What the Takemikumari Shrine Treasure House is
The Takemikumari Shrine Treasure House (建水分神社宝庫, Takemikumari Jinja Hōko) is a single-storey Dozo-zukuri display building of around 1920 in the grounds of Takemikumari Shrine in Suibun, Chihayaakasaka Village, Osaka Prefecture, registered as a Registered Tangible Cultural Property on February 4, 2021.
It stands beside the approach on the lower terrace of the precinct, facing west. Chihayaakasaka Village places it near the entrance to the grounds, opposite the shrine office, on top of a Nozurazumi retaining wall of rough fieldstones built into the slope. The village calls it the former treasure house, and it is one of the first buildings you see on arrival.
The Agency for Cultural Affairs records a single-storey storehouse-type building with a tiled roof and a building area of 40 square meters. Its description adds a timber frame, a Kirizuma-zukuri gabled roof entered at the gable end (Tsumairi) and laid in Sangawara-buki pan tiles, and a small gabled entrance porch at the front.
Why the Takemikumari Shrine Treasure House was built and registered
The Takemikumari Shrine Treasure House was not built to lock things away. According to the village, it was put up in 1920 as an exhibition hall. Admiration for the 14th-century commander Kusunoki Masashige was rising, and across southern Kawachi people were setting up displays of objects linked to him as part of the effort to honor his memory.
The money came from public donations, collected not only from the shrine's parishioners but from the wider community. The result was a small museum, raised by local people, in the grounds that hold both the Kusunoki clan shrine and Nagi Shrine, the auxiliary shrine where Masashige himself is worshipped.
It was registered in the 97th round as number 27-0817, under the criterion of contributing to the historic landscape of the nation. The Agency credits it with shaping the scene at the start of the approach, and its report names the treasure house on the lower terrace, together with the tsuiji wall around Nagi Shrine, as part of the landscape of the shrine grove.
What to look for at the Takemikumari Shrine Treasure House
The windows catch the eye first. The Agency notes four windows set in a row along each side, and the village points out that such large daylight openings are rare on a storehouse, with four on each of the long walls. A fireproof storehouse normally keeps its openings small against fire and theft. Here a row of windows on both sides tells you directly that the building was meant to let in light and show its contents.
Look at the wall finish as well. The outer walls are plastered in Shikkui lime right up to the eaves, with a thick Hachimaki band running beneath them. Below the windows the lower wall is clad in Tateita-bari vertical boarding, so white plaster and dark upright planks meet in a clean line. The small gabled porch at the front faces the same way as the main roof.
Inside is a single room with display cases at the center. According to the village, glass-fronted cases were set back to back, and visitors walked around them to view the exhibits. The windows gave enough light to see everything without electric lighting.
Visiting the Takemikumari Shrine Treasure House
The interior of the Takemikumari Shrine Treasure House is closed to the public, as the village states, so only the exterior can be seen. Because it stands right by the approach, you can look up from the path at the front porch and the row of side windows above the stone wall as soon as you enter the grounds. The Agency's database shows it from the front and at the west entrance.
The shrine publishes no photography policy. The shrine office and a parking lot are directly opposite, so watch for cars. Directions and visiting conditions for the precinct are on the Takemikumari Shrine page.
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Q&A
- When and why was the Takemikumari Shrine Treasure House built?
- It was built around 1920 as a hall for displaying objects associated with Kusunoki Masashige. According to Chihayaakasaka Village, the money was raised by donations from parishioners and the general public.
- Can I go inside the Takemikumari Shrine Treasure House?
- No. The interior is closed to the public. The exterior can be seen from the approach.
- How is the Takemikumari Shrine Treasure House different from an ordinary storehouse?
- It has four large daylight windows on each long side. Inside, glass-fronted display cases stand back to back in the middle of the room so that visitors could walk around them.
- Where is the Takemikumari Shrine Treasure House in the shrine grounds?
- On the lower terrace beside the approach, near the entrance and opposite the shrine office. It faces west from the top of a rough fieldstone wall.
- How large is the Takemikumari Shrine Treasure House?
- It is a single-storey storehouse-type building with a building area of 40 square meters, gabled and entered at the gable end, with a pan-tile roof and a gabled entrance porch.
Basic Information
| Name | Takemikumari Shrine Treasure House |
|---|---|
| Location | 1060 Oaza Suibun, Chihayaakasaka Village, Minamikawachi District, Osaka Prefecture |
| Designation | Registered Tangible Cultural Property (Building) |
| Year Designated | Registered February 4, 2021 |
| Quantity | 1 building |
| Dimensions | Building area 40 square meters |
| Owner | Religious Corporation Takemikumari Shrine |
| Public Access | Exterior only (interior closed to the public) |
References
- Database of National Cultural Properties (Agency for Cultural Affairs): Takemikumari Shrine Treasure House
- https://kunishitei.bunka.go.jp/bsys/maindetails/101/00013613
- Cultural Heritage Online: Takemikumari Shrine Treasure House
- https://online.bunka.go.jp/heritages/detail/516874
- Agency for Cultural Affairs: Council for Cultural Affairs report on new Registered Tangible Cultural Properties (Buildings), July 17, 2020 (PDF, Japanese)
- https://www.bunka.go.jp/seisaku/bunkazai/shokai/yukei_kenzobutsu/pdf/93206101_02.pdf
- Chihayaakasaka Village: Former Treasure House of Takemikumari Shrine (Japanese)
- https://www.vill.chihayaakasaka.osaka.jp/kakuka/kyoiku/syakaikyoiku/bunnkazai/9137.html
- Takemikumari Shrine official site: Access and contact (Japanese)
- https://takemikumari.com/contact/
Last verified: 2026.10.04
