What the Miso Storehouse Is
The Hoashi Family Branch Residence (Shoseki Furokan) Miso Storehouse (帆足家分家住宅（松石不老館）味噌蔵, misogura) is a storehouse built in 1889 in Hetsugi Honmachi, Nakahetsugi, Oita City, listed as a Registered Tangible Cultural Property on 10 November 2005. It continues north from the grain storehouse on the same north to south alignment. It is a single-story timber building of 5 by 3 bays under a Kirizuma-zukuri roof of pantiles, with a building area of 59 square metres.
On the east side the roof sweeps down over a Geya lean-to, and the northern 2 and a half bays of that lean-to are walled in and taken into the interior. The building stands on cut stone with a raised floor. Its walls are Shinkabe, with the posts left visible, except on the west and north, which are boarded.
The other three storehouses on the estate are plastered Dozo-zukuri. The miso store alone is timber-framed with exposed posts. It is called a kura, a storehouse, but it is built quite differently.
Why It Was Listed
The Hoashi Family Branch Residence Miso Storehouse was registered for its contribution to the historic landscape.
Large Meiji households often made their own miso and needed somewhere to let the tubs mature. What a miso store asks for is a steady temperature and humidity more than protection from fire or theft. A timber-framed building, boarded on its west and north faces, reads as a choice made to suit what it held.
It went up in 1889, the same year as the grain storehouse beside it and 17 years before the main house. The two buildings that held the household's food reserves, grain and miso, were built together along the western boundary.
What to Look For
Start with the lean-to on the east side. The roof is carried down to form a sheltered strip, and only its northern 2 and a half bays are walled in as a room. Open and enclosed space share one lean-to, perhaps the trace of partitions added as needs changed.
The wall finishes change from side to side: exposed-post walls in one place, boarding on the west and north. Each face is finished for the conditions it meets.
Seen next to the grain storehouse to the south, the contrasts are plain: plastered and timber-framed, 2 stories and one, white walls and exposed posts. Two buildings of the same year, each built for its own contents.
Visiting
The Hoashi Family Branch Residence (Shoseki Furokan) Miso Storehouse is not open to the public (checked 25 September 2026). It stands at the back of the plot on the west, hidden from the eastern street by the main house.
Its lot number is 4362, different from the main house at 4361. It is a storehouse deep in private grounds; please do not try to look in from outside.
Directions to the site as a whole are on the Hoashi Family Branch Residence page.
- 📍 Plan Your Visit to Oita
- Find tours, activities & transport passes near Hoashi Family Branch Residence (Shoseki Furokan) Miso Storehouse
- [ Beppu Hell Tour & Yufuin Onsen Hot Springs ]
Q&A
- When was the Hoashi Family Branch Residence Miso Storehouse built?
- In 1889, the same year as the grain storehouse next to it.
- What kind of building is the Hoashi Family Branch Residence Miso Storehouse?
- A single-story timber storehouse of 5 by 3 bays with a gabled pantile roof and a building area of 59 square metres, continuing north from the grain storehouse.
- How does the Hoashi Family Branch Residence Miso Storehouse differ from the other storehouses?
- The other three are plastered dozo-zukuri storehouses. The miso store is timber-framed with exposed posts, and its west and north walls are boarded.
- What is the lean-to on the Hoashi Family Branch Residence Miso Storehouse?
- A roofed strip along the east side, of which the northern 2 and a half bays are walled in as part of the interior.
- Can you see the Hoashi Family Branch Residence (Shoseki Furokan) Miso Storehouse?
- It is not open to the public and cannot be seen from the eastern street.
Basic Information
| Name | Hoashi Family Branch Residence (Shoseki Furokan) Miso Storehouse (帆足家分家住宅（松石不老館）味噌蔵) |
|---|---|
| Location | 4362 Oaza Nakahetsugi, Oita City, Oita Prefecture |
| Designation | Registered Tangible Cultural Property (Structure), registration no. 44-0110 |
| Year Designated | Registered 2005/11/10 (Heisei 17) |
| Quantity | 1 building |
| Dimensions | Wooden, single-story, tiled roof, building area 59 square metres; 5 by 3 bays |
| Owner | Not listed in the ACA database |
| Public Access | Not open to the public; set deep in the plot and not visible from the road |
References
- Agency for Cultural Affairs, Database of National Cultural Properties: 帆足家分家住宅（松石不老館）味噌蔵
- https://kunishitei.bunka.go.jp/bsys/maindetails/101/00005065
- Cultural Heritage Online: 帆足家分家住宅（松石不老館）味噌蔵
- https://bunka.nii.ac.jp/heritages/detail/151675
- Oita City: History and Culture of Hetsugi Honmachi (in Japanese)
- https://www.city.oita.oita.jp/o204/machizukuri/toshi/1014449890810.html
Last verified: 2026.09.25
