Okahashi Family Residence South Rice Storehouse

About the Okahashi Family Residence South Rice Storehouse

The Okahashi Family Residence South Rice Storehouse (岡橋家住宅南米蔵, Okahashi-ke Jūtaku Minami-komegura) is an early Showa-period rice storehouse at the southeast corner of the Okahashi estate in Ozukucho, Kashihara City, Nara Prefecture, registered as a Registered Tangible Cultural Property on 17 August 2020 (No. 29-0311).

It is a single-storey Dozo-zukuri storehouse with a Sangawara-buki pantiled roof and a building area of just 22 square metres, the smallest of the seven registered Okahashi storehouses.

It faces west, with its door inside the estate. Its south and east sides form part of the perimeter and look onto the street.

Why the south rice storehouse was registered

The Okahashi Family Residence South Rice Storehouse was registered for its contribution to the historic landscape. The Agency for Cultural Affairs explains that, together with the nagayamon gatehouse, it forms one corner of the estate's frontage.

The long gatehouse runs along the south side, and the little storehouse stands beyond its eastern end, at the corner. The front of the estate is built from that pairing. Without the storehouse the gatehouse would simply stop; with it, the southeast corner is held firmly in place.

A small building at a corner makes the outline of the estate legible from two streets at once. It was valued for where it stands rather than for its size.

What to look for on the south rice storehouse

Look under the eaves. The walls are plastered in Shikkui right up into the soffit, and below the eaves run three stepped bands of plaster (Hachimaki). In the Agency's descriptions the only other storehouse given a count is the new northwest storehouse, with two; the east rice and inner storehouses have bands with no number stated. Three appear only here, so the smallest storehouse carries the most elaborate eaves.

Vertical boarding (Tateita-bari) protects the lower walls on the south and east, the two sides that face the street. It is the same logic as on the east rice storehouse, where only the lane side is boarded.

Each window sits under a little bracketed hood (Mochiokuri). Inside there is an earth floor, fully plastered walls in the Ōkabe manner and a traditional Wagoya roof frame.

Visiting the south rice storehouse

Standing at the southeast corner, the Okahashi Family Residence South Rice Storehouse can be seen from the roads on its south and east sides, and the triple plaster bands and boarded base are clearly visible. The west side, where the door is, stays hidden, and so does the interior.

Step back a little from the corner and the gatehouse running west comes into the same view, which shows how the two buildings make up the frontage. The roads are narrow, so keep an eye on traffic. Directions to the estate are on the Okahashi Family Residence page.