Shimanouchi Yukiko Family Residence Storehouse

What the Shimanouchi Yukiko Family Residence Storehouse Is

The Shimanouchi Yukiko Family Residence Storehouse (島内章子家住宅蔵) is a two-storey earth-walled Dozo-zukuri storehouse of the late Edo period (1830 to 1867) in Kamioka, Noichi-cho, Konan City, Kochi Prefecture, registered as a Registered Tangible Cultural Property on 25 June 2002.

It stands north of the main house's kitchen wing and west of the side annex, its ridge running north to south along the passage on the west side of the estate. The side annex joins its east face.

The Shimanouchi Yukiko Family Residence Storehouse measures 4 Ken by 2 ken under a tiled Kirizuma-zukuri gable roof, with a building area of 31 square metres. Inside, the ground floor is split into two rooms.

Why It Was Registered

The Storehouse was registered as a model of form and design.

Each ground-floor room has its own door, on a different face: the south room opens through the south gable end, the north room through the east side. One storehouse becomes two separate stores, each reached directly, and the door positions alone tell you how the inside is divided.

The walls are finished with care. The lower part is clad in Shitami-itabari clapboarding held by vertical battens, the upper part is rendered in Tosa-shikkui, Tosa's hard-wearing lime plaster, and Mizukiri-gawara, small tile ledges, project from the wall to throw off rain. It is a full set of defences for an earthen wall in a wet climate.

What to Look For

On the Shimanouchi Yukiko Family Residence Storehouse, look at how the wall changes from bottom to top: timber below, white plaster above, with rows of tiles cutting across the plaster.

Then count the doors. Many storehouses have a single entrance in the gable end; this one has two, on two different faces, which says a good deal about how it was used.

Following the west passage north, the storehouse is followed by the barn, also late Edo. Together the two buildings form the western edge of the estate.

Visiting

The Shimanouchi Yukiko Family Residence Storehouse belongs to a private home and is not open. Neither the Kochi Prefecture nor the Konan City lists give any visiting information (checked 27 September 2026).

Its west face looks onto the passage along the side of the estate, but it has not been confirmed whether that passage is a public way or part of the property. Check on site before assuming there is a view, and do not walk into the passage.