What Is the Hojo Family Residence Rice Storehouse?
The Hojo Family Residence Rice Storehouse (北條家住宅米蔵, Hōjō-ke Jūtaku Komegura) is a large early-Meiji rice store on the west side of the Hojo family estate in Izumi, Sado City, Niigata Prefecture, and it was registered as a Registered Tangible Cultural Property on 18 October 2006 under number 15-0224.
It faces east and has a building area of 106 square meters. That makes it by far the biggest of the three storehouses at the Hojo Family Residence, about three times the size of the neighbouring household goods storehouse.
A Landowner's Rice Store
The Agency for Cultural Affairs calls the Hojo Family Residence Rice Storehouse a large rice store that stands out on the site and gives the estate the look of a major landowner's house. It was registered for its contribution to the historic landscape.
The Hojo family are remembered as physicians, but from 1695 they were also landowners in Izumi. The sheer size of the Hojo Family Residence Rice Storehouse makes plain that the doctor's household also collected and stored rice on a considerable scale.
A Storehouse Wrapped in a Second Building
The core of the Hojo Family Residence Rice Storehouse is a 2-storey earthen-walled Dozo-zukuri store, 6.5 Ken long and 3 ken deep. Along its north and east sides runs a 2-storey timber Kuramae, a covered front bay, bent around the corner in an L. One big Kirizuma-zukuri gabled roof laid in Sangawara-buki pantiles covers the whole.
The result is a storehouse half hidden inside a timber shell, sheltering under a single broad roof. Sado City describes the long sides of the earthen store as Shinkabe, with the posts left showing in the wall surface.
No building date has been found. Because traditional hand-forged nails (wakugi) were used to fix the upper floorboards and the vertical wall boards, the Hojo Family Residence Rice Storehouse is thought to date from the early Meiji period.
A Storehouse Said to Have Been Moved
According to Sado City, the Hojo Family Residence Rice Storehouse is said to have been moved here from Sawane, now in the Sawata district, where it belonged to Hamadaya, a firm of shipping agents. The sources consulted give no record of when or how it was moved.
If the story is right, the building began as a merchant shipper's store for cargo and was given a second life in Izumi as a landowner's rice store.
Visiting the Hojo Family Residence Rice Storehouse
The Hojo Family Residence Rice Storehouse stands on the west side of the plot, the side farthest from the gate, and its interior is not open. From mid-September 2026 Sado City has asked visitors not to enter the grounds while work is carried out on the main house, so the storehouse cannot be seen up close during that time.
When a chance to visit does come, look at the timber bay wrapped around the north and east sides and the single gabled roof that pulls everything together. To the north, the storehouse is linked to the household goods storehouse through that building's own bay.
Q&A
- When was the Hojo Family Residence Rice Storehouse built?
- It is thought to date from the early Meiji period, because hand-forged nails were used to fix the upper floorboards and wall boards.
- How big is the Hojo Family Residence Rice Storehouse?
- The earthen core is 6.5 ken by 3 ken on 2 storeys, and with its timber bay the building covers 106 square meters, the largest of the storehouses on the estate.
- Was the Hojo Family Residence Rice Storehouse moved from somewhere else?
- Sado City says it is said to have come from Hamadaya, a shipping agent in Sawane in the Sawata district. No record of the move is given.
- When was the Hojo Family Residence Rice Storehouse registered as a cultural property?
- On 18 October 2006, as Registered Tangible Cultural Property number 15-0224, for its contribution to the historic landscape.
- Can I visit the Hojo Family Residence Rice Storehouse?
- The interior is not open, and since mid-September 2026 Sado City has asked visitors not to enter the grounds while work is carried out on the main house.
Basic Information
| Name | Hojo Family Residence Rice Storehouse (北條家住宅米蔵) |
|---|---|
| Location | 33 Izumi Otsu, Sado City, Niigata Prefecture |
| Designation | Registered Tangible Cultural Property (Structure), No. 15-0224 |
| Year Designated | Registered 18 October 2006 |
| Quantity | 1 building |
| Dimensions | 2-storey earthen-walled and timber structure, tiled roof, building area 106 square meters |
| Owner | Private |
| Public Access | Not open (visitors are asked not to enter the grounds during work on the main house) |
References
- Database of National Cultural Properties: Hojo Family Residence Rice Storehouse (Agency for Cultural Affairs, in Japanese)
- https://kunishitei.bunka.go.jp/heritage/detail/101/00005826
- Cultural Heritage Online: Hojo Family Residence Rice Storehouse (Agency for Cultural Affairs, in Japanese)
- https://online.bunka.go.jp/heritages/detail/171132
- Registered Tangible Cultural Properties: Hojo Family Residence (Sado City, in Japanese)
- https://www.city.sado.niigata.jp/site/bunkazai/4963.html
- Important Cultural Property: Hojo Family Residence (Sado City, in Japanese)
- https://www.city.sado.niigata.jp/site/bunkazai/4924.html
Last verified: 2026.09.28
