Tanaka Honke Museum Nishinokura (West Storehouses)

What the Tanaka Honke Museum Nishinokura Is

The Tanaka Honke Museum Nishinokura (West Storehouses, 田中本家博物館西之蔵) is an early Meiji-period row of three near-identical storehouses joined end to end along the west side of the Tanaka merchant estate in Suzaka City, Nagano Prefecture, registered as a Registered Tangible Cultural Property on 19 September 2003.

The row runs along the street from the Front Gate to the northwest corner of the estate. Low roofs link the three storehouses, and the whole group stretches about 35 metres from north to south. It is built in clay-walled storehouse construction, mostly single-storey with a partial upper floor, and covers 124 square metres.

Each storehouse is about 9 metres long under a gabled roof of pantiles, and they held household goods. They are registered as one property because they form a single connected building.

Why the Nishinokura Was Registered

The Tanaka Honke Museum Nishinokura was registered as contributing to the historic landscape. The Agency for Cultural Affairs says it gives the front of the estate the weighty presence expected of a great landowning house. From the street, three gable ends stand in a steady rhythm, separated by the lower roofs.

Those lower links were not just corridors. They served as a workshop and an inspection room, so the handling, checking and repair of goods happened right between the stores.

What to Look For: The Hina Doll Storehouse

A National Museum of Japanese History study identifies the three storehouses to the left of the gate and gatekeeper's lodge as stores for household goods, and says the middle one was the hina-dozo, the storehouse kept for the family's Girls' Day dolls and their furnishings, along with Boys' Day figures, battledores and other festival things.

The same study notes that the dolls are still kept inside the storehouse with no air conditioning or dehumidifying, relying on the small daily temperature swing of a thick-walled kura to protect them. The Nishinokura is not only an old building but a working store.

From the street, follow the line of the low roofs that dip between the three gables. That change of height is what keeps a long run of heavy storehouses from looking monotonous.

Visiting the Nishinokura

The Tanaka Honke Museum Nishinokura faces the street and can be seen from outside at any time. To take in the full length of about 35 metres, stand back on the far side of the road.

Because the storehouses are still used for storage, their interiors are not normally open. Opening days and admission for the estate are on the Tanaka Honke Museum page.