What Is the Omori Family Residence Storehouse?
The Omori Family Residence Storehouse (大森家住宅蔵, Ōmori-ke Jūtaku Kura) is an earthen-walled storehouse in the southeast corner of the Omori merchant compound in Yamaga, Yamaga City, Kumamoto Prefecture, built in the early Meiji period, extended in the late Meiji period, and registered as a Registered Tangible Cultural Property on 27 March 2018. It is a 2-storey Dozo-zukuri building with a tiled roof and a building area of 118 square meters.
Yamaga City's list of cultural properties notes that the Omori Family Residence Storehouse has long been known as the miso-gura, the miso storehouse. The Agency for Cultural Affairs dates it to the early Meiji period and gives a range of 1868 to 1882.
An L-Shaped Store Built in Two Stages
The Omori Family Residence Storehouse reached its present shape in two steps. A range running east to west came first, in the early Meiji years. In the late Meiji period a second range was added running north to south, turning the plan into an L.
Both ranges have pitched Kirizuma-zukuri roofs laid with Sangawara-buki pantiles. Yamaga City gives the size as about 6 meters wide and 13.5 meters deep. Inside, each floor is a single undivided room, and the roof is framed with Nobori-bari, beams laid on a slope from wall to ridge. Sloping beams leave headroom on the upper floor, which suits a building meant for stacking goods.
Posts and Beams Drawn on the Wall
The walls of the Omori Family Residence Storehouse are Ōkabe, thick earthen walls that bury the timber posts for fire protection. Yet the surface is not flat. According to the Agency for Cultural Affairs, the plaster is modeled in relief where the posts and beams run behind it, so the frame hidden inside is traced on the outside.
Yamaga City adds that the walls are plastered all over. On the white surface, those raised strips form a grid of verticals and horizontals that ties the two ranges of the L together.
The Agency for Cultural Affairs calls the Omori Family Residence Storehouse an earthen storehouse that conveys how an old family lived. It is registration number 43-170, listed for its contribution to the historic landscape.
Visiting
The Omori Family Residence Storehouse stands deep inside a private lot and is not open to the public. The grounds cannot be entered.
Because it sits behind the main house and the north wall that line the street, the Omori Family Residence Storehouse is almost impossible to see from the old Kikuchi Ōkan road. The Agency for Cultural Affairs database has a photograph that shows the relief on its walls.
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Q&A
- When was the Omori Family Residence Storehouse built?
- Its east-west range dates from the early Meiji period, which the Agency for Cultural Affairs gives as 1868 to 1882, and the north-south range was added in the late Meiji period.
- Why is the Omori Family Residence Storehouse L-shaped?
- Because a north-south range was added in the late Meiji period to the original east-west range.
- What is unusual about the walls of the Omori Family Residence Storehouse?
- They are thick earthen walls that hide the frame, but the plaster is modeled in relief along the posts and beams. Yamaga City notes that they are plastered all over.
- When did the Omori Family Residence Storehouse become a Registered Tangible Cultural Property?
- On 27 March 2018, as registration number 43-170.
- Can I see the Omori Family Residence Storehouse?
- No. It stands at the back of a private lot and can hardly be seen from the street.
Basic Information
| Name | Omori Family Residence Storehouse (大森家住宅蔵) |
|---|---|
| Location | 47 Yamaga and other lots, Yamaga City, Kumamoto Prefecture |
| Designation | Registered Tangible Cultural Property (Building), Registration No. 43-170 |
| Year Designated | Registered 27 March 2018 |
| Quantity | 1 building |
| Dimensions | 2-storey earthen-walled storehouse, tiled roof, building area 118 square meters |
| Owner | Private owner |
| Public Access | Not open to the public |
References
- Database of National Cultural Properties: 大森家住宅蔵 (Agency for Cultural Affairs)
- https://kunishitei.bunka.go.jp/heritage/detail/101/00012258
- Cultural Heritage Online: 大森家住宅蔵 (Agency for Cultural Affairs)
- https://online.bunka.go.jp/heritages/detail/443069
- List of Designated Cultural Properties in Yamaga City (Yamaga City)
- https://www.city.yamaga.kumamoto.jp/kiji00396/3_96_11829_up_ktyrydo6.pdf
Last verified: 2026.09.28
