Ninomiya Family Residence Storehouse No. 2

A Storehouse That Was Moved Whole

The Ninomiya Family Residence Storehouse No. 2 (二宮家住宅二号土蔵, Ninomiya-ke Jūtaku Nigō Dozō) is a two-storey Dozo-zukuri storehouse of the mid-Meiji period on the Ninomiya estate in Hasuno, Seirō Town, Niigata Prefecture; it was moved to its present site in 1915 and registered as a Registered Tangible Cultural Property in 2006. It has a tiled roof and a building area of 65 square metres.

West of the Main House, four storehouses stand side by side from north to south, each with its ridge running east to west. Storehouse No. 2 is the northernmost. It measures 8 bays by 2 and a half, with a separately built gabled roof of pantiles and its door on the long south side, toward the east end.

The 1915 move was done by hikiya, hauling the building intact rather than dismantling it. For a storehouse with thick earthen walls that is heavy work. Why it was moved is not recorded, but that is probably when it joined the present row.

Why It Was Registered

The Ninomiya Family Residence Storehouse No. 2 was registered as a model of form. The Agency for Cultural Affairs praises its careful finish: Namako-kabe on the lower walls and kakego-nuri on the doors.

Namako-kabe sets flat tiles into the base of the wall and seals the joints with raised bands of Shikkui plaster, protecting the earth wall from rain splash and snow. Kakego-nuri builds up the edges of a storehouse door in stepped layers that lock into matching steps on the frame, so that fire and smoke cannot get in. Both are slow plasterer's work and signal what the owners kept inside.

Between this storehouse and No. 3 to its south runs a shared roof pitched both ways. It turns the gap between the two buildings into a covered passage. The Ninomiyas did not just line up storehouses; they planned the space between them.

What to Look For

Walk the row from south to north and Storehouse No. 2 closes the line. The white lattice of the namako-kabe stands out most clearly on a sunny morning, when light rakes across it from the east.

If you can get near the door, look at the stepped layers along its edge; even from outside you can see how door and frame would lock together. Standing under the shared roof between Nos. 2 and 3 makes it plain that the two were used as a pair.

Visiting

The interior of the Ninomiya Family Residence Storehouse No. 2 is not open. It is the northern end of the row of four storehouses, and its exterior can be seen during the opening.

The namako-kabe lattice shows its relief best in slanting morning light on a clear day. Follow the on-site guidance on photography.