What the Morisawa Family Residence Barn Is
The Morisawa Family Residence Barn (森澤家住宅納屋, Morisawa-ke jūtaku naya) is a two-storey timber outbuilding of the middle Meiji period in Doi, Aki City, Kochi Prefecture, registered as a Registered Tangible Cultural Property on 10 November 2005. It stands on the boundary northwest of the main house, facing east.
It measures 5 and a half by 2 and a half bays under a gabled Kirizuma-zukuri roof of pantiles, with a building area of 39 square metres. The ground floor is split into two rooms, north and south, and the upper floor is a single room. Both levels served as storage.
The walls are boarded below and finished above in Tosa lime plaster with the posts left exposed, the Shinkabe method. Both gable ends are sheathed in boards against the rain.
Why It Was Registered
The Morisawa Family Residence Barn was registered, like the other twelve components, for its contribution to the historic landscape, as part of an estate whose main house is ringed by service buildings.
A barn is the plainest building on any property, yet no farming or landowning household could do without one. Here the space for farm tools, harvests and everyday goods is stacked on two floors. By building a narrow plan, only 2 and a half bays deep, upward and pushing it hard against the boundary, the household won storage from limited ground.
The split wall and the boarded gables are also local practice. Aki City describes the traditional buildings of Doi as having boarded lower walls and plastered upper walls to guard against splashing rain, with the gable ends of barns and silkworm houses often boarded. The Morisawa Family Residence Barn follows that pattern exactly.
What to Look For
Read the wall in two bands. The boarding below takes the mud and the splash; above, the Tosa lime plaster is laid between exposed posts. Posts and white plaster alternate across the upper band while boards run horizontally below, giving the one wall two different rhythms.
Then look at the gables. The triangle under a gabled roof catches more rain than any other part of the wall and would wear quickly in bare plaster, so here it is covered in boards. The well house gables get the same treatment, making this a repeated habit across the estate's outbuildings.
Note the height too. Of the thirteen components, only the North Storehouse and the barn rise to two storeys. The two tall buildings, one for wealth and one for goods, share the northwest quarter and give shape to the back of the estate.
Visiting
No interior opening of the Morisawa Family Residence Barn has been announced (checked 25 September 2026). It faces east, into the grounds. From outside you may see, at most, the rear wall on the boundary and the roof of the upper storey.
Directions to the estate and guidance on viewing it are on the Morisawa Family Residence page.
Q&A
- What is the Morisawa Family Residence Barn?
- A two-storey Meiji-period outbuilding with two ground-floor rooms and one upper room, all used for storage.
- How big is the Morisawa Family Residence Barn?
- It measures 5 and a half by 2 and a half bays under a gabled pantiled roof, with a building area of 39 square metres.
- How are the walls of the Morisawa Family Residence Barn finished?
- Boarded below and finished above in Tosa lime plaster between exposed posts, with boards over both gable ends to shed rain.
- Where does the Morisawa Family Residence Barn stand?
- On the boundary northwest of the main house, facing east, near the North Storehouse in the northwest corner.
- Can you visit the Morisawa Family Residence Barn?
- No interior opening has been announced. Its front faces into the grounds, so only the rear wall and roof may be visible from outside.
Basic Information
| Name | Morisawa Family Residence Barn (森澤家住宅納屋) |
|---|---|
| Location | 559 Doi, Aki City, Kochi Prefecture |
| Designation | Registered Tangible Cultural Property (Building), No. 39-0200 |
| Year Designated | Registered 2005/11/10 (Heisei 17) |
| Quantity | 1 building |
| Dimensions | 2-storey timber building, tiled roof, building area 39 square metres |
| Owner | Not listed in the Agency for Cultural Affairs database |
| Public Access | Not open to the public (no interior opening announced) |
References
- Cultural Heritage Database (Agency for Cultural Affairs): Morisawa Family Residence Barn
- https://kunishitei.bunka.go.jp/bsys/maindetails/101/00005046
- Kochi Prefecture: Registered Tangible Cultural Properties (Buildings)
- https://www.pref.kochi.lg.jp/doc/2023062200186/
- Aki City: Doi Kachu Preservation District for Groups of Traditional Buildings
- https://www.city.aki.kochi.jp/life/dtl.php?hdnKey=1381
Last verified: 2026.09.25
