Kusudo Family Residence Charcoal Storehouse
The Kusudo Family Residence Charcoal Storehouse (楠戸家住宅炭倉, Kusudo-ke Jūtaku Sumigura) is a small two-story earthen-walled storehouse from the mid-Meiji period that stands beside the rice storehouse on the Kusudo family estate in Higashimachi, Kurashiki City, Okayama Prefecture, and it was registered as a Registered Tangible Cultural Property on December 20, 1996.
The national register records it as a two-story Dozo-zukuri structure with a tiled roof and a building area of 19 square meters. The Agency for Cultural Affairs adds that it is a small ōkabe storehouse, its posts hidden inside the plastered walls, under a gabled roof of hongawara tiles. Next to the rice storehouse at 96 square meters it is tiny; it is almost exactly the size of the tool storehouse, at 18.
The register spells its name 炭倉, while the Agency's own description and Kurashiki City write 炭蔵; both are read sumigura. The name suggests it held charcoal for fuel, but no published record says what was actually stored here or how.
Why the Charcoal Storehouse Was Registered
The Kusudo Family Residence Charcoal Storehouse carries registration number 33-0003 and was registered on the grounds that it would not be easy to reproduce. What the Agency stresses is that it preserves the basic form of a Kurashiki storehouse well. It sits on long cut stones laid as a footing, and the lower walls of both the ground floor and the upper floor are clad in Namako-kabe. Nothing about it is showy, but this one small building sets out plainly how Kurashiki's storehouses were put together.
The second point is its position. The Agency notes that the charcoal storehouse, the okuzashiki reception room and the rice storehouse together frame the inner garden. Storehouses held goods, but they also drew the edges of the garden inside the estate.
Compare the footings of the three Kusudo storehouses and the difference is clear. The rice storehouse stands on a raised base of cut stone, and the tool storehouse on cut stone stacked in 3 courses. The charcoal storehouse rests on a simpler row of long stones. The contrast is part of what makes it the plain, basic version.
What to Look For: Two Bands of Namako Tiles
The first thing you notice on the Kusudo Family Residence Charcoal Storehouse is that the namako tiles run around the lower wall of both floors. The two bands of diagonal grid cross the white plaster and give this short, compact building a firm outline.
Seen from the gable end, the triangular wall rises straight up under the pitched roof. The long footing stones lift the base of the earthen walls off the damp ground. Small as it is, it has every element that makes a Kurashiki storehouse.
Its real interest shows when you place it between the okuzashiki and the rice storehouse. The three buildings wrap the inner garden, and the white wall of the charcoal storehouse forms the backdrop to the view from the reception room. The family says the garden was meant to bring in light and air and, in a fire, to keep the flames from spreading.
Visiting the Charcoal Storehouse
The interior is not open to the public. The storehouse faces the inner garden at the back of the property and cannot be seen from Higashimachi's main street.
Because it stands beside the rice storehouse, guests at the atelier & salon Hashimaya may catch a glimpse of its surroundings, but the inner garden is part of a family home, so follow the staff's lead on where you can go. If the family holds an event that opens the main house and garden, it is a chance to see how the storehouse frames the garden with the okuzashiki and rice storehouse.
No photography rules have been published. Directions and event information are on the Kusudo Family Residence page.
Q&A
- Where is the Kusudo Family Residence Charcoal Storehouse?
- It stands at the back of the Kusudo family estate at 1-20 Higashimachi, Kurashiki City, beside the rice storehouse, where it helps enclose the inner garden with the okuzashiki reception room.
- When was the Kusudo Family Residence Charcoal Storehouse built and registered?
- The national register dates it to the mid-Meiji period. It was registered as a Registered Tangible Cultural Property on December 20, 1996, together with the rice storehouse, the tool storehouse and the wall.
- How big is the Kusudo Family Residence Charcoal Storehouse?
- It is a two-story earthen-walled storehouse with a gabled, tiled roof and a building area of 19 square meters, about the same as the tool storehouse (18 square meters) and far smaller than the rice storehouse (96 square meters).
- Is the Kusudo Family Residence Charcoal Storehouse the same as the "sumigura" written 炭蔵?
- Yes. The national register uses the characters 炭倉, while the Agency's description and Kurashiki City write 炭蔵. Both refer to this building.
- Can visitors see the Kusudo Family Residence Charcoal Storehouse?
- Its interior is not open, and it cannot be seen from the street because it faces the inner garden. Events that open the main house and garden are the best chance to see it in context.
Basic Information
| Name | Kusudo Family Residence Charcoal Storehouse |
|---|---|
| Location | 1-20 Higashimachi, Kurashiki City, Okayama Prefecture |
| Designation | Registered Tangible Cultural Property (Structure) |
| Year Designated | Registered 1996/12/20 (Heisei 8) |
| Quantity | 1 building |
| Dimensions | Building area 19 m² |
| Owner | Kusudo Partnership (Kusudo Gomei Kaisha) |
| Public Access | Not open to the public (except during events) |
References
- Agency for Cultural Affairs, Database of National Cultural Properties: Kusudo Family Residence Charcoal Storehouse (Japanese)
- https://kunishitei.bunka.go.jp/bsys/maindetails/101/00000090
- Cultural Heritage Online: Kusudo Family Residence Charcoal Storehouse (Japanese)
- https://online.bunka.go.jp/heritages/detail/184820
- Kurashiki City: Kusudo Family Residence, Rice Storehouse and others (Japanese)
- https://www.city.kurashiki.okayama.jp/culture/art/1007596/1007597/1011206/1007792/1007793.html
- atelier & salon Hashimaya: About the Kusudo Family Residence (Japanese)
- https://hashimaya.com/kusudo3/
- Kurashiki Tokotoko: Kusudo Family Residence (Japanese)
- https://kuratoco.com/kusudoke/
Last verified: 2026.09.24
