A Storehouse With an Outdoor Room Attached
The Storehouse of the Former Wada Residence (旧和田家住宅（クロスケの家）土蔵, Kyū Wada-ke Jūtaku Dozō, on the compound known as Kurosuke no Ie) is a two-storey earthen-walled dozō in the Mikajima district of Tokorozawa City, Saitama Prefecture, dated to around 1887 and entered on the national register of Tangible Cultural Properties on 21 June 2013.
It is the oldest of the three registered buildings on the plot, and it has moved once. Built in the closing years of the Meiji teens or the early twenties by the traditional reckoning, it originally stood near what is now the tea factory. Around 1902 it was shifted bodily to its present position by hikiya, the technique of relocating a building without dismantling it, and it has occupied the southern edge of the compound ever since, presenting its long side to the road.
The registered footprint is 50 square metres over two storeys, roofed in pantiles on a gable. What makes the elevation legible from the street is the wall treatment: the lower portion has an araidashi finish, a washed surface that exposes the aggregate in the render, while everything above is white lime plaster with a projecting drip course running between the two. On the north face, two windows and two doorways are set on each of the upper and lower floors.
Noki-ba: the Part That Is Not Really a Building
The eaves here project about 1.8 metres, far more than a storehouse needs for weather protection alone, and a lean-to roof of sheet metal runs in an L around the north-west, turning the corner from the long side to the gable end. The sheltered ground beneath it has its own name in local usage: noki-ba.
It was a working surface. Freshly picked tea leaf was spread out here to dry, and in wet weather the space took the lighter farm jobs that would otherwise have waited for a clear day. Roofed but open on the sides, it belonged neither to the interior nor to the yard, and for a tea household that ambiguity was the point. The Agency for Cultural Affairs treats it as a defining feature, and the present owner notes that both the storehouse itself and its noki-ba are larger than those of neighbouring farms, enough to stand out within the district.
The roof is worth a second look for a different reason. It is built as an okiyane, a separate structure set over the storehouse body rather than bearing on it. Thick earthen walls are what give a dozō its resistance to fire and its steady internal temperature, and keeping the roof independent lets those walls breathe and lets the tiles be renewed without disturbing them. The arrangement is common in storehouses and easy to overlook until someone points at the gap.
Storage was not the whole of its use, either. During the peak of the tea season the building housed the seasonal workers who came in to help, which puts it closer to a bunkhouse than to a warehouse for a few weeks each year.
Rebuilt With Bamboo Nails and Palm-Fibre Rope
By the mid-2000s the storehouse was in poor condition. Sections of the outer wall had fallen away far enough to expose the bamboo lattice behind, and the lean-to was badly decayed. Repair began in December 2008 and finished in March 2009.
The method chosen matters as much as the result. The work used bamboo nails, palm-fibre rope and wall clay, the traditional materials of earthen-wall construction, rather than a modern substitute system, and was finished in white lime plaster. An earthen wall is a layered assembly of split bamboo lattice, rough clay coat, intermediate coats and a final lime skin, each stage keyed to the one beneath and each needing to dry before the next goes on. Repairing one properly is slow, and it is the kind of skill that survives only where there is work to keep it alive.
Two crest-style motifs were rendered in relief plasterwork on the outer walls during that campaign, one on the east side and one on the west, worked with a trowel by the plasterers from illustrations contributed by the film director whose work gave the compound its nickname. Kote-e, the tradition of pictorial plaster relief, was a standard flourish on merchant storehouses in the Edo and Meiji periods, so the technique has a longer history than the imagery on this particular building.
Inside, the storehouse now serves as an exhibition room on the Sayama Hills, with a permanent display and occasional temporary shows. A bank of drawers fills the west wall, holding models of the woodland tracts the owner has acquired for conservation along with things picked up on the forest floor, acorns and pine cones among them. Each tract differs in setting and vegetation, and the drawers are arranged to let visitors compare them.
Visiting is by advance reservation only. The compound opens Tuesdays, Wednesdays and Saturdays, morning session 10:00 to 12:00 and afternoon session 13:00 to 15:00, with last entry at 11:30 and 14:30. Admission is 500 yen for elementary school age and above, cash only, capped at 40 people per session; entry is free for holders of a disability certificate on presentation at reception. A guided special opening of about ninety minutes runs roughly monthly at 1,000 yen for 15 people. Groups of ten or more apply at least a week in advance. Photography for personal use is permitted but commercial use of the images is not, and tour operators and paid guiding are not accepted. Public holidays, Obon and New Year are closure days, with unscheduled closures possible.
