What Is the Katakura Family Residence West Storehouse?
The Katakura Family Residence West Storehouse (片倉家住宅西の蔵, Katakura-ke Jūtaku Nishi no Kura) is a two-storey clay-walled storehouse built in the early Meiji period on the Katakura homestead in Kawagishikami, Okaya City, Nagano Prefecture; it was registered as a Registered Tangible Cultural Property on 8 July 1999. It covers 25 square meters.
Three storehouses stand in a row on the west side of the Katakura main house, and this is the northernmost. The Miso Storehouse and the South Storehouse follow it to the south.
A Plastered Store for Household Goods
The Katakura Family Residence West Storehouse is a compact Dozo-zukuri building, 3 ken wide and 2.5 ken deep (about 5.5 by 4.5 meters), with two floors inside. The agency says it was built to hold household goods and finished in white Shikkui plaster.
Each storehouse in the row had its own job: household goods here, everyday tableware in the South Storehouse, miso in the one between. The West Storehouse kept the things the family took out less often.
The roof is a simple gable (Kirizuma-zukuri) set as an Okiyane, a separate roof raised above the clay body with a gap between them. The arrangement is said to protect the store if the roof itself catches fire and to keep summer heat off the walls.
The Doorway and the Question of the Roof
The agency singles out the doorway of the West Storehouse as its distinguishing feature. On a Japanese storehouse the doorway, with its thick clay-packed doors and the small roof and side walls that shelter them, is the face of the building. The agency gives no further detail, but here that doorway is what to look for.
Sources disagree on the roof covering. The structure field of the national database says metal sheet; the database's own description and Okaya City's 2009 list of cultural properties say slabs of teppeiseki stone.
Teppeiseki is a platy andesite quarried in the Suwa area that splits into thin sheets and has long been used locally for roofs, walls and paving. Published sources do not show which covering the Katakura Family Residence West Storehouse has today.
Visiting the Katakura Family Residence West Storehouse
The Katakura Family Residence West Storehouse belongs to Katakura Industries and is not open to the public. The grounds and the interior are closed.
It stands at the north end of the row of storehouses west of the main house. View it only from the public road. Directions and the site layout are on the Katakura Family Residence page.
Q&A
- Where does the Katakura Family Residence West Storehouse stand?
- It is the northernmost of three storehouses in a row on the west side of the main house.
- What was kept in the Katakura Family Residence West Storehouse?
- Household goods. It is a plastered two-storey storehouse.
- What should I look for at the Katakura Family Residence West Storehouse?
- The doorway, which the Agency for Cultural Affairs names as its main feature, and the detached gabled roof.
- When did the Katakura Family Residence West Storehouse become a Registered Tangible Cultural Property?
- On 8 July 1999, as registration no. 20-0015, for its contribution to the historic landscape.
- Can I visit the Katakura Family Residence West Storehouse?
- No. It is private and closed to visitors. Please view it from the public road.
Basic Information
| Name | Katakura Family Residence West Storehouse (片倉家住宅西の蔵) |
|---|---|
| Location | 1-21-6 Kawagishikami, Okaya City, Nagano Prefecture |
| Designation | Registered Tangible Cultural Property (Structure), registration no. 20-0015 |
| Year Designated | Registered 8 July 1999 |
| Quantity | 1 building |
| Dimensions | Two-storey dozo-zukuri storehouse, metal sheet roof (stone-slab okiyane in the agency description), building area 25 square meters |
| Owner | Katakura Industries Co., Ltd. |
| Public Access | Not open to the public |
References
- Database of National Cultural Properties: Katakura Family Residence West Storehouse (Agency for Cultural Affairs, Japanese)
- https://kunishitei.bunka.go.jp/heritage/detail/101/00001189
- List of Cultural Properties (Okaya City, PDF, Japanese)
- https://www.city.okaya.lg.jp/material/files/group/26/10297.pdf
Last verified: 2026.09.27
