A Storehouse at the Back of the Plot
The Imabayashi Family Residence Tool Storehouse (今林家住宅道具蔵, Imabayashi-ke Jūtaku Dōgugura) 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.
It is 2 storeys, tiled, with a footprint of 39 square metres, and it holds the north edge of the Imabayashi plot, the point farthest from the street. The ridge runs east to west under a gabled roof of interlocking pantiles, the walls are plastered, and the entrance is on the long side.
Why It Was Registered: Fan-Set Rafters
The Imabayashi Family Residence Tool Storehouse was registered as a structure that would be hard to reproduce. The Agency for Cultural Affairs says it preserves particularly well an unusual method found here and there among Miyazu's storehouses: rafters laid out like the ribs of a fan.
Instead of running parallel all the way to the corner, the rafters open out toward the corner of the eaves. The owners' association for registered properties in Kyoto Prefecture calls this sumi-ōgi-daruki, corner fan rafters, and reads it as the mark of carpenters who worked around Miyazu and across Tango. It is a technique associated with temple building, turning up under the eaves of a merchant's storehouse.
What to Look For
Like the silk thread storehouse, the Imabayashi Family Residence Tool Storehouse is deeper across the ridge than it is long, which turns its gable end into a broad wall.
Its windows sit one above the other toward the north side of that gable wall rather than at its centre. The miso storehouse in the northeast corner, by contrast, centres its windows on the gable.
The difference from the silk thread storehouse lies in the entrance. That building is entered from the gable end and has a symmetrical pair of upper windows; this one is entered from the long side. Same proportions, two quite different faces.
Visiting
The Imabayashi Family Residence Tool Storehouse stands at the back 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).
The fan-set rafters are visible only from beneath the eaves, and since the storehouse cannot be seen from the street, no published arrangement allows a look at them. Directions to the property are on the Imabayashi Family Residence page.
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Q&A
- What is the Imabayashi Family Residence Tool Storehouse?
- A Meiji-era earth-walled storehouse of 2 storeys, 39 square metres, with a tiled gabled roof and plastered walls, standing at the north edge of the Imabayashi plot.
- When was the Imabayashi tool storehouse registered?
- On 21 August 2002, as a Registered Tangible Cultural Property judged hard to reproduce.
- What are the fan-set rafters on the Imabayashi Family Residence Tool Storehouse?
- Rafters that open out toward the corner of the eaves like the ribs of a fan. The Agency calls it an unusual method found among Miyazu storehouses; the Kyoto owners' association calls it corner fan rafters.
- Where are the windows on the Imabayashi tool storehouse?
- One above the other, toward the north side of its broad gable wall.
- Can you visit the Imabayashi Family Residence Tool Storehouse?
- No. The interior is closed and the building cannot be seen from the street. 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 Tool Storehouse (今林家住宅道具蔵) |
|---|---|
| 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 39 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 Tool Storehouse (Agency for Cultural Affairs)
- https://kunishitei.bunka.go.jp/bsys/maindetails/101/00002948
- Imabayashi Residence (Kyoto Association of Registered Cultural Property Owners)
- https://www.kyoto-tobunkai.org/catalogue/51.html
Last verified: 2026.09.25
