Horii Family Residence Rice Storehouse

A Long Rice Store on the West Side

The Horii Family Residence Rice Storehouse (堀井家住宅米蔵) is an earthen-walled rice storehouse of the late Edo period (1830 to 1867) in Anashi, Sakurai City, Nara Prefecture, and was registered as a Registered Tangible Cultural Property (structure) on March 2, 2004 (Agency for Cultural Affairs).

The Agency records a single-storey earthen-walled storehouse with a tiled roof and a building area of 110 square metres; registration number 29-0087.

A Long Storehouse on the West Side

The Horii Family Residence Rice Storehouse is a single-storey earthen-walled storehouse that marks off the west side of the estate (Agency for Cultural Affairs). It is 21 metres long, and the interior is divided into 5 rooms.

Its pantiled roof is made of 3 gabled sections stepped at different heights, with a hip-and-gable at the north end only (Agency for Cultural Affairs). The outward-facing walls are plastered in lime, with vertical boarding along the lower part.

Why It Was Registered

The Agency registered it for its contribution to the historic landscape, noting how it stands out among the surrounding fields.

What to Look For

The long profile with its roof in 3 stepped sections is the thing to see (Agency for Cultural Affairs). Breaking 21 metres of roof into steps keeps the building from looking monotonous. The sources do not say whether the steps match the 5 rooms inside.

The white lime plaster above vertical boarding is the same finish used on the wall of about 1932 elsewhere in the estate (Agency for Cultural Affairs).

Visiting

The storehouse stands on the west side of the estate, its outward-facing walls plastered (Agency for Cultural Affairs). No official information on interior access was found.