What Is the Former Ichien Family Residence Document Storehouse?
The Former Ichien Family Residence Document Storehouse (旧一圓家住宅文庫蔵, Kyū Ichien-ke Jūtaku Bunkogura) is a two-storey Dozo-zukuri storehouse built in the early Meiji period, between 1868 and 1882, in Ichien, Taga Town, Inukami District, Shiga Prefecture, and registered as a Registered Tangible Cultural Property on October 7, 2014. It measures 6.0 meters by 4.0 meters, with a building area of 24 square meters, which makes it both the smallest and the youngest of the four registered buildings on the estate.
It is attached to a wing that projects from the northeast corner of the main house, with its ridge running north to south under a Kirizuma-zukuri roof of Sangawara-buki tiles. The Agency for Cultural Affairs describes it as a storehouse used as an uchigura, an inner storehouse.
Why It Was Registered
The Former Ichien Family Residence Document Storehouse was registered under the criterion of contributing to the historic landscape of the country.
An uchigura is a storehouse you enter from inside the dwelling rather than across the yard. Here the way in is from the kuchirōka, a corridor of the main house. Storehouses reached from indoors were generally used for account books, papers and the household's most valued belongings, and the word bunko in the name likewise refers to a store for books and documents.
Unlike the main house and the other two storehouses, which were all standing by the end of the Edo period, the Ichien document storehouse arrived a generation later, grafted onto a corner of a house that already existed. No record found explains why the family added it in the early Meiji years.
What to Look For
Doors at both gable ends
The Former Ichien Family Residence Document Storehouse has doorways in both gable ends, the triangular walls beneath the roof peaks at its north and south. The national description notes that it is entered from the kuchirōka of the main house, so the storehouse door and the corridor of the living quarters meet directly.
White sheet-iron walls and the hachimaki band
The walls are sheathed in white-painted sheet iron, an outer skin that shields the earth and plaster beneath from wind and rain. The rice storehouse on the same estate is finished the same way. Just under the eaves runs a Hachimaki, a thickened band of plaster wrapped around the top of the wall, which reads as a firm line between roof and wall.
The upstairs window on the north
The window is set in the north wall of the upper storey, a side that gets little direct sun. It is also the easiest way to pick out the document storehouse from the outside.
Visiting the Document Storehouse
The Former Ichien Family Residence Document Storehouse works as part of the main house, and the estate operates as a guesthouse. The official website announces no public openings (checked September 27, 2026), and it does not say whether guests can go inside this storehouse.
Because it hangs off the northeast corner of the house, it is hard to see from the west front. Guests can look for the north window and the sheet-iron walls from behind the main house. Ask the operators about photography.
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Q&A
- When was the Former Ichien Family Residence Document Storehouse built?
- In the early Meiji period, between 1868 and 1882. It is the newest of the four registered buildings on the estate.
- What does it mean that the Former Ichien Family Residence Document Storehouse is an inner storehouse?
- It is entered from inside the house rather than from outdoors. In this case the entrance is from a corridor of the main house called the kuchirōka.
- How big is the Former Ichien Family Residence Document Storehouse?
- It is a two-storey dozo-zukuri storehouse measuring 6.0 meters by 4.0 meters, with a building area of 24 square meters.
- What are the walls of the Former Ichien Family Residence Document Storehouse made of?
- They are clad in white sheet iron, with a hachimaki band under the eaves. The window is on the north side of the upper floor.
- Can visitors see the Former Ichien Family Residence Document Storehouse?
- No public openings are announced. The estate runs as a guesthouse, and whether guests may enter this storehouse should be confirmed with the operators (checked September 27, 2026).
Basic Information
| Name | Former Ichien Family Residence Document Storehouse (旧一圓家住宅文庫蔵) |
|---|---|
| Location | 149 Nishikado, Ichien, Taga-cho, Inukami-gun, Shiga Prefecture |
| Designation | Registered Tangible Cultural Property (Building), registration no. 25-0350 |
| Year Designated | Registered October 7, 2014 |
| Quantity | 1 building |
| Dimensions | Dozo-zukuri, 2 storeys, tiled roof, 6.0 meters by 4.0 meters, building area 24 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 Document Storehouse (Agency for Cultural Affairs)
- https://kunishitei.bunka.go.jp/bsys/maindetails/101/00010181
- Cultural Heritage Online: Former Ichien Family Residence Document Storehouse
- https://online.bunka.go.jp/heritages/detail/209904
- Cultural Properties of Taga Town (Taga Town Office)
- https://www.town.taga.lg.jp/kanko_bunka_sports/rekishi_bunkazai/1/1430.html
Last verified: 2026.09.26
