A storehouse with its floor in three steps
The dozo, the earthen-walled storehouse on the north side of the Koda compound, looks plain from the street and is anything but inside. Built in 1935 and registered as a Registered Tangible Cultural Property in 2023, it was the working storehouse of the house, the barn-like building that took whatever the household needed to keep dry and out of the way.
Its cleverest feature is hidden in the floor. Rather than one level, the storehouse has its floor set in three tiers at different heights. On the low ground of Fukae, prone to flooding, this let the family stack the most vulnerable goods highest while keeping the lowest level convenient for daily coming and going. The east floor sits at the yard's own ground level and once connected directly to the projecting entrance wing of the main house.
A raised ridge and a hidden half-floor
From outside the roof gives the trick away. It is a gabled hongawara roof, but at the centre the ridge is lifted in a maneki-yane, a stepped-up roof section, to make room for a naka-nikai, a low half-floor tucked under the peak. The result is a single-storey building on paper that gains usable space in its upper middle, exactly where a busy household needed more room to store things.
The walls are the thick plastered earth of any dozo, built to resist fire as much as damp. What sets this one apart is not decoration but planning: a building shaped around the twin problems of water below and the need for volume above, solved without ever becoming a full second storey.
Where it stands in the group
Like the gate and the inui-gura beside it, the dozo was registered for the part it plays in the historic streetscape rather than on its own. Seen from the road it forms one panel of the compound's north face, a run of tiled wall broken by the low gate, and it reads best as part of that whole.
The residence is now the annex of the Fukae Local History Museum, in a district known since ancient times for the sedge hats its people made for Ise pilgrims. The storehouse exterior can be seen from the street, while access to the grounds follows the museum's schedule, so checking the official site before a visit is wise.
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Q&A
- Why does the storehouse have three floor levels?
- Fukae is low, flat ground that flooded repeatedly, so the builders set the floor in three tiers at different heights. The highest level protected what mattered most when water rose, while the lowest, at yard level, stayed convenient for everyday use.
- What is a maneki-yane and a naka-nikai?
- A maneki-yane is a roof whose central section is stepped up higher than the rest. Here it creates a naka-nikai, a low half-floor tucked under the raised ridge, giving the single-storey storehouse extra storage room in its upper middle.
- How was the storehouse used?
- It was the household's general-purpose, barn-like storehouse, used for a range of goods rather than a single treasure. Its east floor once linked directly to the entrance wing of the main house.
- Is it a National Treasure or Important Cultural Property?
- No. It is a Registered Tangible Cultural Property, registered on 27 February 2023 for its contribution to the historic landscape, which is a lighter status than a designated Important Cultural Property or National Treasure.
- Can I visit it?
- The exterior can be seen from the public street. The interior is part of the Fukae Local History Museum annex, so confirm opening days and any reservation on the official site before travelling.
Basic Information
| Name | Fukae Local History Museum Annex (former Koda Residence), Storehouse (dozo) |
|---|---|
| Location | 26-3 Fukae-minami 3-chome, Higashinari-ku, Osaka |
| Category / Registered | Registered Tangible Cultural Property; registered 27 February 2023 (registration round 104) |
| Registration number | 27-0871 |
| Built | 1935, with later Showa-period work (renovated 2020) |
| Structure | Earthen-walled (dozo), single storey with half-floor, tiled roof; building area approx. 40 sq m |
| Owner | Ishikawa Co., Ltd. |
| Access / viewing | Exterior visible from the street; grounds open as part of the Fukae Local History Museum, hours on the official site |
References
- Agency for Cultural Affairs, National Cultural Properties Database — Storehouse
- https://kunishitei.bunka.go.jp/bsys/maindetails/101/00014500
- Fukae Local History Museum (official site)
- https://fukae-heritage-museum.or.jp/
- Osaka Bunkazai Navi — Fukae Local History Museum Annex (former Koda Residence)
- https://osaka-bunkazainavi.org/bunkazai/%E6%B7%B1%E6%B1%9F%E9%83%B7%E5%9C%9F%E8%B3%87%E6%96%99%E9%A4%A8-%E5%88%A5%E9%A4%A8%EF%BC%88%E6%97%A7%E5%B9%B8%E7%94%B0%E5%AE%B6%E4%BD%8F%E5%AE%85%EF%BC%89
Last verified: 2026.07.10