Raku Family Residence Clothing Storehouse

Raku Family Residence Clothing Storehouse: A Fire-Tight Store Beside the House

The Raku Family Residence Clothing Storehouse (樂家住宅衣装蔵, Raku-ke jūtaku ishōgura) is a two-storey earth-walled storehouse standing between the main house and the main storehouse of the Raku potters' compound in Kamigyo Ward, Kyoto; it is dated to the early Meiji period and was registered as Registered Tangible Cultural Property in 2007.

The store itself measures 2 bays by 1 and a half bays, with its ridge running east to west, under a gabled roof of heavy round-and-flat tiles. On its south side is a 6-mat anteroom, or Kuramae, and the recorded building area, including that room, is 32 square metres.

As with the rest of the house, the date is disputed: early Meiji according to the Agency for Cultural Affairs, 1855 according to the Raku Museum's account of the family's rebuilding.

Why It Was Registered

The Raku Family Residence Clothing Storehouse was listed for its contribution to the historic landscape. The Agency's note is brief: small, but solidly and weightily built.

Behind the timber house, two white plaster storehouses stand together, this one and the larger main storehouse to its north-west. Closing off the back of a Kyoto merchant house with thick fireproof walls was common practice, and this store forms part of that line.

What to Look For: Stepped Doors and Black Plaster

The doors are finished in kakego-nuri. Both the door edges and the frame they close against are built up in a series of plaster steps, so that when the door shuts the steps interlock and seal the gap. It is a fire precaution: in a city fire, flames and hot air cannot find a way in.

The back faces of the doors and the lintel above the opening are coated in black lime plaster, so that when the doors stand open a dark frame appears in the white wall.

Upstairs, a window on the south side has its own small tiled hood. The anteroom on the south connects directly with the main house, letting the family reach the store without stepping outside. As the name suggests, it was a store for kimono and household things, kept within easy reach of daily life.

Seeing the Clothing Storehouse

The Raku Family Residence Clothing Storehouse stands behind the main house and cannot be seen from the street. It is part of a private home and is not open.

Stepped storehouse doors of the same kind can be seen at townhouses and museums in Kyoto that are open to the public. Directions to the Raku Family Residence and details of the Raku Museum next door are on the group page.