From Kotesashi Station on the Seibu Ikebukuro Line, take a bus for Waseda University or Miyaderanishi and alight at Dainichido, roughly five minutes on foot. No car park is provided and the coin parking nearby fills early on Saturdays. Pets may stay outdoors only, assistance dogs excepted, and there is no air conditioning anywhere on the site.
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Q&A
- Can the Storehouse of the Former Wada Residence (Kurosuke no Ie) be visited, and what is inside?
- Yes, by advance reservation on Tuesdays, Wednesdays and Saturdays, in a 10:00 to 12:00 or 13:00 to 15:00 session, for 500 yen from elementary school age up, cash only. The interior holds an exhibition on the Sayama Hills, including a wall of drawers with models of the conserved woodland tracts and objects gathered in the forest.
- What is the noki-ba at the Storehouse of the Former Wada Residence?
- It is the sheltered half-outdoor space under the deep eaves and the L-shaped lean-to roof on the north-west side. Freshly picked tea leaf was spread there to dry, and light farm work was carried out there on rainy days. The eaves project about 1.8 metres, and the owner notes the space is unusually generous compared with neighbouring farm storehouses.
- How old is the Storehouse of the Former Wada Residence, and has it always stood in this spot?
- It is estimated to date from around 1887, making it the oldest of the three registered buildings on the compound. It originally stood near the present tea factory and was relocated to the southern edge of the plot around 1902 by hikiya, the technique of moving a building whole.
- How was the Storehouse of the Former Wada Residence repaired?
- By traditional methods. Work ran from December 2008 to March 2009 using bamboo nails, palm-fibre rope and wall clay, with a white lime plaster finish. Before that the outer wall had deteriorated to the point where the bamboo lattice behind it was exposed, and the lean-to was heavily decayed.
- Why does the roof of the Storehouse of the Former Wada Residence sit separately from the walls?
- It is an okiyane, a roof built as an independent structure over the storehouse body. The thick earthen walls of a dozō provide fire resistance and stable interior conditions, and keeping the roof off them allows the walls to breathe and the tiles to be replaced without disturbing the wall fabric.
- Was the Storehouse of the Former Wada Residence used only for storage?
- No. Alongside storage it functioned as a tea processing workspace, and during the busiest weeks of the tea season it accommodated the seasonal labourers who came to help, serving as lodging as well as a working building.
Basic Information
| Name | Storehouse of the Former Wada Residence (Kurosuke no Ie) / 旧和田家住宅（クロスケの家）土蔵 |
|---|---|
| Location | 3-1169-1 Mikajima, Tokorozawa City, Saitama Prefecture |
| Designation | Registered Tangible Cultural Property (Structure); registration number 11-0129; criterion: contributing to the historic landscape of the country |
| Year Designated | Registered 21 June 2013 (75th round of registration) |
| Quantity | 1 building |
| Dimensions | Earthen-wall construction, two storeys, tiled roof; building area 50 m². Built around 1887; relocated around 1902; repaired 2008 |
| Owner | Totoro Furusato Foundation (public interest incorporated foundation) |
| Public Access | Open Tuesday, Wednesday and Saturday, 10:00–12:00 and 13:00–15:00, by advance reservation only. Admission 500 yen, cash only; free with a disability certificate. Closed on public holidays, Obon and New Year. No car park. |
References
- Agency for Cultural Affairs, National Cultural Properties Database: Storehouse of the Former Wada Residence (Kurosuke no Ie)
- https://kunishitei.bunka.go.jp/heritage/detail/101/00009583
- Totoro Furusato Foundation: The Storehouse
- https://www.totoro.or.jp/kurosuke/facilities/kura/index.html
- Totoro Furusato Foundation: Kurosuke no Ie
- https://www.totoro.or.jp/kurosuke/
- Tokorozawa City: Former Wada Residence (Kurosuke no Ie) Main House, Tea Factory and Storehouse
- https://www.city.tokorozawa.saitama.jp/iitokoro/enjoy/bunkakyoyo/bunkazai/kunitourokubunkazai/kurosukenoie.html
- Totoro Furusato Foundation: Access
- https://www.totoro.or.jp/kurosuke/access.html
Last verified: 2026.08.10