A stone cellar cut into the slope
The Yusa Family Residence Muro Cellar (遊佐家住宅室, Yusa-ke Jūtaku Muro) is a stone storage cellar built around 1935 on the Yusa farmstead in the Baba district of Naruko Onsen, Ōsaki City, Miyagi Prefecture, entered as a Registered Tangible Cultural Property on 11 December 1998.
Muro is the word for this kind of cellar. It was dug horizontally into a step in the ground just east of the materials shed, making a stone chamber that opens sideways out of the slope. With a building area of 5.4 square metres it is the smallest of the six registered buildings.
At the time of registration, the Agency for Cultural Affairs recorded that it was used mainly to store vegetables for pickling. Buried in the earth, the space stays at an even temperature and humidity, which makes it a natural winter larder.
Why it was registered
The Yusa Family Residence Muro Cellar was registered for its contribution to the historic landscape. The Agency values it as a cellar that helps us understand rural life before the Second World War.
A cellar in the ground is easy to overlook; it reads more like part of the terrain than a building. Here it has been registered on exactly the same footing as the house and the storehouses, a concrete record of how a household in snowy mountain country kept food through the winter.
Cut-stone walls and an arched concrete roof
The side walls are of dressed stone laid in courses, and the chamber is covered with an arched concrete roof. It pairs traditional stonework with a concrete roof.
The front door has been lost and the entrance stands open, as the registration description records. The open mouth of the chamber shows off its construction all the more clearly.
Visiting
The Yusa Family Residence Muro Cellar 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.
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Q&A
- What is the Yusa Family Residence Muro Cellar?
- A stone storage cellar dug sideways into a step in the ground, with cut-stone side walls and an arched concrete roof.
- What was the Yusa Family Residence Muro Cellar used for?
- At the time of registration, the Agency for Cultural Affairs recorded it as used mainly for storing vegetables to be pickled.
- When was the Yusa Family Residence Muro Cellar built?
- Around 1935, according to the Agency for Cultural Affairs. It was registered on 11 December 1998.
- Can I visit the Yusa Family Residence Muro Cellar?
- It is on private property and no public opening has been announced.
- What does the entrance of the Yusa Family Residence Muro Cellar look like?
- The front door has been lost and the entrance stands open, as the Agency for Cultural Affairs recorded at the time of registration.
Basic Information
| Name | Yusa Family Residence Muro Cellar |
|---|---|
| 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 | Building area 5.4 square metres (stone storage chamber) |
| 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: 遊佐家住宅室 (Yusa Family Residence Muro Cellar), Agency for Cultural Affairs
- https://kunishitei.bunka.go.jp/bsys/maindetails/101/00000930
- Nationally Registered Cultural Properties, Osaki City
- https://www.city.osaki.miyagi.jp/shisei/soshikikarasagasu/kyoikuiinkaijimukyoku/bunkazaika/4/3402.html
Last verified: 2026.09.25
