What the Archive Storehouse Is
The Iida Family Residence Archive Storehouse and Retirement Quarters (飯田家住宅文庫蔵・隠居屋, Iida-ke Jūtaku Bunkogura Inkyoya) is a 2-storey earthen-walled building of 1875 in Toyoshina Takibe, Azumino City, Nagano Prefecture, registered as a Registered Tangible Cultural Property in 2005. It combines two uses under one roof: a bunkogura for books and documents, and inkyo quarters for a family elder who had handed over headship of the house.
It stands on the east edge of the lot, east of the main house, running north to south. The building is 6.5 bays long and 3 bays deep. Its southern 2.5 bays form the retirement quarters, with a kamisetchin privy attached at the southeast corner. The footprint is 96 square meters and the registration number 20-0237.
The register records an extension in the early Meiji years but does not say which part was added.
Storage and Living in One Building
Registered for its contribution to the historic landscape, the building lines the east side of the estate and defines that edge. The garden wall that encloses the southeast of the property runs up to its southeast corner and stops there.
When the Agency for Cultural Affairs describes that wall, it calls this building the inkyogura, the retirement storehouse, a name that captures its double character.
Rather than build a separate cottage for the retiree, the family folded the living space into a Dozo-zukuri storehouse. The thick clay walls that guarded documents against fire also enclosed the elder's rooms, so the household's papers and its senior member shared the same protective shell.
What to Look For
Look at the base of the walls. Above white Shikkui plaster, the lower walls are finished in Namako-kabe, flat tiles set with raised plaster joints, here laid so the joints form a hexagonal tortoiseshell pattern. Other storehouses on the estate use namako-kabe too, but this is the only one the Agency describes with the tortoiseshell layout.
The roof is an okiyane, a separate roof frame set on top of the storehouse body and finished as a tiled gable. Even the underside of the eaves is sealed in plaster, and a tiled pent roof shelters the west side.
At the south end, find the privy at the southeast corner. A kamisetchin was generally the better-appointed toilet reserved for the head of the house or guests, and its presence suggests the retirement rooms of the Iida Family Residence Archive Storehouse and Retirement Quarters were fitted out as a self-contained home.
Viewing the Archive Storehouse
The building stands inside a private residence and its interior is not open.
Because the Iida Family Residence Archive Storehouse and Retirement Quarters lines the east edge of the lot, any view of it comes from the east side of the estate. Keep photography to exteriors seen from public roads.
Access details and visiting etiquette are gathered on the Iida Family Residence page.
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Q&A
- When was the Iida Family Residence Archive Storehouse and Retirement Quarters built?
- The national register gives 1875, with an extension in the early Meiji years.
- What are the retirement quarters in the Iida Family Residence Archive Storehouse and Retirement Quarters?
- Inkyo quarters were rooms for a family elder who had passed on the headship. Here they occupy the southern 2.5 bays of the storehouse, with a privy at the southeast corner.
- What is special about the walls of the Iida Family Residence Archive Storehouse and Retirement Quarters?
- They are white plaster with a lower band of namako-kabe tiling laid in a tortoiseshell pattern, and even the eaves are plastered underneath.
- How large is the Iida Family Residence Archive Storehouse and Retirement Quarters?
- It is a 2-storey earthen-walled building 6.5 bays long and 3 bays deep, with a building area of 96 square meters.
- Can I visit the Iida Family Residence Archive Storehouse and Retirement Quarters?
- It is inside a private residence and not open to the public. You can see only what is visible from the road.
Basic Information
| Name | Iida Family Residence Archive Storehouse and Retirement Quarters |
|---|---|
| Location | 604-1 Toyoshina Takibe, Azumino City, Nagano Prefecture |
| Designation | Registered Tangible Cultural Property (Building) |
| Year Designated | 2005 (registered) |
| Quantity | 1 building |
| Dimensions | 2-storey earthen-walled storehouse, tiled roof, building area 96 square meters |
| Owner | Private |
| Public Access | Within a private residence and not open to the public; exterior visible from the road |
References
- Database of National Cultural Properties (Agency for Cultural Affairs): Iida Family Residence Archive Storehouse and Retirement Quarters
- https://kunishitei.bunka.go.jp/bsys/maindetails/101/00005169
- Database of National Cultural Properties (Agency for Cultural Affairs): Iida Family Residence Wall
- https://kunishitei.bunka.go.jp/bsys/maindetails/101/00005181
- Hachijuni Culture Foundation, Cultural Properties of Shinshu: Iida Family Residence Archive Storehouse and Retirement Quarters (Japanese)
- https://www.82bunka.or.jp/bunkazai/detail.php?no=5839
- Azumino City: List of Cultural Properties (Japanese)
- https://www.city.azumino.nagano.jp/site/kyoiku/10156.html
Last verified: 2026.09.22
