyushu City on 0993-83-4433.
Anyone wanting to stand inside architecture of this period and region should head instead for the Chiran Samurai Residence Garden district, about ninety minutes by bus from Kagoshima-Chūō Station, open daily 9:00 to 17:00 with adult admission around 530 yen, a figure worth checking before you set out. Its seven gardens are a National Place of Scenic Beauty and the surrounding streets are a nationally selected Preservation District for Groups of Traditional Buildings. Museum Chiran, the municipal museum, is closed on Wednesdays.
- 📍 Plan Your Visit to Kagoshima
- Find tours, activities & transport passes near Yasuda Family Residence Storehouse No. 2
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Q&A
- Can Yasuda Family Residence Storehouse No. 2 be visited?
- No. It stands on privately owned residential land with no public opening, no admission fee and no visitor facilities. Only the exterior is visible from the public road, and the grounds must not be entered.
- How does Yasuda Family Residence Storehouse No. 2 differ from Storehouse No. 1?
- The two share an identical plan of three ken by two and a half and stand end to end on the same north-south line, but Storehouse No. 2 is the southern one and its ridge is slightly lower. Its windows are in the south wall, and its plaster is carried up to the eaves on the front elevation only.
- What does nurikome mean on Yasuda Family Residence Storehouse No. 2?
- It refers to carrying the lime plaster up to and across the eaves so that exposed timber is sealed behind the fireproof skin. On this storehouse the treatment appears on the front elevation only, which represents a deliberate choice about where the extra labour and material were worth spending.
- When was Yasuda Family Residence Storehouse No. 2 registered and under what number?
- Registration took effect on 5 December 2007 and was notified on 19 December of the same year, under registration number 46-0053, in the fifty-seventh round of registrations. The criterion applied was contribution to the historic landscape.
- Where is Yasuda Family Residence Storehouse No. 2 and can you get there by public transport?
- The address is 25820 Shimomura, Minamibeppu, Chiran-chō, Minamikyushu City, Kagoshima Prefecture. No bus route reaches it and there is no station nearby, so a car is the only practical means, and even then the property can only be viewed in passing from the road.
Basic Information
| Name | Yasuda Family Residence Storehouse No. 2 (安田家住宅土蔵二) |
|---|---|
| Location | 25820 Shimomura, Minamibeppu, Chiran-chō, Minamikyushu City, Kagoshima Prefecture |
| Designation | Registered Tangible Cultural Property (Structure), registration number 46-0053 |
| Year Designated | Registered 5 December 2007; notified 19 December 2007 |
| Quantity | 1 building |
| Dimensions | Two-storey dozō construction, tiled roof; building area 25 square metres; 3 ken by 2.5 ken |
| Owner | Private (owner not published in the national database) |
| Public Access | Not open to the public; exterior visible from the public road only |
References
- National Database of Designated Cultural Properties, Agency for Cultural Affairs: Yasudake Jutaku Dozo Ni
- https://kunishitei.bunka.go.jp/bsys/maindetails/101/00006639
- National Database of Designated Cultural Properties, Agency for Cultural Affairs: Yasudake Jutaku Dozo Ichi
- https://kunishitei.bunka.go.jp/bsys/maindetails/101/00006638
- National Database of Designated Cultural Properties, Agency for Cultural Affairs: Yasudake Jutaku Mon oyobi Ishigaki
- https://kunishitei.bunka.go.jp/bsys/maindetails/101/00006640
- Agency for Cultural Affairs: Guide to the Registered Tangible Cultural Property (Structures) System
- https://www.bunka.go.jp/tokei_hakusho_shuppan/shuppanbutsu/bunkazai_pamphlet/pdf/pamphlet_ja_06_ver02.pdf
- Minamikyushu City: Chiran Preservation District for Groups of Traditional Buildings
- https://www.city.minamikyushu.lg.jp/soshikikarasagasu/bunkazaika/bunkazai/4/2/401.html
- Chiran Samurai Residence Garden: Access
- https://chiran-bukeyashiki.com/pages/7/
Last verified: 2026.07.24