Kawai Family Residence Storehouse

What Is the Kawai Family Residence Storehouse?

The Kawai Family Residence Storehouse (河合家住宅土蔵, Kawai-ke Jūtaku Dozō) is a two-storey earthen-walled storehouse of the late Edo period (1751 to 1830) in the northwest corner of the Kawai Family Residence in Ao Kajigamae, Nagaokakyo City, Kyoto Prefecture, registered as a Registered Tangible Cultural Property in 2011.

The Kawai Family Residence Storehouse faces east. It measures 4.9 m along the ridge (Ketayuki) by 3.9 m across (Harima), with a building area of 23 m². Its Kirizuma-zukuri gabled roof of Sangawara-buki pantiles is an Okiyane, and a small roof shelters the east side. The roji gate and partition wall link it to the main house.

Why the Storehouse Was Registered

The Kawai Family Residence Storehouse was registered for its contribution to the historic landscape. The Agency for Cultural Affairs notes its solid, weighty appearance and says that, together with the main house, it gives the estate a firm outline.

Three of the five registered structures, the main house, this storehouse and the tsukiji wall, go back to the late Edo period and form the core of the estate. Among the low, spreading lines of a single-storey farmhouse, the two-storey storehouse in the northwest corner adds height.

What to Look For

The walls of the Kawai Family Residence Storehouse are finished in Shikkui lime plaster, and on the gable ends the plaster is carried up to the level of the Hachimaki, a thickened band of plaster under the eaves that stiffens the roof line of an earthen storehouse.

Only the west wall is faced with vertical boarding to a fairly high level, protecting the plaster from rain and wear. Since the estate lies east of the road, the west wall of a storehouse in the northwest corner faces the road side.

An okiyane is a roof built separately and set on top of the plastered body of the storehouse. The gap between the two is said to help protect the contents if the roof itself catches fire.

Visiting the Kawai Family Residence Storehouse

The Kawai Family Residence Storehouse is part of a private home and its interior is not open; no notice of public openings could be found as of October 2026.

It stands in the northwest corner of the plot, but how much of it can be seen from the road has not been confirmed. If you can see it, keep photography to the exterior from the public road. The layout of the whole estate and directions are on the Kawai Family Residence page.