A dated plank storehouse
The Yusa Family Residence Itagura Storehouse (遊佐家住宅板倉, Yusa-ke Jūtaku Itagura) is a plank-walled storehouse built in 1885 on the Yusa farmstead in the Baba district of Naruko Onsen, Ōsaki City, Miyagi Prefecture, and entered as a Registered Tangible Cultural Property on 11 December 1998.
It is a small building standing apart on the east side of the site. The storehouse is a two-storey timber structure with a building area of 33 square metres, under a gabled Kirizuma-zukuri roof of sheet iron, with a lean-to canopy on its west side.
Its date comes from a Munafuda, the ridge tablet builders fixed in the roof to record the work. Of the six registered buildings here, the Yusa Family Residence Itagura Storehouse is the only one dated to an exact year.
Why it was registered
It was registered for its contribution to the historic landscape. The Agency for Cultural Affairs notes that it preserves well the form of plank storehouse common to this district.
An itagura can be built entirely of timber, without the clay walls of a dozo storehouse. This one preserves the local type in a building whose date is fixed by its ridge tablet.
Close-set posts and a lost shingle roof
The side walls are plank walls in which posts stand every one shaku two sun five bu, about 38 centimetres, tied by numerous horizontal tie-beams (nuki) before the boards go on. With posts this close together, the posts and ties draw a fine grid across the walls.
The roof is now sheet iron, but it is said to have been originally roofed in kobabuki, thin split-wood shingles laid in overlapping courses, with cut stones set along the ridge to hold it down. On this storehouse, that original roof now survives only as a remembered detail.
The canopy on the west side keeps the rain off while goods go in and out; a single canopy on a small two-storey store is about as plain and practical as it gets.
Visiting
The Yusa Family Residence Itagura Storehouse is on private property and no public opening has been announced. Photographs of the building are published in the Agency for Cultural Affairs database and on the Cultural Heritage Online portal.
Directions to the farmstead and the conditions that apply to the whole site are collected on the page for the farmstead as a group.
- 📍 Plan Your Visit to Miyagi
- Find tours, activities & transport passes near Yusa Family Residence Itagura Storehouse
- [ Matsushima Bay Cruise & Sendai Food Tours ]
Q&A
- When was the Yusa Family Residence Itagura Storehouse in Naruko Onsen built?
- Its ridge tablet dates it to 1885. It was registered as a Registered Tangible Cultural Property on 11 December 1998.
- How are the walls of the Yusa Family Residence Itagura Storehouse built?
- Posts stand about 38 centimetres apart, linked by many horizontal tie-beams, with boards fixed over them.
- What was the original roof of the Yusa Family Residence Itagura Storehouse?
- Today it is sheet iron, but it is said to have been thin wooden shingles, kobabuki, held down along the ridge with cut stones.
- Is the Yusa Family Residence Itagura Storehouse in Naruko Onsen the same as the one in Tome?
- No. Both are plank storehouses read itagura, but the Naruko Onsen building was registered in 1998 and the Tome building in 2006.
- Can I visit the Yusa Family Residence Itagura Storehouse in Naruko Onsen?
- It is on private property and no public opening has been announced. Exterior photographs are on the Cultural Heritage Online portal.
Basic Information
| Name | Yusa Family Residence Itagura Storehouse |
|---|---|
| Location | 102 Baba, Naruko Onsen, Osaki City, Miyagi Prefecture |
| Designation | Registered Tangible Cultural Property (building) |
| Year Designated | Registered 1998/12/11 (Heisei 10) |
| Quantity | 1 building |
| Dimensions | 2 storeys, building area 33 square metres |
| Owner | Not listed in the Agency for Cultural Affairs database |
| Public Access | Not open to the public (no open days or viewing arrangement announced) |
References
- Database of National Cultural Properties: 遊佐家住宅板倉 (Yusa Family Residence Itagura Storehouse), Agency for Cultural Affairs
- https://kunishitei.bunka.go.jp/bsys/maindetails/101/00000926
- Cultural Heritage Online: 遊佐家住宅板倉
- https://online.bunka.go.jp/heritages/detail/177146
- Nationally Registered Cultural Properties, Osaki City
- https://www.city.osaki.miyagi.jp/shisei/soshikikarasagasu/kyoikuiinkaijimukyoku/bunkazaika/4/3402.html
Last verified: 2026.09.25
