Nishie Family Residence Miso Storehouse

About the Nishie Family Residence Miso Storehouse

The Nishie Family Residence Miso Storehouse (西江家住宅味噌蔵, Nishie-ke Jūtaku Misogura) is an early Meiji two-storey storehouse for miso standing just behind the earth-floored kitchen area of the main house on the Nishie family estate in Nariwa-cho Sakamoto, Takahashi City, Okayama Prefecture; it was registered as a Registered Tangible Cultural Property in 2003. It adjoins the tool storehouse on its south side.

With a footprint of about 15 square meters, it is the smallest of the estate's nine registered buildings. The roof is gabled and pantiled.

On the east gable end a small roof on projecting brackets shelters the ground-floor doorway. Placing the miso store right behind the kitchen made sense for an ingredient used every day.

Why the Miso Storehouse Was Registered

It was registered as contributing to the historic landscape. The Agency for Cultural Affairs notes that, small as it is, it lines up with the tool storehouse to give the west side of the estate its form.

Namako tiling covers the base, the corners and the wall above the door canopy, and at the apex of the east gable sits the Nishie family crest, a swallowtail butterfly (ageha-chō). Even on a building of 15 square meters, the family took the trouble to put up its mark.

What to Look For

The butterfly crest is the thing to find. The swallowtail is well known as a crest associated with the Taira clan, and the Nishie family's genealogy traces the line to the Miura, a branch of the eastern Taira.

The bracketed canopy is worth a look too: timber arms thrust out from the wall carry a tiny roof over the door. Above it the namako grid continues, so the small gable stacks tiling, canopy and crest one over another.

Seen with the taller tool storehouse to its north, the Nishie Family Residence Miso Storehouse tucks in at its side, and the pair hold the western edge of the estate.

Visiting the Miso Storehouse

There is no indication that the interior of the Nishie Family Residence Miso Storehouse is open. It stands behind the kitchen area of the main house, and whether you can see its exterior depends on the tour on the day.

The estate is the Nishie family's home and visits are by reservation only. Phone photography is allowed, but exhibits may not be photographed and commercial shoots are not permitted; staff point out where the buildings can be photographed after you enter.

Directions and booking details are on the Nishie Family Residence page.