What Is the Former Kimura Family Residence Storehouse?
The Former Kimura Family Residence Storehouse is a two-storey Dozo-zukuri earthen-walled storehouse from the late Edo period in Katsumada, Shoo Town, Okayama Prefecture, and it was registered as a Registered Tangible Cultural Property of Japan on November 29, 2016.
In Japanese it is 旧木村家住宅土蔵 (Kyū Kimura-ke Jūtaku Dozō). It belonged to the Kimura family, who ran the waki-honjin, the secondary official inn for traveling lords, in the post town of Katsumada on the Izumo Ōrai highway. The Agency for Cultural Affairs identifies it as the only structure left from that inn. Its records date it to the late Edo period, between 1830 and 1868, with repairs in 1963 and 1992, and describe a two-storey earthen-walled building with a tiled roof and a building area of 34 square meters.
How the Kimura Storehouse Survived, and Why It Was Registered
According to Okayama Prefecture, the Kimura family served for generations as keepers of Katsumada's honjin, the main official inn, and late in the Edo period a branch of the family is said to have moved to this plot and taken on the waki-honjin as well. In 1912 the plot was chosen for the new Katsuta County Office, and most of the inn buildings were demolished. A single storehouse was left standing: the Former Kimura Family Residence Storehouse.
It is registered under number 33-0275; the neighboring number, 33-0274, belongs to the county office. Its registration criterion is that it serves as a model of form. The agency presents it as a reminder of a post town that was an important stop on the routes daimyo lords took to and from Edo, and points to its walls, most of which are finished in Namako-kabe.
What to See at the Kimura Storehouse
Namako-kabe on most of the walls
Namako-kabe is made by fixing flat tiles to the wall and building up the joints between them in raised bands of white plaster, so the surface is netted with a bold lattice. On the Former Kimura Family Residence Storehouse this finish covers most of the walls, which is why such a small building has such a strong presence when you face it.
Cut-stone base and plaster to the eaves
The storehouse stands on a foundation of dressed stone, and its earthen walls are plastered all the way up to the eaves, leaving no timber exposed: the standard defense of a Japanese storehouse against fire. The roof is a Kirizuma-zukuri gable of Sangawara-buki tiles. Inside, each of the two floors is a single undivided room.
An Edo storehouse beside a Meiji office
Standing between the storehouse and the county office building, you can see in one view how the plot changed hands from the post-town inn to the Meiji administration that replaced it.
Visiting the Former Kimura Family Residence Storehouse
The Former Kimura Family Residence Storehouse can be viewed from outside only; Okayama Prefecture lists the interior as closed. It stands on the same plot as the Former Katsuta County Office Building, now the Shoo Furusato Museum, so the easiest way to see it is as part of a museum visit. The raised plaster joints of the namako-kabe read best when sunlight strikes the wall at a low angle. The town gives no guidance on photography. Directions and opening hours are on the Shoo Furusato Museum page.
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- Find tours, activities & transport passes near Former Kimura Family Residence Storehouse
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Q&A
- Can you go inside the Former Kimura Family Residence Storehouse?
- No. Okayama Prefecture lists it as exterior viewing only. It stands on the grounds of the Shoo Furusato Museum (Former Katsuta County Office Building) and can be seen from outside.
- How old is the Former Kimura Family Residence Storehouse?
- The Agency for Cultural Affairs dates it to the late Edo period, between 1830 and 1868. It was repaired in 1963 and 1992.
- Why is the Kimura storehouse on the grounds of a county office?
- The plot was originally the Kimura family's waki-honjin inn. When the Katsuta County Office was built there in 1912, most of the inn buildings were demolished and only this storehouse was kept.
- What is distinctive about the Former Kimura Family Residence Storehouse?
- Most of its walls are finished in namako-kabe, tiles set in a lattice of raised white plaster joints. It sits on a cut-stone base, is plastered up to the eaves, and has a gabled tiled roof.
- When did the Former Kimura Family Residence Storehouse become a Registered Tangible Cultural Property?
- It was registered on November 29, 2016, under number 33-0275, on the same day as the Former Katsuta County Office Building.
Basic Information
| Name | Former Kimura Family Residence Storehouse (旧木村家住宅土蔵) |
|---|---|
| Location | 635 Kaminomachi, Katsumada, Shoo-cho, Katsuta-gun, Okayama Prefecture |
| Designation | Registered Tangible Cultural Property (Building) |
| Year Designated | Registered November 29, 2016 |
| Quantity | 1 building |
| Dimensions | Two-storey earthen-walled storehouse, tiled roof, building area 34 square meters |
| Owner | Shoo Town |
| Public Access | Exterior only (interior closed) |
References
- Database of National Cultural Properties (Agency for Cultural Affairs): Former Kimura Family Residence Storehouse
- https://kunishitei.bunka.go.jp/bsys/maindetails/101/00011403
- Cultural Heritage Online (Agency for Cultural Affairs): Former Kimura Family Residence Storehouse
- https://online.bunka.go.jp/heritages/detail/292980
- Okayama Prefecture: Former Kimura Family Residence Storehouse (PDF, Japanese)
- https://www.pref.okayama.jp/uploaded/attachment/261023.pdf
- Okayama Kanko Web: Former Kimura Family Residence Storehouse (Japanese)
- https://www.okayama-kanko.jp/spot/11784
Last verified: 2026.10.02
