The Storehouse in the Middle of the Plot
The Shioya Middle Storehouse (塩屋中蔵) is a plastered storehouse of the late Edo period in Honmachi, Taketamachi, Taketa City, Oita Prefecture, and was registered as a Registered Tangible Cultural Property (structure) on December 1, 2003 (Agency for Cultural Affairs).
The Agency records a two-storey storehouse built in the Dozo-zukuri manner, with a tiled roof and a building area of 54 square metres, dating from the late Edo period; registration number 44-0099.
A Reception Room and a Store in One Building
The Shioya Middle Storehouse stands roughly in the centre of the long, narrow plot, directly behind the main house (Agency for Cultural Affairs). It is a two-storey storehouse with a gabled roof of interlocking tiles, entered from the long side, its walls plastered right up into the eaves; the small windows on the upper floor are fitted with iron bars.
Inside, a plastered wall across the middle of the building divides it in two: the half nearer the main house is a tatami reception room (zashiki), and the far half is a store (Agency for Cultural Affairs). A room for receiving people and a room for keeping goods sit back to back under one roof.
Why It Was Registered
The Agency notes that the Shioya Middle Storehouse continues the line of the main house and together with it forms the image of a merchant property; it was registered for its contribution to the historic landscape.
When the Timber Structures Laboratory at Oita University visited in 2004, the building was being used both for events and for storage.
What to Look For
Look for the iron bars across the small upper windows and the plaster carried up into the eaves of the Shioya Middle Storehouse. It continues straight on from the back of the main house, so the two read as one deep merchant property.
The plaster wall inside is what lets one building serve two quite different purposes, a room for guests on one side and a store on the other (Agency for Cultural Affairs).
Visiting
The Shioya Middle Storehouse stands inside a private property, and no official information on interior access was found. It is the main house that faces the street; the storehouse sits within the plot behind it. No guidance on photography has been published.
Q&A
- When was the Shioya Middle Storehouse built?
- In the late Edo period (Agency for Cultural Affairs).
- What is inside the Shioya Middle Storehouse?
- A plaster wall splits it in two: a reception room on the main-house side and a store beyond (Agency for Cultural Affairs).
- Where does the Shioya Middle Storehouse stand?
- Roughly in the middle of the long plot, directly behind the main house.
- How is the Japanese name of the Shioya Middle Storehouse read?
- Shioya Nakagura (しおやなかぐら), according to the Agency for Cultural Affairs.
- When was the Shioya Middle Storehouse registered?
- On December 1, 2003 (Agency for Cultural Affairs).
Basic Information
| Name | Shioya Middle Storehouse (塩屋中蔵) |
|---|---|
| Location | 503 Honmachi, Taketamachi, Taketa City, Oita Prefecture |
| Designation | Registered Tangible Cultural Property (Structure) |
| Year Designated | Registered 2003/12/01 (Heisei 15) |
| Quantity | 1 building |
| Dimensions | Two-storey dozo-zukuri storehouse, tiled roof, building area 54 m² |
| Owner | Private owner |
| Public Access | Exterior only (no information on interior access) |
References
- Shioya Middle Storehouse (Database of National Cultural Properties, Agency for Cultural Affairs)
- https://kunishitei.bunka.go.jp/bsys/maindetails/101/00003773
- Taketa City Historic Landscape Plan, Chapter 2 (Taketa City, Japanese)
- https://www.city.taketa.oita.jp/material/files/group/23/chapter2.pdf
- Oita Timber Architecture File: Shioya (Timber Structures Laboratory, Oita University, Japanese)
- https://www.arch.oita-u.ac.jp/a-kou/moku/mokuzoukentikuDB/kensaku/nanbu-area/taketa/shioyatei/index.htm
Last verified: 2026.11.12
