Hiroumi Family Residence Lower Storehouse

Two Storehouses Under One Roof

The Hiroumi Family Residence Lower Storehouse (廣海家住宅下蔵, Hiroumi-ke jūtaku shimogura) 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 about half a ken south of the Middle Storehouse, with its east gable aligned to its neighbor's. At 5 ken by 2 and a half ken and 45 square meters, it is the largest of the Edo-period storehouses on the property: tiled, two storeys, with thick clay walls (Dozo-zukuri).

What sets the Hiroumi Family Residence Lower Storehouse apart is that a building which looks like one storehouse from outside was originally two.

Why It Matters

According to the Agency for Cultural Affairs, the interior is divided at the midpoint of its length, with a door at each end. There is now an opening in the partition, but originally you could not pass from one half to the other.

In effect the Hiroumi Family Residence Lower Storehouse is a pair of storehouses sharing a wall and a roof. The reason for the split is not recorded, but the building plainly worked as two independent stores, a concrete record of how a wholesaler organized storage.

It was registered for its contribution to the historic landscape and forms part of the storehouse cluster on the west side of the compound.

What to Look For

The doors in both the east and west gables are the clearest sign of the original split. Which door you used decided which half you could reach.

The roof framing is worth knowing about. A heavy ridge beam runs down the middle, and sloping rafter-beams are laid from it to the walls. Carrying the roof this way avoids a forest of posts on the upper floor, leaving the loft open for storage. The Meiji-period New Storehouse uses the same system.

It stands half a ken from the Middle Storehouse with the east gables in line, one sign of how neatly the storehouses on the west side were laid out.

Visiting the Hiroumi Family Residence Lower Storehouse

The Hiroumi Family Residence Lower Storehouse stands inside a private compound and is not open to the public. There is no opportunity to see the partition or roof framing, and whether the building is visible 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.