Mizote Family Residence Warehouse

A Small Store by the Gate Path

Mizote Family Residence Warehouse (溝手家住宅倉庫, Mizote-ke Jūtaku Sōko) is a small earthen-walled store dating back to the mid-Edo period on a wealthy farming family's estate in Hayashima, Okayama Prefecture, registered as a Registered Tangible Cultural Property in 2021.

It stands at the middle of the east side of the site, just north of the path to the nagayamon gate: a gabled, two-storey dozo-zukuri building with a tiled roof, ridge running north to south, and a footprint of only 24 square metres, the smallest of the ten Mizote buildings. It was renovated at some point between 1965 and 1974.

Why It Was Registered

The warehouse was registered under number 33-0344 for its contribution to the historic landscape. The Agency for Cultural Affairs credits it with shaping the approach into the estate.

Anyone passing through the gate sees the Mizote Family Residence Warehouse first, at their side. A modest storehouse flanking the entrance path gives the threshold of the compound some depth.

What to Look For

Both the roof and the canopy over the west door are laid in hongawara tiles. The walls are plastered, with namako-kabe along the lower band of the west front and continuing from the south wing wall around to the south gable.

The outward-facing east wall, by contrast, is clad in vertical boards. The decorative finish faces inward, toward the path, while the street side gets plain protective boarding. The gate next door does the opposite, saving its namako-kabe for the road.

Inside is a single room, with an upper floor laid over the eastern half only.

Visiting

The Mizote Family Residence Warehouse belongs to a private home and its interior is closed. Its board-clad east wall faces the road on the east side.

The namako-kabe on the west front and south gable faces the inside of the compound, so from the road you will mainly see the plain east wall of the Mizote Family Residence Warehouse. Do not enter the grounds.