A Storehouse from the Kurosu Estate
The Shimoina Education Association Former Kurosu Family Storehouse (下伊那教育会旧黒須家土蔵, Shimoina Kyōikukai Kyū-Kurosu-ke Dozō) is a late Meiji-era, two-storey Dozo-zukuri earthen storehouse on the plot across the street from the Shimoina Education Hall in Nakanomachi, Iida City, Nagano Prefecture, and was registered as a Registered Tangible Cultural Property on 7 October 2014.
It was built for the Kurosu family and came to the Shimoina Education Association in 1946, when the association bought the Kurosu residence for use as an annex. The roof is tiled and the building covers 36 square metres. On the same plot, to the west, stands the family's old front gate, now registered as the Former Kurosu Family Gate.
Its date is given in two ways. The national database lists it as late Meiji, 1898 to 1912, and the Agency for Cultural Affairs describes it as a storehouse rebuilt in that period with reused chestnut posts and other old timber. The Iida City Board of Education's handbook for fiscal 2024 calls it a late Edo-period storehouse that was rebuilt in or after the Meiji era. Both agree the Kurosu storehouse was rebuilt from an earlier one; they differ on which date to give it.
Why It Was Registered
The storehouse was registered for contributing to the historic landscape. Iida City presents it, together with the Kurosu gate, as a building that conveys the feel of a street of samurai residences.
Nakanomachi was part of the samurai quarter of the castle town. Here the front gate on the street and the storehouse just east of it survive together on one plot, which is enough to picture how such a residence was arranged. The Former Kurosu Family Storehouse was the part that kept the household's goods safe behind the gate.
What to Look At
A floating roof
The roof is of the Okiyane type and is laid with Sangawara-buki pan tiles. Instead of plastering the roof into the earthen body, a separate roof frame is set on top, leaving a gap between the two.
Two lean-tos
A Geya lean-to is attached to the west gable end, and an open lean-to supported only on posts runs the full length of the south side, creating a long sheltered space along that wall. With lean-tos on two sides, this small storehouse has a more elaborate outline than its size would suggest.
Namako tiling and the hachimaki band
The lower walls are faced with Namako-kabe tiling up to about waist height, and a Hachimaki band runs around the top of the walls. The association's other storehouse, behind the hall across the street, carries its namako tiling right up to the band; here it stops low, and comparing the two shows how different the same materials can look.
Reused chestnut posts
The Agency for Cultural Affairs notes that old chestnut timbers were among the materials reused for the posts. Chestnut resists damp and rot and has long been used for sills and posts in Japan. The posts are the clearest evidence that the Kurosu storehouse was rebuilt from an earlier building.
Visiting
The former Kurosu plot is now the Shimoina Education Association's annex. As of October 2026 there was no notice of public access to the interior of the Former Kurosu Family Storehouse.
How much of it can be seen from the street has not been confirmed. The ground inside the Kurosu gate belongs to the annex, so please do not go through the gate to look at the storehouse.
Q&A
- When was the Former Kurosu Family Storehouse in Iida built?
- The national database dates it to the late Meiji era (1898 to 1912) and treats it as a rebuilding that reused old timber. Iida City describes it as a late Edo-period storehouse rebuilt in or after the Meiji era. It was registered as a Registered Tangible Cultural Property on 7 October 2014.
- Why is it called the Shimoina Education Association Former Kurosu Family Storehouse?
- It belonged to the Kurosu family's residence, which the Shimoina Education Association bought in 1946 for use as an annex.
- What are the main features of the Former Kurosu Family Storehouse?
- It is a two-storey earthen storehouse with a separately framed tiled roof, a lean-to on the west gable end, an open lean-to along the whole south side, namako tiling on the lower walls and a band of plaster below the eaves.
- How big is the Kurosu storehouse?
- It has a building area of 36 square metres.
- Can I visit the Former Kurosu Family Storehouse?
- There was no notice of public access to the interior as of October 2026. The plot is used as the association's annex, so please do not enter.
Basic Information
| Name | Shimoina Education Association Former Kurosu Family Storehouse (下伊那教育会旧黒須家土蔵) |
|---|---|
| Location | 358-3 Nakanomachi, Iida City, Nagano Prefecture |
| Designation | Registered Tangible Cultural Property (Building) |
| Year Designated | Registered 2014/10/7 (Heisei 26) |
| Quantity | 1 building |
| Dimensions | Earthen storehouse, 2 storeys, tiled roof, building area 36 square metres |
| Owner | Shimoina Education Association (public interest incorporated association) |
| Public Access | Not open to the public (on the grounds of the association's annex) |
References
- Agency for Cultural Affairs, Database of National Cultural Properties: Former Kurosu Family Storehouse (Japanese)
- https://kunishitei.bunka.go.jp/bsys/maindetails/101/00010143
- Cultural Heritage Online: Former Kurosu Family Storehouse (Japanese)
- https://online.bunka.go.jp/heritages/detail/273206
- Iida City Board of Education: Education Handbook FY2024, Cultural Properties Section, PDF (Japanese)
- https://www.city.iida.lg.jp/uploaded/attachment/70930.pdf
- Shimoina Education Association: History (Japanese)
- https://shimoinakyoikukai.jp/kyoikukai_008/
Last verified: 2026.10.08
