The Storehouse at the Back
The Hatanaka Family Residence Tool Storehouse (畠中家住宅道具蔵, Hatanaka-ke Jūtaku Dōgugura) is a mid-Meiji two-storey Dozo-zukuri storehouse at the back of the Hatanaka family estate in Doi, Aki City, Kochi Prefecture, west of the main house's kitchen wing, registered as a Registered Tangible Cultural Property on 28 April 2010. It covers 34 square metres.
At 6.6 by 4.5 metres, with its ridge running east to west, it is squatter and deeper than the long rice and clothing storehouse.
A Backdrop, Not a Showpiece
The Agency for Cultural Affairs values the Hatanaka Family Residence Tool Storehouse less as a building on its own than for the way it joins the kitchen wing to form a solid, weighty backdrop at the rear of the estate. If the main gate and guardhouse are the estate's public face, this storehouse defines its back.
The criterion is a contribution to the historic landscape. The only two-storey structures among the nine items are the kitchen wing, this storehouse and part of the rice and clothing store, so the tall buildings are gathered at the back of the plot.
Floating Roof and Stepped Drip Tiles
The Hatanaka Family Residence Tool Storehouse has a gabled Kirizuma-zukuri roof of Sangawara-buki pantiles built as an Okiyane, a separate roof frame set on top of the plastered storehouse body. If fire took the roof, the clay-sealed body below could still protect the contents.
The lower walls are clad in vertical boards up to waist height, and the upper walls are finished in Tosa-shikkui. Several courses of Mizukiri-gawara run across the plaster to throw rainwater clear of the wall, drawing horizontal tile lines across the white surface, a look often seen on storehouses in Kochi.
On the south side a Hisashi eave shelters the doorway, creating a covered work space, the kuramae, where tools were taken in and out and maintained.
Visiting
The Hatanaka Family Residence Tool Storehouse stands deep inside the private grounds and is not open. Set toward the north-west, west of the kitchen wing, it is in a spot that is hard to see from the road on the south.
Please do not walk around the property or look over the walls. Photographs are the practical way to study its drip tiles and roof.
- 📍 Plan Your Visit to Kochi
- Find tours, activities & transport passes near Hatanaka Family Residence Tool Storehouse
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Q&A
- Where does the Hatanaka Family Residence Tool Storehouse stand?
- At the back of the estate, west of the kitchen wing attached to the rear of the main house. Together they form the estate's rear elevation.
- When was the Hatanaka Family Residence Tool Storehouse built and registered?
- The national record dates it to the mid-Meiji era, and it was registered as a Registered Tangible Cultural Property on 28 April 2010.
- What is the floating roof on the Hatanaka Family Residence Tool Storehouse?
- It is an okiyane: a separate roof frame set on top of the clay-sealed storehouse body, so that the body can survive even if the roof burns.
- What is distinctive about the walls of the Hatanaka Family Residence Tool Storehouse?
- Vertical boards up to waist height, Tosa plaster above, and several courses of drip tiles across the plaster.
- Can I visit the Hatanaka Family Residence Tool Storehouse?
- No. It stands deep inside private grounds and is hard to see from the road on the south.
Basic Information
| Name | Hatanaka Family Residence Tool Storehouse |
|---|---|
| Location | 633 Higashitakazono, Doi, Aki City, Kochi Prefecture |
| Designation | Registered Tangible Cultural Property (Building) |
| Year Designated | Registered 2010/4/28 (Heisei 22) |
| Quantity | 1 building |
| Dimensions | 2-storey storehouse, tiled roof, building area 34 square metres |
| Owner | Private individual |
| Public Access | Not open to the public (exterior from the road only) |
References
- 畠中家住宅道具蔵 (Agency for Cultural Affairs, Database of National Cultural Properties)
- https://kunishitei.bunka.go.jp/bsys/maindetails/101/00008209
Last verified: 2026.09.27
