The Heart of a Thread Wholesaler's House
The Imabayashi Family Residence Silk Thread Storehouse (今林家住宅糸蔵, Imabayashi-ke Jūtaku Itogura) in Yorozumachi, Miyazu City, Kyoto Prefecture, is a Meiji-era earth-walled storehouse that was entered on the national register as a Registered Tangible Cultural Property on 21 August 2002.
At 44 square metres it is the largest of the five storehouses on the Imabayashi plot: earth-walled, 2 storeys, tiled. It stands in the northwest of the property, joined to the main house, with its ridge running east to west.
The Agency for Cultural Affairs calls it the central building of the house, both in function and in architecture. For a family that made its living wholesaling silk thread, the storehouse that held the stock was the one built biggest and with the most care.
Why It Was Registered
Of the seven registered Imabayashi buildings, only the silk thread storehouse is listed as a model of design. The main house, former shop and former raw silk storehouse are registered for their contribution to the townscape, and the rice, tool and miso storehouses as structures that would be hard to reproduce.
The Agency's reasons come down to three points: careful workmanship, the largest scale on the plot, and an unusually broad gable front.
What to Look For
The Imabayashi Family Residence Silk Thread Storehouse has a gabled roof and is entered from the gable end, the Tsumairi arrangement. Its depth across the ridge is greater than its length along the ridge, the reverse of most storehouses, so the gable end becomes a wide, almost square wall rather than a narrow one.
High on that wall, two openings sit side by side at the same height, perfectly symmetrical. The Agency picks out this broad gable front as the storehouse's defining feature.
Several storehouses on the plot set their rafters in a fan at the eave corners, and the Agency's description of the miso storehouse says three others share the detail. The silk thread storehouse's own description, however, does not say whether it is one of them.
The tool storehouse at the north edge of the plot uses the same deep proportions but is entered from the long side and places its windows toward the north of the gable. Same method, different face.
Visiting
The Imabayashi Family Residence Silk Thread Storehouse stands inside a private home and is not open. The Kyoto owners' association for registered properties lists only the former shop and the former raw silk storehouse as buildings that can be shown (checked 25 September 2026).
Because it does not face the street, very little of it can be seen from outside, and no published arrangement allows a view of the gable front. Directions to the property are on the Imabayashi Family Residence page.
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Q&A
- What is the Imabayashi Family Residence Silk Thread Storehouse?
- A Meiji-era earth-walled storehouse of 2 storeys with a tiled roof and a footprint of 44 square metres, the largest storehouse on the plot and described by the Agency as the central building of the thread business.
- When was the Imabayashi silk thread storehouse registered?
- On 21 August 2002. It is the only one of the seven Imabayashi buildings registered as a model of design.
- What makes the Imabayashi Family Residence Silk Thread Storehouse distinctive?
- It is entered from the gable end, is deeper across the ridge than it is long, and has a broad gable front with two symmetrical openings on the upper floor.
- Can you visit the Imabayashi Family Residence Silk Thread Storehouse?
- No. It is inside a private residence and not open, and it cannot really be seen from the street. Only the former shop and former raw silk storehouse are listed as open, by inquiry (checked 25 September 2026).
- Where is the silk thread storehouse on the Imabayashi plot?
- In the northwest, attached to the back of the main house, with its ridge running east to west.
Basic Information
| Name | Imabayashi Family Residence Silk Thread Storehouse (今林家住宅糸蔵) |
|---|---|
| Location | 604-1 Yorozumachi, Miyazu City, Kyoto Prefecture |
| Designation | Registered Tangible Cultural Property (structure) |
| Year Designated | Registered 2002/8/21 (Heisei 14) |
| Quantity | 1 building |
| Dimensions | Earth-walled storehouse, 2 storeys, tiled roof, building area 44 square metres |
| Owner | Private (owner field blank in the Agency for Cultural Affairs database) |
| Public Access | Closed |
References
- Database of National Cultural Properties: Imabayashi Family Residence Silk Thread Storehouse (Agency for Cultural Affairs)
- https://kunishitei.bunka.go.jp/bsys/maindetails/101/00002947
- Cultural Heritage Online: Imabayashi Family Residence Silk Thread Storehouse
- https://bunka.nii.ac.jp/heritages/detail/116027
- Database of National Cultural Properties: Imabayashi Family Residence Miso Storehouse (Agency for Cultural Affairs)
- https://kunishitei.bunka.go.jp/bsys/maindetails/101/00002949
- Imabayashi Residence (Kyoto Association of Registered Cultural Property Owners)
- https://www.kyoto-tobunkai.org/catalogue/51.html
Last verified: 2026.09.25
