What Is the Former Ichien Family Residence Rice Storehouse?
The Former Ichien Family Residence Rice Storehouse (旧一圓家住宅米蔵, Kyū Ichien-ke Jūtaku Komegura) is a two-storey Dozo-zukuri storehouse built in the late Edo period, between 1830 and 1868, in Ichien, Taga Town, Inukami District, Shiga Prefecture, and registered as a Registered Tangible Cultural Property on October 7, 2014. It measures 7.4 meters by 3.8 meters, with a building area of 28 square meters.
It stands behind the main house with its ridge running east to west. Of the estate's three storehouses, it is the only one not joined to the house. The roof is a Kirizuma-zukuri gable covered in Sangawara-buki tiles.
Why It Was Registered
The Former Ichien Family Residence Rice Storehouse was registered for contributing to the historic landscape of the country. The Agency for Cultural Affairs places it as one of the storehouses that make up the yashiki-gamae, the ensemble of house and outbuildings that together form a rural estate.
A komegura is, as the name says, a storehouse for rice. For a family that, according to the present operators, served as Shōya, or village headman, in the Edo period, a freestanding rice store behind the house says a good deal about how the household ran. If the document storehouse tucked into the main house is the estate's inner store, the rice storehouse is its back-of-the-yard store, loaded and unloaded from outside.
What to Look For
The west door and its small roof
The doorway of the Ichien rice storehouse is in its west gable end, beneath the triangle of the roof, and a small canopy projects over it to keep off the rain. The main house faces west and the storehouse sits behind it, so this door looks back toward the rear of the house.
Walls in three bands
The walls are sheathed in white-painted sheet iron, with a Hachimaki band of thickened plaster under the eaves and horizontal boards along the base. From top to bottom the wall reads as three bands: the plaster band, the white iron, and the timber skirt that takes the splash off the ground.
A traditional roof frame
Inside, the roof is carried on a Wagoya frame, the Japanese method of setting short vertical struts on horizontal beams to hold up the roof. A window opens in the west wall of the upper storey.
Visiting the Rice Storehouse
The Former Ichien Family Residence Rice Storehouse stands on the grounds of an estate that runs as a guesthouse, and the official website announces no public openings (checked September 27, 2026). It does not say whether guests can go inside the rice storehouse either, so ask the operators if you stay.
Set behind the main house, it is hard to take in from outside the property. Guests who walk round the back of the house can face the west gable head-on and see the door, its canopy and the upstairs window stacked one above the other. Check with the operators about photography.
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Q&A
- When was the Former Ichien Family Residence Rice Storehouse built?
- It dates from the late Edo period, between 1830 and 1868.
- Where on the estate is the Former Ichien Family Residence Rice Storehouse?
- It stands on its own behind the main house, with its ridge running east to west. It is the only one of the three storehouses not joined to the house.
- What are the walls of the Former Ichien Family Residence Rice Storehouse like?
- They are clad in white sheet iron, with a hachimaki band under the eaves and horizontal boards along the base.
- How big is the Former Ichien Family Residence Rice Storehouse?
- It is a two-storey dozo-zukuri storehouse measuring 7.4 meters by 3.8 meters, with a building area of 28 square meters.
- Can I visit the Former Ichien Family Residence Rice Storehouse?
- No public openings are announced. The estate is a guesthouse, and whether guests may enter the storehouse should be confirmed with the operators (checked September 27, 2026).
- About Ichien Yashiki (Taga Satonoyado Ichien Yashiki)
- https://www.ichienyashiki.jp/about/
Basic Information
| Name | Former Ichien Family Residence Rice Storehouse (旧一圓家住宅米蔵) |
|---|---|
| Location | 149 Nishikado, Ichien, Taga-cho, Inukami-gun, Shiga Prefecture |
| Designation | Registered Tangible Cultural Property (Building), registration no. 25-0351 |
| Year Designated | Registered October 7, 2014 |
| Quantity | 1 building |
| Dimensions | Dozo-zukuri, 2 storeys, tiled roof, 7.4 meters by 3.8 meters, building area 28 square meters |
| Owner | Hikone Landscape Forum, a non-profit organization |
| Public Access | No public openings announced; ask the operators about interior access |
References
- Database of National Cultural Properties: Former Ichien Family Residence Rice Storehouse (Agency for Cultural Affairs)
- https://kunishitei.bunka.go.jp/bsys/maindetails/101/00010182
- Cultural Heritage Online: Former Ichien Family Residence Rice Storehouse
- https://online.bunka.go.jp/heritages/detail/243635
- Cultural Properties of Taga Town (Taga Town Office)
- https://www.town.taga.lg.jp/kanko_bunka_sports/rekishi_bunkazai/1/1430.html
- About Ichien Yashiki (Taga Satonoyado Ichien Yashiki)
- https://www.ichienyashiki.jp/about/
Last verified: 2026.09.26
