A Storehouse for Household Goods in the North-West Corner
The Matsumiya Family Residence West Storehouse (松宮家住宅西蔵, Matsumiya-ke Jūtaku Nishi-no-kura) is a two-storey earthen-walled storehouse of the middle Meiji era in Sugi, Hirakata City, Osaka Prefecture, registered as a Registered Tangible Cultural Property on 5 December 2019. It is dated to between 1883 and 1897 and was repaired in 1969.
The official reading is nishi-no-kura, "the west store", with the possessive particle no in the middle, rather than the more obvious nishigura.
It stands in the north-west corner of the plot, facing south, with a building area of 20 square metres. The Agency for Cultural Affairs describes it as a store for the household's goods and equipment. The rice storehouse stands next to it on the east.
A Detached Roof and a Plaster Headband
The Matsumiya Family Residence West Storehouse is built in the Dozo-zukuri manner, with thick clay walls around a timber frame. Its roof of pan tiles (Sangawara-buki) is of the oki-yane type: a separate timber roof set on top of the clay-sealed body, so that if the roof burned and fell in a fire, the body of the store and its contents could survive.
The walls are finished in white lime plaster (Shikkui), with a hachimaki, a thickened band of plaster, wrapped around the top of the walls beneath the eaves. The lower part of the walls is faced with vertical boards that protect the clay base.
On the south front, a lean-to roof (Geya) projects from the eastern half only, giving an asymmetrical face: a white wall with a low roof attached to one side.
Inside: Rising Beams under the Roof
Both floors of the Matsumiya Family Residence West Storehouse are single open rooms.
The roof is framed with noribari, rising beams. Instead of laying horizontal beams and standing short posts on them to carry the roof, as in the common Japanese roof frame, the beams themselves are set on a slope following the pitch of the roof. That tends to leave more headroom on the upper floor. The rice storehouse next door uses the conventional wagoya frame, so the 2 neighbouring stores differ in how their roofs are built.
The Agency for Cultural Affairs describes the west storehouse as shaping the north-west corner of the compound. It was registered as contributing to the historic landscape of the country.
Viewing the Matsumiya Family Residence West Storehouse
The Matsumiya Family Residence West Storehouse faces into the compound, so its south front with the lean-to cannot be seen from outside. From the street along the north edge of the plot, what you see is its back wall and roof.
Standing on that northern street, you can see the west and rice storehouses side by side; the west storehouse is the one at the western end and slightly the larger of the 2. The interior is closed and the grounds cannot be entered.
Directions and the general conditions for visiting are on the Matsumiya Family Residence page.
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Q&A
- How is the name of the Matsumiya Family Residence West Storehouse read in Japanese?
- As Matsumiya-ke Jūtaku Nishi-no-kura. The national database gives the reading nishi-no-kura for the characters of the Matsumiya Family Residence West Storehouse.
- What was kept in the Matsumiya Family Residence West Storehouse?
- The Agency for Cultural Affairs describes it as a store for the household's goods and equipment.
- When was the Matsumiya Family Residence West Storehouse built?
- In the middle Meiji era, between 1883 and 1897. It was repaired in 1969.
- Can the Matsumiya Family Residence West Storehouse be seen from outside?
- Its north wall and roof can be seen from the street along the north side of the plot. The south front with the lean-to faces into the compound.
- When was the Matsumiya Family Residence West Storehouse registered?
- On 5 December 2019, as a Registered Tangible Cultural Property, under number 27-0790.
Basic Information
| Name | Matsumiya Family Residence West Storehouse |
|---|---|
| Location | 442 Sugi 1-chome, Hirakata City, Osaka Prefecture |
| Designation | Registered Tangible Cultural Property (Building) |
| Year Designated | Registered 5 December 2019 |
| Quantity | 1 building |
| Dimensions | Earthen-walled storehouse, 2 storeys, tile roof, building area 20 square metres |
| Owner | Not published (not listed in the national database) |
| Public Access | Not open to the public; exterior from the northern street only |
References
- Database of National Cultural Properties: Matsumiya Family Residence West Storehouse (Agency for Cultural Affairs)
- https://kunishitei.bunka.go.jp/bsys/maindetails/101/00013148
- Database of National Cultural Properties: Matsumiya Family Residence Rice Storehouse (Agency for Cultural Affairs)
- https://kunishitei.bunka.go.jp/bsys/maindetails/101/00013149
- Cultural Heritage Online: Matsumiya Family Residence West Storehouse
- https://online.bunka.go.jp/heritages/detail/452130
- Press Release on the Former Kinami Family Residence Registration (Hirakata City, 18 November 2022)
- https://www.city.hirakata.osaka.jp/cmsfiles/contents/0000047/47743/2211182.pdf
Last verified: 2026.09.26
