A Strongroom on a Stone Platform
Hoashi Family Main Residence (Fushunkan) Treasure Storehouse (帆足家本家住宅（富春館）宝蔵, hōzō) is a two-storey earthen storehouse of the Taishō period, dated by the Agency for Cultural Affairs to between 1912 and 1925, in Nakahetsugi, Oita City, Oita Prefecture, entered on the national register as a Registered Tangible Cultural Property in 2006.
It stands in the southwest of the grounds on a stone-walled platform that lifts it above everything around it. It is 6 and a half by 3 bays and covers 60 square metres, built in Dozo-zukuri earthen-wall construction under a hipped Yosemune-zukuri roof of Sangawara-buki pantiles, with white Shikkui walls above a Namako-kabe dado. The pawn storehouse near the road has a gabled roof; this one has eaves on all four sides, and the difference in outline is clear.
As its name says, this was the store for the family's valuables and prized possessions. The raised platform was most likely meant to keep damp and floodwater away from what was inside.
Why It Was Registered
Hoashi Family Main Residence (Fushunkan) Treasure Storehouse was registered for its contribution to the historic landscape. The Agency describes its design as sober and practical, without display.
The interior is the telling part. On each floor a single central post carries the structure, leaving one large room. The pawn storehouse, by contrast, divides its ground floor in two around a pair of posts. The treasure storehouse was planned for keeping large things together.
The Agency gives no exact year, only the Taishō period. The Western-style house and the pawn storehouse also date from those years, which suggests the family put up several of its outbuildings in quick succession.
What to Look For
Start with the stone platform. Lifted above its surroundings, the storehouse closes off the southwest corner of the estate. Look at how the stonework meets the white walls above it.
The hipped roof, with eaves all round, gives a calmer silhouette than a gabled store. Compare it with the pawn storehouse: the same plaster and namako-kabe finishes, a different roof, a different character.
Southwest of the storehouse is the small wooden shrine where the garden wall ends. The wall runs from the corner of the pawn storehouse round the garden to this point, marking this as the quietest, most tucked-away corner of the estate.
Visiting
There is no indication that Hoashi Family Main Residence (Fushunkan) Treasure Storehouse is open inside. Plan on seeing it from the grounds only.
Head for the southwest corner of the grounds to get close to it. The height of the platform and the shape of the roof are easier to take in from a few steps back. Photographing the exterior should pose no problem.
Directions and general visiting conditions for the estate are on the Hoashi Family Main Residence (Fushunkan) page.
- 📍 Plan Your Visit to Oita
- Find tours, activities & transport passes near Hoashi Family Main Residence (Fushunkan) Treasure Storehouse
- [ Beppu Hell Tour & Yufuin Onsen Hot Springs ]
Q&A
- Can you go inside Hoashi Family Main Residence (Fushunkan) Treasure Storehouse?
- There is no information on the interior being opened. Expect to see it from the grounds only.
- When was Hoashi Family Main Residence (Fushunkan) Treasure Storehouse built?
- The Agency for Cultural Affairs dates it to the Taishō period, between 1912 and 1925, without giving an exact year.
- What kind of building is the Fushunkan treasure storehouse?
- A two-storey earthen storehouse for family valuables, 6 and a half by 3 bays and 60 square metres, with a hipped pantiled roof.
- What is distinctive about the Hoashi treasure storehouse?
- It stands on a raised stone platform, and each floor is a single large room around one central post.
- Why is the Fushunkan treasure storehouse a Registered Tangible Cultural Property?
- It was registered for its contribution to the historic landscape, valued for a sober, practical design.
Basic Information
| Name | Hoashi Family Main Residence (Fushunkan) Treasure Storehouse |
|---|---|
| Location | 4381-1 Nakahetsugi, Oita City, Oita Prefecture |
| Designation | Registered Tangible Cultural Property (Building) |
| Year Designated | Registered 2006/11/29 (Heisei 18) |
| Quantity | 1 structure |
| Dimensions | Dozo-zukuri earthen storehouse, 2 storeys, tiled roof, building area 60 square metres |
| Owner | Private individual |
| Public Access | No interior opening announced; exterior from the grounds only |
References
- National Designated Cultural Properties Database, Hoashi Family Main Residence (Fushunkan) Treasure Storehouse (Agency for Cultural Affairs)
- https://kunishitei.bunka.go.jp/bsys/maindetails/101/00005945
- Cultural Heritage Online, Hoashi Family Main Residence (Fushunkan) Treasure Storehouse
- https://online.bunka.go.jp/heritages/detail/190670
- List of Nationally Designated and Selected Cultural Properties (Oita Prefecture)
- https://www.pref.oita.jp/kyoiku/tmp/bunka/post-101/1.pdf
- Visitor Information and Access (Hoashi Honke)
- https://www.hoashi-honke.com/about.html
- Hoashi Honke (Fushunkan and Garden) (Oita City Tourist Association)
- https://www.oishiimati-oita.jp/spot/374
Last verified: 2026.09.26
