Yamada Family Residence Rice Storehouse

What the Rice Storehouse Is

The Yamada Family Residence Rice Storehouse (山田家住宅米蔵, Yamada-ke Jūtaku Komegura) is an 1854 granary on the east side of the forecourt of the Yamada estate in Shinge, Sennan City, Osaka Prefecture, registered in 2002 as a Registered Tangible Cultural Property.

It is a single-storey Dozo-zukuri building, walled in thick fireproof plaster, under a gabled roof of hongawarabuki tiles. It measures 9.8 meters by 3.9 meters, with a building area of 39 square meters. The west front has a light eave carried on bracket arms, and the north side a deeper earth-floored eave on posts.

Inside, the storehouse is split into three rooms, each with its own door from the front.

A Granary for the Rice Tax

The Yamada Family Residence Rice Storehouse was registered for its contribution to the historic landscape. What the Agency for Cultural Affairs points to is its position: on the east side of the forecourt, within easy reach from outside the grounds. That placement suggests it held the tax rice the headman collected from the village.

The estate's other storehouse stands deep behind the main house and is thought to have held family possessions. Set the two side by side and you can see how a headman's household kept its public duties and private life apart on the same plot. Three separate rooms would also have made it easier to keep deliveries or grades of rice apart.

What to Look For

Walk round to the front and three identical doorways appear in a row, dividing the 9.8-meter wall into equal bays. The facade tells you the interior plan before you step in.

Compare the eaves. The west eave is light, carried on arms projecting from the wall, while the north eave stands on posts and reaches farther out. One served the front where bales went in and out; the other sheltered work out of the rain.

Today the Yamada Family Residence Rice Storehouse is a small folk museum. Its three rooms are given over to old documents, farm tools and household furnishings, drawn from the family's own holdings and from donations by local residents.

Visiting the Rice Storehouse

On public open days the Yamada Family Residence Rice Storehouse is open as a folk museum. Published guidance does not mention rotating displays, so ask at the reception if you are returning.

You will find it immediately to your right, on the east side, once you pass through the Nagayamon. Take in the three doorways from the forecourt, then walk to the north side to see the deeper eave. Directions and opening days are covered on the Yamada Family Residence page.