Shojukan Document Storehouse
Shojukan Document Storehouse is a mud-walled storehouse of 1829 in Tatsutachō, Gokashō, Higashiōmi City, Shiga Prefecture, entered on the national register as a Registered Tangible Cultural Property on 4 February 2021. Two storeys of Dozo-zukuri construction, tiled, with a building area of 53 square metres, it stands southeast of the main house.
It is the largest of the five storehouses on the estate and the one with the clearest construction date. The plan runs four and a half bays along the ridge by two and a half across, under a Kirizuma-zukuri gable set north to south and roofed in Sangawara-buki pantiles carried on a separate outer frame.
The Double Roof
That outer frame is the point. A mud storehouse plasters its walls and its roof substrate alike in thick clay, and clay that gets wet decays. The answer was to build a second roof and set it over the first, which is why the eaves of Shojukan Document Storehouse read as a shallow canopy rather than as the building's own roof.
The walls are finished in Shikkui lime plaster with a thickened band, a hachimaki, running around the top. The band throws rainwater clear of the wall face. At the doorway hang double leaves of plaster-faced clay, heavy enough that with the doors shut neither fire nor water passes easily.
A document storehouse holds books and papers rather than rice or tools, and paper is vulnerable to both damp and flame. When the register describes the interior of Shojukan Document Storehouse as a plain finish in carefully sawn timber, the sense is that precision replaced ornament. Its date of 1829 makes it the second oldest of the five storehouses.
What to Look For
Look up at the junction of roof and wall. The outer roof leaves a small gap above the clay body, and seen from directly alongside, a line of shadow runs beneath the tiles.
Check the height of the plastered band. On Shojukan Document Storehouse it projects clearly from the wall, and no drip staining has reached the plaster below. That is one reason the lime finish has lasted close to two centuries.
Come round to the front and study the doors. The two leaves are shaped so that their meeting edges form a rebate when closed, and that step is what cuts the path for smoke and water. Nothing on these doors is decorative.
Visiting
Standing southeast of the main house, Shojukan Document Storehouse can be seen close up from the garden circuit. Whether the interior is opened depends on how the museum runs a given day, so ask on site when the Merchant Museum, Kyōrinbō Betsuin is open. Openings fall on weekends and public holidays in spring and autumn.
Cameras are welcome. Shooting from an angle that includes the south storehouse alongside makes the extra length of Shojukan Document Storehouse obvious. Route and admission information sits on the Shojukan page.
- 📍 Plan Your Visit to Shiga
- Find tours, activities & transport passes near Shojukan Document Storehouse
- [ Hikone Castle & Lake Biwa Cruise Experiences ]
Q&A
- When was Shojukan Document Storehouse built?
- In 1829, making it the second oldest of the five storehouses after the north storehouse of 1800.
- What is the separate outer roof on Shojukan Document Storehouse?
- A second roof frame set over the storehouse proper and tiled on top, built to keep rain off the thick clay walls and clay roof substrate beneath.
- How big is Shojukan Document Storehouse?
- The building area is 53 square metres, four and a half bays by two and a half, the largest of the five storehouses on the estate.
- What does the plastered band on Shojukan Document Storehouse do?
- It is a thickened ring of plaster near the top of the wall that throws rainwater away from the wall face, protecting the lime finish below.
- Is the interior of Shojukan Document Storehouse open to visitors?
- That varies with how each opening day is arranged. The exterior is easily seen from the garden circuit; ask on site about going inside.
Basic Information
| Name | Shojukan Document Storehouse |
|---|---|
| Location | 396-1 Motoyashiki, Tatsutacho, Gokasho, Higashiomi City, Shiga Prefecture |
| Designation | Registered Tangible Cultural Property (Building) |
| Year Designated | Registered 4 February 2021 |
| Quantity | 1 building |
| Dimensions | Building area 53 square metres |
| Owner | Private (not disclosed in the Agency for Cultural Affairs database) |
| Public Access | Open in limited spring and autumn seasons (Merchant Museum, Kyorinbo Betsuin) |
References
- National Designated Cultural Properties Database: Shojukan Document Storehouse (Agency for Cultural Affairs)
- https://kunishitei.bunka.go.jp/bsys/maindetails/101/00013574
- Merchant Museum, Kyorinbo Betsuin (official temple website)
- https://kyourinbo.jimdofree.com/home/kyorinbo-betsuin-merchant-museum/
Last verified: 2026.09.13
