A Small Storehouse for the Household's Miso
The Sato Family Residence (Mitsubiki) Miso Storehouse is a two-story earthen-walled storehouse built in the late Meiji era on the estate of a silkworm-egg producer in Kamishiojiri, Ueda, Nagano Prefecture, and it was registered as a Registered Tangible Cultural Property on June 24, 2021. In Japanese it is 佐藤家住宅（三ツ引）味噌蔵, Satō-ke Jūtaku (Mitsubiki) Misogura. As the name says, it held the miso the family made for itself, the fermented soybean paste at the heart of everyday Japanese cooking.
It stands just west of the main house, its ridge running east to west, under a gabled tile roof. At 20 square meters it is the smallest earthen-walled building on the estate. The national database dates it to late Meiji, sometime between 1898 and 1912.
Ueda City, on the other hand, counts the Miso Storehouse among buildings renovated between late Edo and Meiji and includes it in the estate shown in a book of copperplate views published in 1897. The two datings do not quite overlap, and the sources do not explain how the building's history fits together.
Why It Was Registered
The registration criterion is contribution to the historic landscape of the country, and the Agency for Cultural Affairs credits the Sato Family Residence (Mitsubiki) Miso Storehouse with shaping the view along the west side of the main house.
Most of the estate's nine listings are tied to the egg trade: rearing rooms, a disinfection room, rooms stacked over storage. The Miso Storehouse belongs to the other half of life here, the daily food of a large household. A family that served as village headman and ran a busy business had many mouths to feed, and a stock of miso was part of keeping the house going.
Seeing work buildings and household storehouses side by side is what makes the compound legible as both home and workplace. The Sato Family Residence (Mitsubiki) Miso Storehouse is the clearest example of the domestic side.
What to Look For
There are two doorways, one on the east and one on the north. The north gable end carries a small pent roof, with a single window in the upper story above it. The walls are plastered right up under the eaves and finished at the middle coat, and even the underside of the pent roof is packed with clay.
Plastering the underside of the pent roof is fiddly work, done so that no bare timber is left exposed. Small as it is, the storehouse follows the full discipline of earthen construction against fire and damp.
Inside, the ground floor is split into two earth-floored rooms and the upper floor is a single wood-floored room. An earth floor below suits heavy miso tubs. The Agency for Cultural Affairs database has a photograph of the Sato Family Residence (Mitsubiki) Miso Storehouse taken from the east.
Visiting the Miso Storehouse
The Sato Family Residence (Mitsubiki) Miso Storehouse stands inside a private estate and is not open to the public. The Agency for Cultural Affairs describes it as part of the view on the west side of the main house, but we could not confirm what can be seen from outside the property, and we found no published guidance on photography.
Directions to the estate and the story of the whole compound are on the Sato Family Residence (Mitsubiki) page.
- 📍 Plan Your Visit to Nagano
- Find tours, activities & transport passes near Sato Family Residence (Mitsubiki) Miso Storehouse
- [ Matsumoto Castle & Kamikochi Hiking Tours ]
Q&A
- Can you visit the Sato Family Residence (Mitsubiki) Miso Storehouse?
- No. It stands inside a private estate and is not open to the public, and there is no published guidance on photography. A photograph of the exterior is available in the Agency for Cultural Affairs database.
- When was the Sato Family Residence (Mitsubiki) Miso Storehouse built?
- The national database dates it to late Meiji, between 1898 and 1912. Ueda City lists it among buildings renovated between late Edo and Meiji. It was registered as a Registered Tangible Cultural Property on June 24, 2021.
- How big is the Sato Family Residence (Mitsubiki) Miso Storehouse?
- It is a two-story earthen-walled storehouse of 20 square meters under a gabled tile roof, the smallest earthen-walled building on the estate.
- What is inside the Sato Family Residence (Mitsubiki) Miso Storehouse?
- The ground floor has two earth-floored rooms and the upper floor a single wood-floored room. Doorways open on the east and north sides, and the north gable carries a small pent roof.
- Where on the estate is the Sato Family Residence (Mitsubiki) Miso Storehouse?
- It stands west of the main house with its ridge running east to west. The Document Storehouse is nearby, and the household shrine sits farther west on a stone wall. The Agency for Cultural Affairs describes it as shaping the view on the west side of the main house.
Basic Information
| Name | Sato Family Residence (Mitsubiki) Miso Storehouse |
|---|---|
| Location | 90 Minamigawa, Kamishiojiri, Ueda City, Nagano Prefecture |
| Designation | Registered Tangible Cultural Property (Building) |
| Year Designated | Registered 2021/6/24 (Reiwa 3) |
| Quantity | 1 building |
| Dimensions | Earthen storehouse construction, 2 stories, tiled roof, building area 20 square meters |
| Owner | Private owner (name not published) |
| Public Access | Not open to the public (private estate) |
References
- Database of National Cultural Properties (Agency for Cultural Affairs): Sato Family Residence (Mitsubiki) Miso Storehouse
- https://kunishitei.bunka.go.jp/bsys/maindetails/101/00013794
- Cultural Properties of Ueda City (Ueda Citizens' ICT Promotion Center): Sato Family Residence (Mitsubiki)
- https://museum.umic.jp/bunkazai/document2/127.php
Last verified: 2026.09.26
