Matsuura Family Residence Former Rice Storehouse

About the Matsuura Family Residence Former Rice Storehouse

The Matsuura Family Residence Former Rice Storehouse (松浦家住宅旧米蔵, Matsuura-ke Jūtaku Kyū-Komegura) is a single-storey earth-walled storehouse from around 1910 in Kudo, Oji-cho, Kitakatsuragi-gun, Nara Prefecture, entered on Japan's register of Registered Tangible Cultural Properties on September 10, 2010. It was renovated in 2008.

It stands toward the south end of the plot's east edge, with its ridge running north to south, and the gate nagaya runs north from its north wall along the same boundary. This is the storehouse on the public side of the estate, and of the six registered structures at the Matsuura Family Residence, it is the only one reported to be in everyday use by visitors.

A Ventilation Hood with a Karahafu Curve

The storehouse measures 6.0 m by 4.0 m, with a building area of 31 m². It has a Kirizuma-zukuri gabled roof of Sangawara-buki pantiles and sits on a base of cut stone.

The detail the Agency for Cultural Affairs picks out is high on the south wall: a ventilation opening sheltered by a tiny karahafu hood. A karahafu is a gable that swells in the middle and sweeps up at both ends, a shape normally reserved for the entrances of temples, shrines and mansions. Giving one to a vent that simply let air reach the stored rice suggests the family wanted even this street-facing storehouse to look the part.

A drip ledge divides the walls: white Shikkui plaster above, vertical boarding below. On the west side a lean-to eave forms a Kuramae, the covered working space in front of the storehouse door.

Why the Former Rice Storehouse Was Registered

The Matsuura Family Residence Former Rice Storehouse was registered for its contribution to the historic landscape. The Agency's note on the gate nagaya says that building continues from the former rice storehouse to form a solid, imposing front. The storehouse anchors the south end of that front, its gable end turned south, and adds weight to the long, low line of the gate nagaya.

Visiting the Matsuura Family Residence Former Rice Storehouse

The Matsuura Family Residence is a private home and is not normally open. The National Council for the Utilization of Modern Heritage reports, however, that the former rice storehouse alone is used as a bar in an old building, closed on Mondays. If it is still trading, the Matsuura Family Residence Former Rice Storehouse is the one building a visitor can step inside as a customer, but its current operation could not be confirmed (checked October 2026). It is worth checking with Oji Town's Cultural Resources section before you go.

There is no official guidance on photography. Directions and contact details are on the Matsuura Family Residence page.