Fureaikan Shirafuji (Former Maruta Clinic) Storehouse

What Is the Fureaikan Shirafuji (Former Maruta Clinic) Storehouse?

The Fureaikan Shirafuji (Former Maruta Clinic) Storehouse (ふれあい館しらふじ（旧丸田医院）土蔵) is a three-storey plastered Dozo-zukuri storehouse in Suzaka City, Nagano Prefecture, built around 1875 and registered as a Registered Tangible Cultural Property on September 19, 2003.

It occupies the northwest corner of the estate, right on the street. The gabled Kirizuma-zukuri roof of sangawara tiles runs east to west. The footprint is only 20 square metres, yet the walls climb three floors, giving it a slender, tower-like profile.

It belongs to the estate as the Urano family, former finance commissioners of the Suzaka domain, first built it, and dates to roughly the same years as the main house and gatehouse.

Why It Was Registered: A Landmark on the Corner

It was registered for contributing to the historic landscape. The Agency for Cultural Affairs notes that the deep eaves and tall ridge, together with the height of the building, give the street a strong point of emphasis.

Suzaka City's guide to its historic streets pairs this storehouse with the gatehouse, pointing to the stern ridge-end tiles and the heavy masonry of rounded stones known as botamochi stonework as among the boldest sights in town. Even in Suzaka, a town known for its kura storehouses, a three-storey kura planted on an estate corner stands out.

What to Look For

Start at ground level and look up. The storehouse rises from a stone base, and above it the Shikkui plaster walls are divided by two horizontal drip ledges that break the white surface into bands.

On the south face there is a doorway under a small roof and a third-floor window; the east face has a second-floor window. With so few openings, the broad plain walls make the height feel greater still.

At the top, note the deep overhang of the eaves and the tall built-up ridge, a roof heavy enough to cap a building of this stature.

Visiting the Storehouse

Because it stands on the northwest corner, the Fureaikan Shirafuji Storehouse can be seen from the street. The best spot is near the corner where the western and northern streets meet, where the whole building, stone base to ridge, fits into one view.

The interior is not open. The estate is now the Shirafuji rental inn, and only overnight guests go inside the gate. No official rule on photography is published. Directions are on the Fureaikan Shirafuji page.