Okamoto Family Residence New Storehouse

What Is the Okamoto Family Residence New Storehouse?

The Okamoto Family Residence New Storehouse (岡本家住宅新蔵, Okamoto-ke Jūtaku Shingura) is a two-storey storehouse built in 1857 in Kitamachi, Kaizuka City, Osaka Prefecture, and registered as a Registered Tangible Cultural Property on March 18, 2003.

Three storehouses stand in a row along the north side of the Okamoto soy brewers' property. The New Storehouse is the westernmost, right on the street called Oshita-suji, with the Middle Storehouse and then the North Storehouse continuing to the east. "Shingura" simply means "new storehouse," and the name fits: it is the youngest of the three.

It is a Dozo-zukuri building, the Japanese technique of wrapping a timber frame in thick fire-resistant earthen walls. The plan measures 2 ken by 3 ken, the building area is 57 m², and the Agency for Cultural Affairs describes the roof as Hongawarabuki, with rounded and flat tiles laid in alternating rows. It is also the smallest of the three storehouses.

A Storehouse Dated by Its Ridge Tag

Like the other buildings on the property, the Okamoto Family Residence New Storehouse was registered for its contribution to the historic landscape of the country. It extends the street frontage of the brewer's house to the north of the main house.

Its real strength is a precise date. According to the Agency, a Munafuda ridge tag is nailed to the central post of the south gable, and it records construction in Ansei 4, which is 1857. The Middle Storehouse is registered only as "mid-Edo" and the North Storehouse as "late Edo," so the New Storehouse is the one building in the row with a firm year.

That makes it a benchmark for the others. When the Agency weighs the tradition that the Middle Storehouse dates from the Kyoho era (1716 to 1736), one of its reasons is that the Middle Storehouse's timbers are clearly older than those of the New Storehouse.

The Agency also notes that none of the three storehouses served the brewery. They were family stores for tools and household goods, so the Okamoto New Storehouse held the family's belongings rather than soy sauce.

The Last Traditional Tile Roof in the Row

Look up at the roof of the Okamoto New Storehouse. In the registration records, it is the only one of the three storehouses with a clay tile roof; the Middle and North Storehouses are listed with slate. The Agency's note on the North Storehouse explains that after an earthquake those two roofs had to be changed from traditional round-and-flat tiles to artificial slate.

The ribbed lines of a hongawarabuki roof look nothing like flat slate sheets. Since all three storehouses once had this kind of roof, the New Storehouse on the street offers the best idea of how the row originally looked.

With its compact 2 ken by 3 ken plan, it stands directly north of the long facade of the main house. Together the two buildings make up the public face of the Okamoto Family Residence.

Visiting the Okamoto Family Residence New Storehouse

The Okamoto Family Residence New Storehouse is privately owned and is not open inside. The ridge tag is not on public view either.

Because it stands on Oshita-suji, you can see the exterior from the public street, and the main house and the New Storehouse can be taken in together. Please photograph only from the street, and do not step onto the property or touch the walls. Directions are on the Okamoto Family Residence page.