Ninomiya Family Residence Storehouse No. 1

A Document Store with the Family Crest

The Ninomiya Family Residence Storehouse No. 1 (二宮家住宅一号土蔵, Ninomiya-ke Jūtaku Ichigō Dozō) is a two-storey Dozo-zukuri storehouse built in 1875 on the Ninomiya estate in Hasuno, Seirō Town, Niigata Prefecture, and registered as a Registered Tangible Cultural Property in 2006. It has a tiled roof and a modest building area of 33 square metres.

It stands west of the Main House with its ridge running north to south, 5 bays by 2, under a separately built gabled roof of pantiles. The door, sheltered by a small Tsuchibisashi eave, is toward the north end of the east side. The store sits on stone footings, with board cladding below and white Shikkui plaster above, and even the underside of the eaves is plastered over.

This was the family's bunko-gura, the store for documents and valuables. Storehouses No. 2 to No. 5 stand in a row with their ridges running east to west; Storehouse No. 1 alone turns north to south and stands closer to the house.

Why It Was Registered

The Ninomiya Family Residence Storehouse No. 1 was registered as a model of form. The Agency for Cultural Affairs notes the family crest raised in plaster on the gable and the kakego-nuri finish on the doors.

Kakego-nuri builds up the edges of a storehouse door in stepped layers that lock into matching steps on the frame, so fire and smoke cannot get in. Plastering the eaves so that no timber is exposed is part of the same careful fireproofing.

For a family of headmen, papers proving land and rank were wealth in themselves. The year 1875 was also when the Main House burned. On this small building, protection against fire and a display of standing come together.

What to Look For

High on the gable is the family crest, modelled directly in plaster by the plasterer. Its shadows shift with the light.

Under the door eave, look at the stepped layers along the door edge; even from outside you can see how door and frame would lock together. Storehouse No. 1 is about half the size of the others in the row, but its finish is, if anything, finer.

Visiting

The interior of the Ninomiya Family Residence Storehouse No. 1 is not open. It stands west of the Main House, and its exterior can be seen during the garden opening; how close you can get depends on the route set that year.

The crest on the gable is clearest from a few steps back. Follow the on-site guidance on photography.