Former Yamada Family Residence Pawn Storehouse and Archive Storehouse

What the Former Yamada Family Residence Pawn Storehouse and Archive Storehouse is

The Former Yamada Family Residence Pawn Storehouse and Archive Storehouse (旧山田家住宅質蔵及び文庫蔵, Kyū-Yamada-ke Jūtaku Shichigura oyobi Bunkogura) is a pair of 2-storey earthen storehouses built in 1848 in Ebe, Nakano City, Nagano Prefecture, and registered as a Registered Tangible Cultural Property on November 29, 2016. It lines the north edge of the estate along National Route 403.

The pawn storehouse (shichigura) is to the east, where pledged goods were kept; the archive storehouse (bunkogura) is to the west, for books and documents. The two sit under a single floating roof, a separate timber roof frame set on top of the earthen body so that, in a fire, the roof could burn away while the walls protected the contents. On the courtyard side a shared canopy runs in front of both doors. The building is earthen-walled, 2 storeys, roofed in pantiles (Sangawara-buki), with a building area of 76 m².

Why the storehouses were registered

The Former Yamada Family Residence Pawn Storehouse and Archive Storehouse was registered for contributing to the historic landscape of the country. The Agency for Cultural Affairs explains that it was built with fire protection in mind during the rebuilding that followed the Zenkōji earthquake of 1847, and that its white lime plaster and dark lower cladding (Shitami-itabari) shape the view along the street.

The Yamada grew wealthy by taking farmland as security for loans, and the pawn storehouse served that business directly. Of the seven registered buildings, it is the oldest with a firm construction year.

Nakano City records that both storehouses had their ridgepoles raised in 1848. A family record, however, dates the archive storehouse to 1798, and some timbers in its upper roof frame, including the ridge beam, are thought to come from that year. The city suggests the 1848 work on the archive storehouse may have been a major repair.

What to look for

The street front

From Route 403 you see white plaster and dark boarding resting on a foundation of rounded "botamochi" stones laid along the water channel. This is the eastern end of the storehouse row that continues west through the kitchen miso storehouse, the office and the back gate, and the city regards it as the signature view of the whole estate.

Built against damp

The city's survey found that the ground-floor structure spans on beams without floor posts, with a large hole in the middle, probably for drainage, and a packed-earth tataki floor. Particular care was taken over damp here, on land long troubled by Chikuma River floods, to protect pledged goods and papers.

Seeing the storehouses

The Former Yamada Family Residence Pawn Storehouse and Archive Storehouse is not on Nakano City's list of buildings open to visitors. Assume the interior is closed and view the exterior from the Route 403 side. It is a busy road, so stay on the footway.

Ask at reception whether the courtyard canopy can be seen from the visitor route. Opening hours, admission and directions are on the Former Yamada Family Residence page.