About the Former Arai Family Residence North Storehouse
The Former Arai Family Residence North Storehouse (旧新井家住宅北土蔵, Kyū Arai-ke Jūtaku Kita Dozō) is a two-storey earthen-walled storehouse in Komahongo, Hidaka City, Saitama Prefecture, built in the mid-Meiji period (1883 to 1897) on the estate of the Arai family, village headmen of Komahongo, and registered as a Registered Tangible Cultural Property on April 25, 2014. At 5.5 by 3.6 meters, with a building area of 20 square meters, it is the smallest of the estate's six registered structures.
It stands behind the main house, to the north, on a raised stone platform, and faces west. The roof is a separately framed Okiyane covered in pantiles (Sangawara-buki), with a lean-to (Geya) on the west side. The storehouse was renovated in 2012.
Why the North Storehouse Was Registered
The North Storehouse is registration number 11-0139, listed for its contribution to the historic landscape. Hidaka City describes it simply as "standard in size and construction." This is not a building with showy details.
What the Agency for Cultural Affairs notices instead is its footing and floor. The Former Arai Family Residence North Storehouse has no sill beam, the ground floor is bare earth, and storage jars are sunk into that earth floor. On that evidence it is thought to have been a food store. With household goods kept in the south storehouse, this small building was the working larder of a headman's household.
Posts on Stones and Jars in the Floor
Most storehouses of this kind rest on a sill, a horizontal timber laid over the foundation stones with the posts rising from it. The Arai north storehouse does without the sill: its posts stand directly on the foundation stones.
The ground floor has no boarded floor at all, only a Doma of packed earth, and jars are buried in it. Burying jars in the ground was a common way to keep pickles, miso or grain at a steadier temperature. The national database does not say what the Arai family stored here, describing the contents only as foodstuffs and the like.
Above that floor the building is a two-storey Dozo-zukuri body of clay walls, with the timber roof set on top as a separate structure. The Former Arai Family Residence North Storehouse sits on a raised stone base north of the main house; no source consulted explains why it was placed there.
Its 20 square meters are roughly half the 39 square meters of the south storehouse. The larger store stands toward the front of the estate and helps shape its public face; the smaller one waits behind the house on higher ground. Together they show how the estate divided storage between front and back.
Visiting the North Storehouse
The Former Arai Family Residence North Storehouse can be seen from inside the grounds whenever Komagō Kominka is open. Walk round to the back of the main house to find the little storehouse on its stone base, with the lean-to on its west face.
Both floors of the north storehouse can be booked for private use. Access to the earth floor with its buried jars depends on bookings, so ask the Hidaka City Industry Promotion Division (042-989-2111) in advance if you particularly want to see it.
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Q&A
- What was the Former Arai Family Residence North Storehouse used for?
- Because storage jars are buried in its earth floor, it is thought to have been a food store. Household goods were kept in the south storehouse.
- When was the Former Arai Family Residence North Storehouse built?
- The Agency for Cultural Affairs database dates it to the mid-Meiji period (1883 to 1897). It was renovated in 2012.
- What is unusual about how the Arai family north storehouse is built?
- Its posts stand directly on foundation stones with no sill beam, and the ground floor is bare earth with jars sunk into it. The clay-walled body carries a separately framed tiled roof.
- How big is the Former Arai Family Residence North Storehouse?
- It measures 5.5 by 3.6 meters, with a building area of 20 square meters, the smallest of the six registered structures on the estate.
- Where is the Former Arai Family Residence North Storehouse on the estate?
- It stands north of the main house on a raised stone base and faces west. On opening days, walk round behind the main house to see it.
Basic Information
| Name | Former Arai Family Residence North Storehouse (旧新井家住宅北土蔵) |
|---|---|
| Location | 245 Kaminohara, Oaza Komahongo, Hidaka City, Saitama Prefecture |
| Designation | Registered Tangible Cultural Property (Building), registration no. 11-0139 |
| Year Designated | Registered April 25, 2014 |
| Quantity | 1 building |
| Dimensions | 2-storey earthen storehouse, tiled roof, building area 20 square meters |
| Owner | Hidaka City |
| Public Access | Open to the public (as Komagō Kominka) |
References
- Database of National Cultural Properties: Former Arai Family Residence North Storehouse (Agency for Cultural Affairs, Japanese)
- https://kunishitei.bunka.go.jp/heritage/detail/101/00009903
- Cultural Heritage Online: Former Arai Family Residence North Storehouse (Agency for Cultural Affairs, Japanese)
- https://online.bunka.go.jp/heritages/detail/279790
- Introducing Komagō Kominka (Hidaka City Industry Promotion Division, Japanese)
- https://www.city.hidaka.lg.jp/soshiki/shiminseikatsu/sangyoshinko/shokokanko/kanko/sisetu/5836.html
Last verified: 2026.09.28
