Kawano Family Residence Rear Storehouse West Building

What is the Kawano Family Residence Rear Storehouse West Building?

The Kawano Family Residence Rear Storehouse West Building (河野家住宅裏土蔵西棟, Kawano-ke Jūtaku Ura-dozō Nishitō) is a late Edo-period storehouse that stands in the northwest corner of the Kawano family's compound in Uchida-cho, Izumi City, Osaka Prefecture, facing south, and it was listed as a Registered Tangible Cultural Property (Registered Tangible Cultural Property) on March 6, 2024. It is a 2-story Dozo-zukuri building with a tiled roof and a building area of 23 square meters.

The Agency for Cultural Affairs dates it to the late Edo period (1830 to 1868) and says it was built to hold clothing and bedding. Its neighbor to the east held household goods, while the Kawano Family Residence Rear Storehouse West Building looked after the family's kimono and futon. It was registered for its contribution to the historic landscape of the country, and the agency describes it as the building that shapes the northwest corner of the compound.

A storehouse with very few openings

The Kawano Family Residence Rear Storehouse West Building is a 2-story gabled building (Kirizuma-zukuri) entered on its long side (Hirairi). Its roof is an Okiyane, framed separately and set over the body of the storehouse, and laid with round and flat tiles (Hongawarabuki). There is a single doorway in the middle of the south face; the only other openings are 2 small windows high on the north face at the upper floor.

The agency's note calls it a closed storehouse with few windows. Clothing and bedding suffer from damp and insects, so keeping the outside air out suited what was stored here. The small north windows sit high on the outer side of the compound and were presumably there to air the upper floor.

Izumi City notes that the west building has a taller ridge and stands side by side with the east building. With the 2-story west building next to the single-story east building, two roofs of different heights close off the back of the compound.

Three rooms on two floors, under raking beams

Inside the Kawano Family Residence Rear Storehouse West Building, both floors are boarded. The ground floor is divided into 2 rooms and the upper floor is a single room, which suggests goods were sorted downstairs while the upper floor was kept open.

The roof is framed with raking beams (Nobori-bari) that climb from the eaves toward the ridge along the slope of the roof. This leaves headroom in the middle of the upper floor, useful for stacking bulky things such as bedding.

Visiting the Kawano Family Residence Rear Storehouse West Building

The Kawano Family Residence Rear Storehouse West Building stands at the back of the compound in the northwest corner. The sources checked for this article do not say if its interior is open, or if visitors can get close to the south doorway and the tall roof, so ask the Kawanotei operator when you visit.

The grounds of Kawanotei can be entered during gallery and café hours, but its information does not say if visitors may walk to the storehouses at the back.