Hiroumi Family Residence Living Room Storehouse

A Storehouse Joined to the Reception Rooms

The Hiroumi Family Residence Living Room Storehouse (廣海家住宅居間蔵, Hiroumi-ke jūtaku imagura) is a two-storey storehouse from the late Edo period in Nishimachi, Kaizuka City, Osaka Prefecture, registered as a Registered Tangible Cultural Property in 2003.

It stands south of the west end of the main house and is linked to the reception rooms by a covered passage, so the household could reach it without stepping outdoors. Of all the storehouses on the property, the Hiroumi Family Residence Living Room Storehouse is the one tied most closely to the family's living space.

It is small, 3 by 2 ken with a footprint of 23 square meters, a gabled (Kirizuma-zukuri) building of thick fireproof clay walls (Dozo-zukuri). According to the Agency for Cultural Affairs it still holds tea utensils and similar household treasures.

Why It Matters

The storehouse was registered for its contribution to the historic landscape. Together with the main house and the Middle and Lower Storehouses, it preserves the layout of a late-Edo merchant compound.

It is also tied directly to domestic life. Reached along a passage from the reception rooms and used to keep tea utensils, it shows in concrete terms how a shipping merchant's household prepared to receive guests.

What to Look For

The roof is now covered in artificial slate. The Agency notes that it was originally laid in round-and-flat tiles (Hongawarabuki), so this storehouse looks different from its tiled neighbors.

The door is in the east gable, and the south wall has just one window on each floor. Thick walls and few openings are the classic defense against fire, sensible for fragile and valuable tea wares.

The covered link to the house is worth noting too. Utensils could be carried back and forth without getting wet, and the plan shows the storehouse built into the daily routes of the household.

Visiting the Hiroumi Family Residence Living Room Storehouse

The Hiroumi Family Residence Living Room Storehouse stands inside a private compound and is not open to the public. It sits behind the main house, and whether any of it can be seen from the street has not been confirmed.

The grounds are closed, so any viewing is from the public roads around the property. How the compound fits together, and how to get there, is covered on the Hiroumi Family Residence page.