The Sakata Family Residence Earthen Storehouse (Dozo)
A short distance to the southeast of the Sakata main house stands a two-storey earthen-walled storehouse, a dozo. Where the family's timber "new storehouse" shows its frame on the surface, this building follows the older logic of the dozo: thick earthen walls, plastered smooth, wrapped around a heavy timber core to resist fire. For a farming family with grain, tools and valuables to protect, a storehouse of this kind was a practical necessity long before it was ever a cultural property.
The proportions are compact and upright. The building measures about 6.4 metres along the ridge and 4.0 metres deep, with its ridge running north to south. Along the entire west face a lean-to (shitaya) extends out, a lower sheltering roof that widens the building's working footprint and shields that side from weather.
How It Is Built
Like the other storehouses here, the dozo carries a separated roof (okiyane), where the roof structure sits above the storehouse box, gabled and finished in flat pantiles. The exterior is plastered, with the dado, the lower band of wall, picked out in black. That dark base is both a guard against splashing and a familiar note in the visual language of Japanese storehouses.
The interior is where the discipline of the construction shows. Pillars are set at intervals of one shaku, roughly thirty centimetres, and vertical boards are fixed across them. That close, regular spacing gives the building its solidity, and the national register describes the result plainly as a well-composed storehouse. You cannot enter to see it, but knowing the density of the timber changes how you read the calm exterior.
Its Place in the Compound
The earthen storehouse was registered as a national Tangible Cultural Property in January 2011, one of the five Sakata buildings listed together, under registration number 15-0328, for its contribution to the historic landscape. Dated to the early Showa period, it is a near-contemporary of the new storehouse yet built by an entirely different method.
That contrast is the reason to see the two together. Standing between the timber-framed shingura and this earthen dozo, you can read two answers to the same problem of storage: one that celebrates exposed wood, one that buries its frame inside fire-resistant walls. Add the older Meiji-era storehouse and the compost shed, and the Sakata grounds become a compact lesson in how a wealthy farmstead built for keeping and working.
- 📍 Plan Your Visit to Niigata
- Find tours, activities & transport passes near Sakata Family Storehouse
- [ Sado Island & Echigo-Yuzawa Ski Resort Tours ]
Q&A
- What is a "dozo"?
- A storehouse built with thick earthen walls plastered over a timber frame. The design resists fire and was widely used to protect grain, tools and valuables.
- What is the lean-to on the west side for?
- It is a shitaya, a lower attached roof running the full west face. It expands the usable space and shelters that side of the storehouse from the weather.
- How does this storehouse differ from the "new storehouse"?
- This one is earthen-walled (dozo) construction, with its frame hidden inside plastered walls. The new storehouse is timber-framed with its pillars exposed on the outside.
- Can visitors go inside?
- No. The Sakata residence is open for exterior viewing at any time, but none of the buildings, including this storehouse, can be entered.
- What does the black band on the walls mean?
- It is a black-finished dado on the lower wall, a practical and common treatment on Japanese storehouses that also gives the plaster surface a crisp base line.
Basic Information
| Name | Sakata Family Residence Earthen Storehouse (Sakata-ke Jutaku Dozo) |
|---|---|
| Location | 295 Kaminodai, Tsuchibori, Gosen City, Niigata Prefecture |
| Designation | Registered Tangible Cultural Property (registered 26 January 2011; No. 15-0328) |
| Registration criterion | Contribution to the historic landscape |
| Date | Early Showa period (1926–1945) |
| Structure | Two-storey earthen-wall (dozo), pantile roof; 6.4 m along the ridge, 4.0 m deep; building area 55 m² |
| Count | 1 building |
| Access | Exterior viewable at any time; interior not open |
References
- National Database of Cultural Properties (Agency for Cultural Affairs) — Sakata Family Residence Earthen Storehouse
- https://kunishitei.bunka.go.jp/heritage/detail/101/00008434
- Gosen City Official Website — Sakata Family Residence
- https://www.city.gosen.lg.jp/organization/21/7/1/1/1869.html
- Sakata Family Residence (Gosen City) — Wikipedia
- https://ja.wikipedia.org/wiki/坂田家住宅
Last verified: 2026.07.07