About the storehouse
The Hamada Family Residence (formerly Masudaya) Storehouse is a late Edo-period earthen storehouse at Otsu 1751, Nahari-cho, Aki District, Kochi Prefecture, built for Masudaya, a sake brewery and pawnshop, and registered as a Tangible Cultural Property on October 18, 2000.
Its Japanese name is 濱田家住宅（旧増田屋）蔵 (Hamada-ke Jūtaku, kyū-Masudaya, kura). It is registration No. 39-0016, and it is the only one of the four Hamada Family Residence buildings registered under the criterion of being difficult to reproduce.
Why it was registered
The Masudaya storehouse is a 2-story Dozo-zukuri building with a tiled roof and a building area of 83 square meters. It stands beside a second storehouse the Agency calls the "large storehouse" (ōkura), and it is strikingly long and thin: about 14 meters along the ridge and only about 4 meters across.
That length comes from two storehouses joined end to end. The northern 7.2 meters or so form the north storehouse; to the south runs a south storehouse with its ridge set one step lower, and the space between the two serves as a Kuramae, a sheltered work area in front of the storehouse doors. A single continuous Geya lean-to along the east side ties the parts together into one building.
What to look for: a raised roof and a stepped ridge
Look first at the roofline of the Hamada Family Residence storehouse. The north storehouse rides higher, and the south storehouse ridge drops a level, so from outside it reads as two roofs of different heights set in a row.
The north storehouse has an Okiyane, a roof built as a separate frame and set on top of the plastered earthen body. The arrangement is said to let the roof burn away in a fire while the clay shell and its contents survive. The north and east walls of the north storehouse carry rows of Mizukiri-gawara, which the Agency describes as a well-ordered design.
Visiting
The Hamada Family Residence (formerly Masudaya) Storehouse stands inside a private property and its interior is not open to the public. It lies behind the main house, and we could not confirm how much of it can be seen from the street.
Stay on the road and do not enter the property to get closer to the storehouse or the neighboring large storehouse. If you find a spot where the tiled north or east walls are visible, check the raised roof and the step in the ridge together.
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- Find tours, activities & transport passes near Hamada Family Residence (formerly Masudaya) Storehouse
- [ Katsurahama Beach & Kochi Castle Ryoma Tour ]
Q&A
- When was the Hamada Family Residence (formerly Masudaya) Storehouse built and registered?
- It is a late Edo-period earthen storehouse, registered on October 18, 2000.
- How big is the Masudaya storehouse of the Hamada Family Residence?
- It is a 2-story earthen storehouse with a tiled roof, about 14 meters long and 4 meters wide, with a building area of 83 square meters.
- Why is the Hamada Family Residence (formerly Masudaya) Storehouse so long and narrow?
- It joins a north storehouse about 7.2 meters long to a lower-ridged south storehouse, with a work area between them and one continuous lean-to roof along the east side.
- What is the okiyane roof on the Hamada Family Residence storehouse?
- A roof built as a separate frame and set on top of the earthen body. The north storehouse has this type of roof, with water-shedding tiles on its north and east walls.
- Can I visit the Hamada Family Residence (formerly Masudaya) Storehouse?
- It is on private property and the interior is not open. You can only look from the street, and we could not confirm how much is visible.
Basic Information
| Name | Hamada Family Residence (formerly Masudaya) Storehouse |
|---|---|
| Location | 1751 Otsu, Nahari-cho, Aki District, Kochi Prefecture |
| Designation | Registered Tangible Cultural Property (Building) |
| Year Designated | Registered October 18, 2000 |
| Quantity | 1 building |
| Dimensions | 2-story earthen storehouse, tiled roof, building area 83 square meters |
| Owner | Not listed (blank in the Agency for Cultural Affairs database) |
| Public Access | Not open to the public (exterior visible from the street) |
References
- Hamada Family Residence (formerly Masudaya) Storehouse (Agency for Cultural Affairs database, Japanese)
- https://kunishitei.bunka.go.jp/bsys/maindetails/101/00001966
- Hamada Family Residence (formerly Masudaya) Storehouse (Cultural Heritage Online, Japanese)
- https://online.bunka.go.jp/heritages/detail/178186
- Registered Tangible Cultural Properties (Buildings) in Kochi Prefecture (Kochi Prefecture, Japanese)
- https://www.pref.kochi.lg.jp/doc/2023062200186/
Last verified: 2026.10.16
