What the Akada Family Residence Storehouse Is
The Akada Family Residence Storehouse (赤田家住宅土蔵, Akada-ke Jūtaku Dozō) is a two-storey clay-walled strongroom built in 1917 in Otamachi, Nagahama City, Shiga Prefecture, and entered as a Registered Tangible Cultural Property on 6 August 2025. Built in the Dozo-zukuri method, it covers 26 square metres under a tiled roof and stands northwest of the main house, deep inside the compound.
The gable roof runs front to back, with the entrance on the gable end in the Tsumairi manner, and a small lean-to shelters the doorway on the east side. The roof itself is an Okiyane, a separately framed roof set on top of the clay-plastered body with a gap between the two, a detail meant to protect the contents from heat and fire. It is laid with Sangawara-buki tiles.
It held the family's household goods. The detached room had gone up the year before, in 1916, so within seven years of the main house of 1910 the Akada household had added both a guest pavilion and a strongroom.
Why It Was Listed
The Akada Family Residence Storehouse was listed for its contribution to the historic landscape. The Agency for Cultural Affairs credits it with shaping the northwest side of the property: a single white strongroom behind the main house gives the back of the compound a firm edge.
Its specification layers Taisho-era choices over a traditional type. It rests on a granite base. The walls are finished in white Shikkui lime plaster above, while the lower band is mortar in the Araidashi finish, washed before it fully sets so that the embedded gravel shows through and gives a stone-like texture. A traditional clay storehouse, in other words, dressed with a modern material.
Inside, both floors are boarded, and the roof frame uses curved timbers for its beams. Setting naturally bent logs so that their curve works against the weight of the roof was a standard trick of farmhouse carpentry.
What to Look For
Read the walls of the Akada Family Residence Storehouse in two bands. Above, smooth white plaster; below, grey, gritty washed mortar. The height of that junction sets the proportions of the whole building, and beneath it the granite base adds a third layer: white, grey and stone, stacked from the top down.
Look at the roof line as well. An okiyane leaves a shadow line between the top of the walls and the underside of the roof, so the roof appears to hover slightly above the body. The small lean-to over the east doorway kept rain off anyone going in and out, and marks which side is the front.
The Agency's photograph of the upper floor shows the curved beams. From outside there is no hint of them, but inside the white box is a frame that makes the most of the timber's natural shape.
Visiting
The Akada Family Residence Storehouse is part of a private home and is not open. Neither the Agency for Cultural Affairs nor Nagahama City lists any opening days or booking route (checked 27 September 2026).
Standing in the northwest corner, the farthest point from the road, the storehouse cannot be studied from outside. The Agency's online database publishes photographs of the exterior and the upper floor. Stay outside the gate and photograph only from the public road.
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- Find tours, activities & transport passes near Akada Family Residence Storehouse
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Q&A
- When was the Akada Family Residence Storehouse built?
- In 1917, a year after the detached room of 1916.
- Can visitors go inside the Akada Family Residence Storehouse?
- No. It is part of a private home and the interior is closed, with no opening days or booking route announced (checked 27 September 2026).
- How are the walls of the Akada Family Residence Storehouse finished?
- White lime plaster above and washed mortar in the araidashi finish below, all on a granite base.
- What is special about the roof of the Akada Family Residence Storehouse?
- It is a gabled okiyane, a separately framed roof set over the clay body, entered from the gable end and laid with interlocking tiles. A lean-to shelters the east doorway.
- Why is the Akada Family Residence Storehouse a Registered Tangible Cultural Property?
- It was listed for its contribution to the historic landscape, as the storehouse that shapes the northwest side of the property.
Basic Information
| Name | Akada Family Residence Storehouse (赤田家住宅土蔵) |
|---|---|
| Location | 133 Otamachi, Nagahama City, Shiga Prefecture |
| Designation | Registered Tangible Cultural Property (Structure), register no. 25-0527 |
| Year Designated | Registered 2025/8/6 (Reiwa 7) |
| Quantity | 1 building |
| Dimensions | Dozo-zukuri, 2 storeys, tiled roof, building area 26 square metres |
| Owner | Private |
| Public Access | Closed to the public |
References
- National Cultural Properties Database, Akada Family Residence Storehouse (Agency for Cultural Affairs)
- https://kunishitei.bunka.go.jp/heritage/detail/101/00015471
- Nagahama City, List of Designated and Registered Cultural Properties (as of 6 August 2025)
- https://www.city.nagahama.lg.jp/cmsfiles/contents/0000014/14176/ichirann.pdf
Last verified: 2026.09.26
