The Smallest Building on the Plot
The Imabayashi Family Residence Miso Storehouse (今林家住宅味噌蔵, Imabayashi-ke Jūtaku Misogura) 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.
With a footprint of just 17 square metres over 2 storeys, it is the smallest of the seven registered Imabayashi buildings. It stands in the northeast corner of the plot, as far back from the street as the property goes, its ridge running east to west under a gabled roof of interlocking pantiles, with the entrance on the long side.
Why It Was Registered
The Imabayashi Family Residence Miso Storehouse was registered as a structure that would be hard to reproduce. The Agency for Cultural Affairs notes that, like three other storehouses on the plot, it sets its rafters in a fan.
Fan-set rafters open out toward the corner of the eaves instead of running parallel. The owners' association for registered properties in Kyoto Prefecture calls them corner fan rafters and treats them as a regional signature of carpenters working across Tango. That the same eave detail was given even to a 17-square-metre storehouse says something about how consistently the Imabayashi storehouses were built.
What to Look For
The walls are lime plaster, with vertical boarding across the base, and windows sit one above the other at the centre of the gable end. The Agency sums up the effect as plain overall, yet not monotonous.
The boarded base and the two stacked windows are what keep the white walls from looking flat. The boarding is practical too, shielding the earthen wall from rain splash, and the former raw silk storehouse behind the old shop has the same finish.
Window placement varies from store to store. The Imabayashi Family Residence Miso Storehouse centres its windows on the gable, while the tool storehouse at the north edge pushes them toward one side.
Visiting
The Imabayashi Family Residence Miso Storehouse stands in the back corner of a private home and is not open. It is not among the buildings the Kyoto owners' association lists as open by inquiry (checked 25 September 2026).
Set well back from the street, it is effectively invisible from outside. Directions to the property are on the Imabayashi Family Residence page.
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- Find tours, activities & transport passes near Imabayashi Family Residence Miso Storehouse
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Q&A
- What is the Imabayashi Family Residence Miso Storehouse?
- A Meiji-era earth-walled storehouse of 2 storeys with a tiled gabled roof and a footprint of 17 square metres, the smallest of the seven Imabayashi buildings, in the northeast corner of the plot.
- When was the Imabayashi miso storehouse registered?
- On 21 August 2002, as a Registered Tangible Cultural Property judged hard to reproduce.
- What is distinctive about the structure of the Imabayashi Family Residence Miso Storehouse?
- Like three other storehouses on the plot, it sets its rafters in a fan toward the eave corners, a detail the Kyoto owners' association links to carpenters of the Tango region.
- What does the Imabayashi miso storehouse look like?
- White plaster walls with a vertically boarded base, and two windows stacked at the centre of the gable end. The Agency describes it as plain but varied.
- Can you visit the Imabayashi Family Residence Miso Storehouse?
- No. It is closed and hidden from the street at the back of the plot. Only the former shop and former raw silk storehouse are listed as open, by inquiry (checked 25 September 2026).
Basic Information
| Name | Imabayashi Family Residence Miso Storehouse (今林家住宅味噌蔵) |
|---|---|
| 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 17 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 Miso Storehouse (Agency for Cultural Affairs)
- https://kunishitei.bunka.go.jp/bsys/maindetails/101/00002949
- Cultural Heritage Online: Imabayashi Family Residence Miso Storehouse
- https://bunka.nii.ac.jp/heritages/detail/193949
- Imabayashi Residence (Kyoto Association of Registered Cultural Property Owners)
- https://www.kyoto-tobunkai.org/catalogue/51.html
Last verified: 2026.09.25
