A Storehouse That Doubles as a Canvas
The clothing storehouse sits against the south front of the main house, a compact two-storey building of plaster construction under a pantile roof, about 53 square metres in footprint. Inside it is a single room on each floor. What sets it apart is the surface: the gable band across the front carries arabesques and the six-petalled flower of saffron, modelled in lime, while the inner faces of the doors and window shutters hold dragons and animals worked in bright colour.
This ornament is kote-e, a relief technique in which a plasterer builds up figures with the same trowel used to smooth a wall, then paints them in coloured lime. The storehouse was raised in 1916, during the Taishō era, and is counted among the buildings that define the compound.
An Earlier Hand
Settaya is known nationally for a single celebrated kote-e storehouse whose ornament has been called the finest in Japan. That famous building is a separate structure, listed on the register back in 2006, and it is easy to confuse the two. The clothing storehouse is not that building. It carries kote-e of its own, understood as an earlier effort by the same local plasterer, Kawakami Ikichi, before he produced his acknowledged masterwork nearby.
Seen in that light, the storehouse rewards a close look. The saffron petals on the gable tie the decoration directly to the product that paid for it, and the animals on the inner doors show a hand still finding its full range. The register lists the building under the criterion for work that would be difficult to reproduce, a rare designation among the ten elements here and a nod to the skill the plaster demands.
Seeing It in Context
Because the storehouse attaches to the main house, it is best understood as part of the guided circuit rather than a stop on its own. The exterior gable can be studied from the grounds, which are open without charge; the coloured relief repays a slow, close viewing when the light is soft.
The compound is owned by the city of Nagaoka and shown on weekends and public holidays. Interiors are entered in exchange for a small conservation donation, and a volunteer guide can point out how the clothing storehouse relates to the more famous relief building a short walk away.
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Q&A
- Is this the famous kote-e storehouse people talk about?
- No. The celebrated relief storehouse, sometimes called the finest kote-e in Japan, is a separate building registered in 2006. The clothing storehouse carries its own, earlier lime-relief work by the same plasterer.
- What is kote-e?
- It is a relief decoration built up in lime plaster with a trowel and then coloured, a traditional craft of Japanese plasterers. The figures are modelled in the round rather than carved.
- Who made the decoration?
- It is attributed to Kawakami Ikichi, a plasterer who lived nearby and is said to have learned the craft in Toyama before working on this compound.
- Why saffron flowers in the ornament?
- Saffron was the flavouring of the tonic sake that built the fortune here, so its six-petalled flower appears in the decoration as a kind of signature for the business.
- Can I see the coloured doors inside?
- The interior is shown on weekends and holidays by donation. A guide handles access, since the plaster is fragile and the storehouse forms part of a wider tour.
Basic Information
| Name | Former Kina Saffron Sake Manufacturing, Clothing Storehouse (旧機那サフラン酒製造本舗衣装蔵) |
|---|---|
| Location | 2292-1, Settaya 4-chōme, Nagaoka, Niigata |
| Designation | Registered Tangible Cultural Property (registered 4 February 2021) |
| Construction | Taishō 5 (1916) |
| Structure | Two-storey plaster storehouse, pantile roof; building area approx. 53 m² |
| Count | 1 building |
| Owner | City of Nagaoka |
| Access | Exterior open freely; interior shown on weekends and holidays by donation |
References
- Agency for Cultural Affairs, National Cultural Properties Database — Clothing Storehouse
- https://kunishitei.bunka.go.jp/heritage/detail/101/00013522
- City of Nagaoka, Former Kina Saffron Sake Manufacturing
- https://www.city.nagaoka.niigata.jp/kankou/miru/brewing/kina-saffron.html
- Settaya-Miyauchi, Kina Saffron Sake
- https://settaya-miyauchi.jp/kinasaffron/
- Nagaoka Tourism Navigator, Kina Saffron Sake
- https://nagaoka-navi.or.jp/spot/5880
Last verified: 2026.07.09