Menzan Atsuya Residence Storehouse 1

Mezan Atsushi Residence, Storehouse 1

In the hill hamlet of Saho, north of the built-up part of Ibaraki City in Osaka Prefecture, the walled compound of the Mezan Atsushi Residence forms the core of the village landscape. Eight of its structures joined the national register of Tangible Cultural Properties in 2000.

At the northwest corner of the compound, where two lanes meet, stands the larger of the estate's two storehouses. Built in 1912 in the dozō manner, with thick plastered walls over a timber frame, it covers about 23 square meters and turns its north and west faces to the public road.

Why It Is Registered

For a single-story building it stands surprisingly tall, and the treatment of the wall does much of the work. The upper third is finished in white lime plaster; below that runs a band of charred cedar boarding, its dark surface set against the pale plaster above. A gabled roof of pantiles caps the whole. The contrast of light and dark, high and low, gives the storehouse a presence out of proportion to its size.

What to Look For

Because it marks the outer edge of the grounds at a visible corner, the storehouse counts for as much in the streetscape as in storage. It is registered for its part in the historic landscape of the village, and standing at the junction it is among the first things a visitor to Saho notices.

The Mezan Atsushi Residence is a private home, and its interior is not open to visitors. The village lanes, however, pass close by the walls, storehouses and stone base that face the public road, so the streetscape can be taken in from outside without entering the grounds. For displays on the wider history of the area, the Ibaraki City Cultural Property Museum in the city center is open to the public.