A Tosa Storehouse in the Northwest Corner
Two courses of drip tiles run around the walls of this small storehouse, catching the eye before anything else. Known as mizukiri-gawara, or water-cutting tiles, they throw rain clear of the plaster below and mark the building at once as a product of Tosa, the old name for this corner of Shikoku, where sudden downpours and typhoons shaped how people built. The Teramura Norio Family Residence Storehouse (Teramura-ke Jutaku Kura) stands in the northwest corner of the walled plot, its ridge running north to south on a base of cut stone.
It is a two-storey earthen-walled dozo, three ken by two, with a gabled pantile roof and its entrance on the long side. A lean-to on the east face shelters the doorway. Below, the walls are clad in vertical boarding; above, they are finished right up to the underside of the eaves in Tosa plaster, the thick lime render that gives storehouses here their pale, weather-hardened skin.
Why It Was Registered
The storehouse was entered in the national register of Tangible Cultural Properties on 12 July 2005 (registration no. 39-0185), one of five structures on the plot listed together that year. Its grounds for registration differ slightly from the others: the Agency for Cultural Affairs records it as a model of its form rather than simply for its place in the landscape, a nod to how completely it embodies the regional storehouse type.
An earthen storehouse was, above all, a strongbox against fire. Thick clay walls sealed under lime plaster resisted flames that could sweep through a district of timber houses, and here the whole family's valuables and stores would have been kept behind them. The two tiers of drip tiles are not decoration alone; they protect that plaster from the heavy rain that would otherwise wear it away. Built in the late Meiji period, the storehouse belongs to the same campaign of construction as the main house it served.
What to Look For
Storehouses like this one are among the defining features of the Doi Kakuchu district, the samurai quarter laid out under the Goto family, senior retainers of the Tosa domain. When the neighbourhood was made a national Important Preservation District in 2012, buildings of exactly this kind, the earthen storehouses tucked at the edges of each plot, were counted among the elements worth keeping.
Standing before it, look first at the two lines of drip tiles and follow how they wrap the building. Then compare the lower boarded skirt with the smooth plaster above, a practical division that reads clearly from the street. The storehouse is part of a private residence and cannot be entered, but its exterior is the point: everything that makes it a Tosa dozo is on the outside, plain to a passer-by who knows what to look for.
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Q&A
- What are the tiled bands on the walls?
- They are mizukiri-gawara, drip tiles set in two tiers to shed rain away from the plaster. They are a hallmark of storehouses in the Tosa region.
- What was the storehouse for?
- As an earthen-walled dozo, it kept the household's goods and valuables safe, above all from fire, which could spread quickly through a district of wooden houses.
- Can I look inside?
- No. It belongs to a private residence and only the exterior can be seen. Within the district, the Nomura Family Residence is open free of charge.
- How big is it?
- It is a compact two-storey storehouse of about 22 square metres, three ken by two, with a gabled tiled roof.
- How do I reach the district?
- From Aki Station on the Gomen-Nahari Line it is about 15 minutes by rental bicycle, or a short bus ride to the Norodokei-mae stop. It is roughly 40 minutes by car from Kochi Ryoma Airport.
Basic Information
| Name | Teramura Norio Family Residence Storehouse (Teramura-ke Jutaku Kura) |
|---|---|
| Location | 993-1 Doi, Aki City, Kochi Prefecture |
| Category | Registered Tangible Cultural Property (building), registration no. 39-0185 |
| Registered | 12 July 2005 (gazetted 2 August 2005) |
| Quantity | 1 building |
| Structure | Earthen-walled, two-storey, tiled roof; building area approx. 22 m²; with wooden gate |
| Period | Late Meiji (1868–1911) |
| Access | Approx. 15 min by rental cycle from Aki Station (Gomen-Nahari Line); within the Doi Kakuchu Preservation District |
| Note | Private residence; exterior only |
References
- National Database of Cultural Properties — Teramura Norio Family Residence Storehouse
- https://kunishitei.bunka.go.jp/bsys/maindetails/101/00004839
- Aki City — Doi Kakuchu Preservation District for Groups of Traditional Buildings
- https://www.city.aki.kochi.jp/life/dtl.php?hdnKey=1381
- Kochi Tourism Information — Doi Kakuchu
- https://kochi-tabi.jp/search_spot_sightseeing.html?id=802
Last verified: 2026.07.05