Fujino Family Residence Storage Shed

About the Fujino Family Residence Storage Shed

The Fujino Family Residence Storage Shed (藤野家住宅物置, Fujino-ke Jūtaku Monooki) is a small 1-story Dozo-zukuri shed built in the mid-Meiji period (1883 to 1897) in Fujiidera 2-chome, Fujiidera City, Osaka Prefecture, and was registered as a Registered Tangible Cultural Property in 2012.

The Fujino Family Residence Storage Shed stands on the southern edge of the plot, between the tool storehouse to the east and the birdhouse to the west, with its ridge running east to west. At 3.7 m by 2.8 m and 14 square meters, it is the smallest of the nine registered Fujino structures. The roof is a Kirizuma-zukuri gable of Sangawara-buki pantiles.

Along the north side a strip half a bay deep is left open, without walls, and behind it the interior is a single earth-floored Doma room. The outer walls are plain earth with Tateita-bari vertical boarding at the base, and small windows are set in the south and north walls.

Why the Fujino Family Residence Storage Shed was registered

The Fujino Family Residence Storage Shed was registered for its contribution to the historic landscape of the country. The Agency for Cultural Affairs credits this little shed with keeping the back of the estate in good order.

The front of the Fujino Family Residence faces the street to the north, so the southern edge is the rear. Along it stand, from east to west, the rice and tool storehouse, this storage shed and the birdhouse. At 14 square meters the shed would not catch the eye on its own, but the three buildings together draw the back outline of the estate.

That even a shed this size was registered shows that the Fujino Family Residence is valued not only building by building but as a whole, a main house enclosed on all four sides by its gates, walls and outbuildings.

What to look for at the Fujino Storage Shed

The thing to notice on the Fujino Family Residence Storage Shed is the wall finish. The row house and barn on the east side are coated in Shikkui lime plaster, but the walls of this shed are bare earth with no plaster top coat. The boarded base matches the eastern buildings; the color of the wall stays that of the clay.

White plaster for the outbuildings facing the road, plain earth for a small shed at the back of the estate: the difference in finish probably reflects how much effort each building warranted, by its size and by how much it would be seen.

The open strip on the north side makes a half-bay of covered space facing into the estate. With the earth-floored room behind it, it was perhaps a handy place for tools or firewood that had to be kept out of the rain. The agency says nothing about its use, so this is only a guess.

Visiting the Fujino Family Residence Storage Shed

The Fujino Family Residence is a private home and the grounds are not open. The Fujino Family Residence Storage Shed is on the southern edge of the estate, and we have not confirmed how much of it can be seen from outside.

Please take care not to step onto neighboring properties. Directions to the estate are on the Fujino Family Residence (Fujiidera) page.