About the Yamamoto Family Residence West Storehouse
The Yamamoto Family Residence West Storehouse (山本家住宅西蔵, Yamamoto-ke Jūtaku Nishigura) is a single-storey Dozo-zukuri earthen-walled storehouse built in 1914 in Taishi, Taishi Town, Osaka Prefecture, and it became a Registered Tangible Cultural Property on October 12, 2001. It has a tiled roof and a footprint of 47 square meters, larger in plan than the two-storey east storehouse on the same plot (34 square meters).
It stands in the southwest corner of the homestead near the gates of Eifukuji. Where the main house and east storehouse face the Takenouchi Kaidō highway, this storehouse sits at the back of the plot.
Built as a True Fireproof Storehouse
The Agency for Cultural Affairs calls the Yamamoto Family Residence West Storehouse a full-fledged earthen storehouse, and the reasons lie in its roof.
First, it has an Okiyane, a separate timber roof set on top of a body that is sealed all round in thick clay. If fire took the outer roof, the sealed box beneath could survive with its contents. Here even the roof framing, the sloping rafter beams (Nobori-bari), purlins and Taruki rafters, is coated in Shikkui plaster, so no bare wood is left exposed under the roof. That is laborious work.
Second, the roof tiles. Every other building in the homestead uses Sangawara-buki pantiles, but this storehouse alone is laid with Hongawarabuki, the heavier system of interlocking flat and round tiles.
Two Kinds of Lean-to
The small roofs on the walls of the Yamamoto Family Residence West Storehouse vary with direction. On the north side a lean-to shelters the Tomae, the heavy doorway of the storehouse.
On the other three sides, east, south and west, narrow drip roofs are carried on projecting brackets, or Udeki, to keep rain from running down the clay walls. One side is built for the entrance and three for protecting the walls.
Registration and Viewing
The storehouse was registered as contributing to the historic landscape, and the Agency describes it as an indispensable element of the homestead. It is hard to see from the highway, but it was registered alongside the main house, east storehouse and high wall as part of one property.
No public opening of the Yamamoto Family Residence West Storehouse has been announced. Because the high wall follows the west side of the plot as far as a storehouse there, part of the roof may be visible over the wall from the west, though this has not been checked on site. Please stay outside the property.
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Q&A
- When was the Yamamoto Family Residence West Storehouse built?
- The Agency for Cultural Affairs dates it to 1914, the same year as the main house, east storehouse and high wall.
- What is an okiyane on the Yamamoto Family Residence West Storehouse?
- It is a separate timber roof placed over a clay-sealed storehouse body. On this storehouse the beams, purlins and rafters of that roof are themselves coated in plaster.
- Is the roof of the Yamamoto Family Residence West Storehouse different from the others?
- Yes. It is the only building in the homestead roofed with full hongawarabuki tiling; the others use pantiles.
- Why is the Yamamoto Family Residence West Storehouse a Registered Tangible Cultural Property?
- As a carefully built earthen storehouse that is an essential part of the homestead, it was registered on October 12, 2001 as contributing to the historic landscape.
- Can I visit the Yamamoto Family Residence West Storehouse?
- It stands at the back of the plot and no public opening has been announced, so please assume it cannot be visited.
Basic Information
| Name | Yamamoto Family Residence West Storehouse |
|---|---|
| Location | 1773 Taishi, Taishi-cho, Minamikawachi-gun, Osaka Prefecture |
| Designation | Registered Tangible Cultural Property (Building) |
| Year Designated | 2001 (registered October 12, 2001) |
| Quantity | 1 building |
| Dimensions | Building area 47 square meters |
| Owner | Unknown (not listed in the Agency for Cultural Affairs database) |
| Public Access | Not open to the public (no public opening announced) |
References
- Database of National Cultural Properties: Yamamoto Family Residence West Storehouse (Agency for Cultural Affairs)
- https://kunishitei.bunka.go.jp/heritage/detail/101/00002430
- Cultural Heritage Online: Yamamoto Family Residence West Storehouse
- https://online.bunka.go.jp/heritages/detail/187160
- Database of National Cultural Properties: Yamamoto Family Residence High Wall (Agency for Cultural Affairs)
- https://kunishitei.bunka.go.jp/heritage/detail/101/00002432
Last verified: 2026.10.04
