A Storehouse of 17 Square Metres, Registered in 2002
Imabayashi Family Residence Miso Storehouse (今林家住宅味噌蔵) stands at 604-1 Manmachi, Miyazu City, Kyoto Prefecture, entered on the national register of tangible cultural properties on 21 August 2002. The quantity is one building: earth-walled construction, two storeys, tiled roof, with a footprint of 17 square metres.
The Agency for Cultural Affairs gives the date as Meiji, 1868 to 1911, a span of forty-three years.
Seventeen square metres makes this the smallest building covered here, a fifteenth of the 261 square metres of the main house on the same plot, and smaller again than the twenty-one of the Suga family north storehouse.
Seven Buildings, Registered on Two Dates
Seven buildings of the Imabayashi residence are registered, but the dates fall in two groups.
On 21 August 2002: the main house, the thread store, the tool store, the rice store and the miso store, five in all. On 8 January 2009: the former shop and the former raw-silk store, two more. Seven years apart.
The two added later are both Edo-period buildings, the former shop dated 1830 to 1867 and the former raw-silk store 1857. Both are older than the five registered first.
The older buildings came onto the register afterwards. The former shop was altered around 1952 and again in 2008, the former raw-silk store in 2008, so both were registered after their alterations.
The sizes differ widely: 261 square metres for the main house, 80 for the former shop, 44 for the thread store, 39 for the tool store, 25 for the rice store, 22 for the former raw-silk store, and 17 for the miso store.
Fan Rafters on a Merchant's Storehouse
What catches the eye in the record is a point of structure.
Like three other storehouses here, it is marked by rafters set in a fan.
Rafters laid out in a fan spread from the corner in a radiating pattern. At the Tofukuji gate and the Kannon hall at Eihoji, the same feature appeared as a mark of the Zen manner.
Here it is used on the storehouse of a merchant's house. A form belonging to temple architecture has been taken into an outbuilding of a trading household.
And the record says like three other storehouses here. This is not one experiment but a treatment common to the storehouses of this family.
The Agency gives no reason. Whether one carpenter built them all, or whether this was local practice, cannot be told from the record.
Plain, and Yet with Variety
The exterior is described as well.
It stands at the northeast corner of the plot, its ridge running east to west, gabled, pantiled, entered from the long side, two storeys, earth-walled. The outside is plaster with a boarded skirt laid vertically, and windows are set above and below at the centre of the gable end, giving an exterior plain overall and yet with variety.
Plain overall and yet with variety is the phrase to hold onto. Plainness and variety stand together.
Two things supply the variety: the vertical boarding at the skirt, and the pair of windows in the gable end. The lower part of the white plaster wall is boarded, and the gable carries a window above and below.
The Suga family north storehouse runs one black line across white plaster; the Jukoin garden raises a few upright stones among small ones. The thinking is the same: hold everything back, then let a few points tell.
Visiting
The Agency records nothing about public access and leaves the owner field blank. Registered properties are often buildings their owners go on using, and opening the interior is not assumed.
Check with Miyazu City or a similar source about whether it is open before planning a visit.
Outside, what repays attention is the gable end: windows above and below at the centre, with vertical boarding at the skirt. This is the part the Agency calls varied.
The fan rafters lie under the eaves, so looking up beneath them shows how the rafters are laid. The building is at 604-1 Manmachi, Miyazu City, Kyoto Prefecture.
- 📍 Plan Your Visit to Kyoto
- Find tours, activities & transport passes near Imabayashi Family Residence Miso Storehouse
- [ Kinkakuji Fushimi Inari & Kimono Rental ]
Q&A
- When was the storehouse registered?
- On 21 August 2002, on the national register of tangible cultural properties, as one building of earth-walled construction, two storeys, tiled, with a footprint of 17 square metres. The date is given as Meiji, 1868 to 1911.
- Are there other buildings on the plot?
- Seven are registered, on two dates: five on 21 August 2002 and two on 8 January 2009. The two added later, the former shop and the former raw-silk store, are Edo-period buildings and therefore older than the five registered first.
- What marks its structure?
- The Agency records that, like three other storehouses here, it is marked by rafters set in a fan, spreading from the corner in a radiating pattern. This is a treatment common to the storehouses of this family, and no reason is recorded.
- What is the exterior like?
- The Agency records plaster with a boarded skirt laid vertically, and windows above and below at the centre of the gable end, giving an exterior plain overall and yet with variety. Plainness and variety stand together.
- Can it be visited?
- The Agency records nothing about public access and leaves the owner field blank. Registered properties are often still in use by their owners, and opening the interior is not assumed. Check locally before planning a visit.
Basic Information
| Name | Imabayashi Family Residence Miso Storehouse (今林家住宅味噌蔵) |
|---|---|
| Location | 604-1 Manmachi, Miyazu City, Kyoto Prefecture |
| Designation | Registered Tangible Cultural Property (structure); the main house, thread store, tool store, rice store, former shop and former raw-silk store are separate properties |
| Year Designated | 2002 (21 August), registered |
| Quantity | 1 building |
| Dimensions | Earth-walled construction, 2 storeys, tiled roof, footprint 17 square metres. At the northeast corner of the plot, ridge running east to west, gabled, pantiled, entered from the long side. Plaster with a vertically boarded skirt, and windows above and below at the centre of the gable end. Like 3 other storehouses here, its rafters are set in a fan. Meiji period |
| Owner | The Agency's owner field is blank |
| Public Access | Nothing is recorded about public access |
References
- Cultural Heritage Online: Imabayashi Family Residence Miso Storehouse
- https://bunka.nii.ac.jp/heritages/detail/193949
- Cultural Heritage Online: Imabayashi Family Residence main house
- https://bunka.nii.ac.jp/heritages/detail/149555
- Cultural Heritage Online: Imabayashi Family Residence former shop
- https://bunka.nii.ac.jp/heritages/detail/172812
- Agency for Cultural Affairs: the registration system for tangible cultural properties
- https://www.bunka.go.jp/seisaku/bunkazai/shokai/yukei_kenzobutsu/
Last verified: 2026.09.05