Kawai Family Residence Northwest Storehouse

What the Kawai Family Residence Northwest Storehouse Is

The Kawai Family Residence Northwest Storehouse (河合家住宅乾蔵, Kawai-ke Jūtaku Inuigura) is a late Edo period (1751 to 1829) storehouse in Kitayagicho, Kashihara City, Nara Prefecture, listed as a Registered Tangible Cultural Property on 7 August 2009. It occupies the northwest corner of the estate, set forward of the main house at the corner of the Shimotsumichi road.

Inui, the first half of its Japanese name, is the old word for northwest. When directions were counted by the twelve signs of the zodiac, the northwest fell between the Dog and the Boar and was called inui. The storehouse is simply named for where it stands in the plot.

It is 11 metres long and 3.8 metres deep, two storeys of Dozo-zukuri earthen-walled construction, with a gabled Kirizuma-zukuri roof in full round-and-flat Hongawarabuki tiling and a building area of 42 square metres. The Agency for Cultural Affairs dates it to the late Edo period with an extension in the mid-Meiji era; the date field for the extension gives the whole Meiji span, 1868 to 1911.

Why It Was Listed

The Kawai Family Residence Northwest Storehouse was listed for its contribution to the historic landscape. The Agency for Cultural Affairs commentary credits it with shaping the historic streetscape from its corner lot on the Shimotsumichi, a road in use since antiquity.

The point is position. The northwest corner can be seen from the old road and from the northern street alike. Building the storehouse forward of the house put a solid block of white wall at the north end of the estate and gave the street corner a firm edge. It protected what was stored inside, and it also closed off the outline of the property.

Of the estate's seven listed structures, three face the Shimotsumichi: the Kawai Family Residence Northwest Storehouse, the main house and the Rojimon gate. The storehouse holds the northern end of that line, pairing with the gate at the southern end so that the main house sits between them.

What to Look For

The walls are finished in white shikkui plaster, but not all the way down. On the south and west faces the lower wall is clad in vertical boards. That band takes the rain splash and the knocks of daily use, and boards are easier to replace than plaster.

The west face looks onto the old road, so the line between board and plaster is easy to read from the street. Two tones, timber below and white above, set the storehouse apart from the lattice front of the main house next to it, and the contrast makes each building's job plain.

On the south face there is a window with a small hood over it. Storehouse windows were kept small and shut with thick fire doors, and a little roof over the opening sheds the rain. The south face looks toward the main house, so you see it at an angle from the road.

The roof is laid in full round-and-flat tiling, the heaviest way to cover a roof. Because the storehouse stands forward of the house, anyone walking down the Shimotsumichi from the north sees its gable and tiles before anything else on the estate.

Visiting

The Kawai Family Residence Northwest Storehouse is privately owned and the interior is not open (checked 26 September 2026). The exterior can be seen from the Shimotsumichi and from the northern street.

Because it stands on the corner, the area where the two streets meet brings both the west face and the north side into view. Look at the boarded lower wall up close, then step back to the south to see the storehouse lined up with the main house.

No notice prohibiting photography was found. This is a lived-in property, so keep the lens away from gates and windows. Directions to the estate and the conditions for seeing it are set out on the Kawai Family Residence (Kitayagi) page.