Kosaka Family Residence Rear Warehouse

What Is the Kosaka Family Residence Rear Warehouse?

The Kosaka Family Residence Rear Warehouse (小坂家住宅裏倉庫, Kosaka-ke Jūtaku Urasōko) is a two-story earthen storehouse built in the late Meiji era (1898 to 1912) on the Kosaka homestead in the Murayama district of Nagano City, Nagano Prefecture, and was registered as a Registered Tangible Cultural Property on December 5, 2019.

It stands toward the east end of the north boundary, directly behind the earthen-floored work area of the main house, with its ridge running east to west. The earthen storehouse covers 38 m². Seen from the formal gate on the east, it is the farthest building on the property, which is where the name rear warehouse comes from.

Why It Was Registered

It was registered for its contribution to the historic landscape. The Agency for Cultural Affairs notes that, together with the rear gate and farm equipment storehouse that continue to the east, the Kosaka Family Residence Rear Warehouse gives the back of the compound its quiet character.

Three structures line the north edge: the rear warehouse, the rear gate and the farm equipment storehouse. The earthen wall that starts at the rice storehouse in the southwest also ends here. The Kosaka Family Residence Rear Warehouse is therefore both the end point of the wall and the first link in the northern row.

What to Look For: Plaster Above, Timber Below

The gabled pantile roof is a placed roof, like that of the rice storehouse. The entrance opens in the west gable end under a small lean-to.

The walls are finished in white lime plaster with a molded band under the eaves. Their lower part is sheathed in sasarako shitami, horizontal boards held by notched vertical battens, which keeps splashing rain off the clay. A white wall over a dark band of timber is the look shared by all three northern structures.

Its placement is telling. Set just behind the kitchen and work area of the main house, it kept stored goods within easy reach of daily household tasks.

Visiting the Kosaka Family Residence Rear Warehouse

The Kosaka Family Residence Rear Warehouse is on private land. The interior is closed and the grounds cannot be entered. Standing on the north side, it is hard to see from the gate side of the property; any viewing is limited to what is visible from the surrounding lanes.