What is the Yamanaka Family Residence South Storehouse?
The Yamanaka Family Residence South Storehouse (山中家住宅南蔵, Yamanaka-ke Jūtaku Minamigura) is a late Edo-period granary in the southwest corner of the Yamanaka family's townhouse plot in Honmachi, Nabari City, Mie Prefecture, and was listed as a Registered Tangible Cultural Property (Registered Tangible Cultural Property) on September 10, 2019. It is a 2-story Dozo-zukuri building with a tiled roof and a building area of 23 square meters, the smallest of the four registered buildings on the site.
The Agency for Cultural Affairs dates it to the late Edo period (1830 to 1868). It faces north, across the central garden toward the main house and the annex. Grain was kept here, while the north storehouse held household furnishings.
Walls left at the intermediate coat
The Yamanaka Family Residence South Storehouse has a gabled roof (Kirizuma-zukuri) of interlocking pan tiles (Sangawara-buki), and an open pent roof (Geya) on posts shelters its front. That much it shares with the north storehouse. The walls are a different matter.
A clay storehouse wall is normally built up from a rough base coat, then an intermediate coat, and finished with a top coat of white lime plaster (Shikkui). Here the builders stopped at the intermediate coat, so the walls show an earthy, muted surface instead of the bright white of the north storehouse. The band of plaster under the eaves (Hachimaki) is stepped in only 2 tiers, against 3 on the north storehouse.
For a working granary, that restraint makes sense. Comparing the two storehouses on one plot shows how the household matched the level of finish to what each building was for.
Inside, and a backdrop for the garden
Inside the Yamanaka Family Residence South Storehouse, both floors are boarded and the walls are lined with vertical planks. The roof is a traditional Wagoya frame, with short struts standing on a central beam to carry the roof. The north storehouse, by contrast, has horizontal planking and raking beams.
The agency's note describes the south storehouse as a backdrop to the garden view enjoyed from the reception rooms of the main house and from the annex. Its north-facing front looks onto the garden, so from those rooms the storehouse closes the far side of the view. It was registered for its contribution to the historic landscape of the country, the same criterion as the main house and the north storehouse.
Seeing the Yamanaka Family Residence South Storehouse
The Yamanaka Family Residence South Storehouse stands at the back of the plot in the southwest corner and can barely be seen from the public road on the Hase Kaido. Its interior is not open.
Since 2026 the property has been run as kyucho hotel, a house rented to one party at a time. The sources checked for this article do not say if guests can see the south storehouse across the garden from the main house, so please ask the operator.
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Q&A
- What was the Yamanaka Family Residence South Storehouse used for?
- It was the household granary. Furnishings and utensils were kept separately in the north storehouse.
- When was the Yamanaka Family Residence South Storehouse built and registered?
- The Agency for Cultural Affairs dates it to the late Edo period (1830 to 1868). It became a Registered Tangible Cultural Property on September 10, 2019, together with the main house, the annex and the north storehouse.
- How does the Yamanaka Family Residence South Storehouse differ from the north storehouse?
- The south storehouse has walls left at the intermediate coat, a 2-tier eaves band, vertical planking inside and a strut-and-beam roof frame. The north storehouse has white plaster, a 3-tier band, a tiled lattice base, horizontal planking and raking beams. It is also larger, at 31 square meters against 23.
- Where on the plot is the Yamanaka Family Residence South Storehouse?
- In the southwest corner, facing north across the central garden toward the main house's reception rooms and the annex.
- Can I visit the Yamanaka Family Residence South Storehouse?
- It is not open to the public and is hardly visible from the street. The property is now a guesthouse, but it is unconfirmed if guests can see the storehouse, so please ask the operator.
Basic Information
| Name | Yamanaka Family Residence South Storehouse |
|---|---|
| Location | 200 Honmachi, Nabari City, Mie Prefecture |
| Designation | Registered Tangible Cultural Property (Building) |
| Year Designated | Registered September 10, 2019 |
| Quantity | 1 building |
| Dimensions | Clay-walled storehouse, 2 stories, tiled roof, building area 23 m² |
| Owner | Private individual |
| Public Access | Not open to the public; barely visible from the road |
References
- Database of National Cultural Properties: Yamanaka Family Residence South Storehouse (Agency for Cultural Affairs, Japanese)
- https://kunishitei.bunka.go.jp/heritage/detail/101/00012937
- Database of National Cultural Properties: Yamanaka Family Residence North Storehouse (Agency for Cultural Affairs, Japanese)
- https://kunishitei.bunka.go.jp/heritage/detail/101/00012936
- Cultural Heritage Online: Yamanaka Family Residence South Storehouse (Japanese)
- https://online.bunka.go.jp/heritages/detail/402798
- Nabari City: List of Designated Cultural Properties, as of May 27, 2025 (Japanese, PDF)
- https://www.city.nabari.lg.jp/s061/010/020/000/030/R7shiteibunnkazaiitirann64.pdf
- Iga Town Joho YOU: Kyucho Hotel Opens in a Registered House in Honmachi, Nabari (May 8, 2026, Japanese)
- https://www.iga-younet.co.jp/2026/05/08/114510/
Last verified: 2026.10.02
