Three Storehouses Under One Lean-To
The Mori Family Residence (Former Nomura Mokuma Residence) Storehouse (森家住宅（旧野村茂久馬邸）蔵, Mori-ke Jūtaku Kura) is a two-storey earth-walled Dozo-zukuri storehouse of the middle Meiji era at Otsu 2595 in Nahari Town, Aki District, Kochi Prefecture, and was entered on Japan's register of Registered Tangible Cultural Properties on 18 October 2000. It has a tiled roof and a building area of 50 square metres.
It stands on the north side of the plot, east of the two-storey block of the main house, with its ridge at right angles to the main house ridge. The Agency for Cultural Affairs records the tradition that it went up in the time of Nomura Mokuma's predecessor as head of the family. That makes it the oldest structure on the site, already in place before the main house and walls of the early Taisho period.
It reads as one building but is three: storehouses of different heights joined side by side under staggered ridges. The whole measures 4.5 Ken (about 8.2 metres) along the ridge line and 2 ken (about 3.6 metres) across.
Why the Storehouse Was Registered
The Mori Family Residence Storehouse was registered, like the main house, as a building that serves as a model of design.
The interest lies in how the three units were pulled together. A single lean-to roof, a Geya, runs along the south face and turns the ground in front of all three doorways (Tomae) into one shared Kuramae. A kuramae is the covered working space outside a storehouse door, where goods were handled and the heavy doors opened in the dry. Normally each storehouse gets its own. Here one roof serves three, gathering the traffic of loading and unloading into a single place and giving the group the look of one continuous building.
The Japan Heritage component entry, in its description of the storehouse, notes Tosa-shikkui and Mizukiri-gawara. Tosa plaster is a thick lime plaster mixed with fermented straw; water-cutting tiles are rows of tile projecting from the wall face to shed rain. Both are plastering and roofing answers to the heavy rain and wind of the Kochi coast, and both are part of what gives the streets of Nahari their character.
What to Look For
A roofline in three steps
The feature that defines the Mori Family Residence (Former Nomura Mokuma Residence) Storehouse is a roofline broken into three. Rather than one large storehouse, units of different sizes were set in a row, so the ridges do not line up. Count the steps in the roof and you can tell from outside that there are three stores inside.
Three doors, one working space
Under the lean-to on the south side, the three entrances sit side by side. The kuramae's job was to keep the doors and the goods passing through them out of the rain, and here that sheltered strip is shared by all three stores.
Older than the house
The storehouse is a generation older than the main house. It held the family's goods before Mokuma built his business in Kochi City, and when the new main house came, its ridge was set square to the old storehouse. Seen that way, the storehouse is where the story of the compound begins.
Seeing the Storehouse
The Mori Family Residence Storehouse stands deep inside a private property, east of the main house, and is not open to the public. The main house blocks most of the view from the road, so expect to see little more than part of the roof.
There is no published policy on photography; please stay off the property. Directions and booking details for the local town walk are on the Mori Family Residence (Former Nomura Mokuma Residence) page. Walking with a guide is the easiest way to understand where the storehouse sits within the compound.
- 📍 Plan Your Visit to Kochi
- Find tours, activities & transport passes near Mori Family Residence (Former Nomura Mokuma Residence) Storehouse
- [ Katsurahama Beach & Kochi Castle Ryoma Tour ]
Q&A
- Can visitors see the Mori Family Residence (Former Nomura Mokuma Residence) Storehouse?
- It is on private land and the interior is not open. Because it stands behind the main house, only a limited part is visible from the road.
- How old is the Mori Family Residence Storehouse in Nahari?
- The Agency for Cultural Affairs dates it to the middle Meiji era, and tradition places it in the time of Nomura Mokuma's predecessor. It is the oldest structure in the compound.
- How many storehouses make up the Mori Family Residence Storehouse?
- Three, joined under staggered ridges. A lean-to on the south side forms one shared working space in front of all three doors.
- How large is the Mori Family Residence (Former Nomura Mokuma Residence) Storehouse?
- The building area is 50 square metres. Overall it measures 4.5 ken (about 8.2 metres) along the ridge line and 2 ken (about 3.6 metres) across.
- When was the Mori Family Residence Storehouse registered as a cultural property?
- It was registered as a Registered Tangible Cultural Property on 18 October 2000, as a building that serves as a model of design.
Basic Information
| Name | Mori Family Residence (Former Nomura Mokuma Residence) Storehouse |
|---|---|
| Location | Otsu 2595, Nahari Town, Aki District, Kochi Prefecture |
| Designation | Registered Tangible Cultural Property (Structure) |
| Year Designated | Registered 18 October 2000 |
| Quantity | 1 building |
| Dimensions | 2-storey dozo-zukuri storehouse, tiled roof, building area 50 square metres (4.5 ken by 2 ken overall) |
| Owner | Private |
| Public Access | Not open (inside the property, with limited views from outside) |
References
- Database of National Cultural Properties: Storehouse (Agency for Cultural Affairs, Japanese)
- https://kunishitei.bunka.go.jp/heritage/detail/101/00001977
- Cultural Heritage Online: Storehouse (Japanese)
- https://online.bunka.go.jp/heritages/detail/115057
- Japan Heritage Portal: component property entry (Agency for Cultural Affairs, Japanese)
- https://japan-heritage.bunka.go.jp/ja/culturalproperties/result/3447/
Last verified: 2026.09.27
