Shojukan South Storehouse
Shojukan South Storehouse is a mud-walled storehouse of the late Edo period 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 32 square metres, it stands south of the main house and connects to the hallway parlour.
Alone among the five storehouses on the estate, it is entered from the gable end. The plan is three bays by two under a Kirizuma-zukuri roof aligned north to south, Tsumairi on the north face, tiled in Sangawara-buki pantiles on a separate outer frame.
Why the Gable End
A gabled building can be entered either from the long side, under the slope, or from the triangular gable wall. Storehouses usually take the long side, because it gives a wider opening for moving goods. Shojukan South Storehouse took the gable because of where it sits: the hallway parlour runs up to its north face, and a single door separates a tatami room from a storehouse.
Outside that door is a kuramae, a sheltered space under the eaves in front of the clay doors. Storehouse doors let humidity in whenever they stand open, and a kuramae allows goods to be handed over just outside the threshold, even in rain. At Shojukan South Storehouse the kuramae is the end point of the route that begins in the main house.
The walls carry Shikkui lime plaster and the doorway a pair of plaster-faced clay leaves. The register groups this building with the document storehouse as part of the estate behind the main house. The southern flank of the site alternates between rooms for sitting and rooms for storing.
What to Look For
Approach from the north and take the gable wall head on. Plaster covers the full triangle, with the clay doors opening low at its centre. It reads nothing like a storehouse seen side on.
Judge the depth of the eaves over the kuramae. Too shallow and rain reaches the doors; too deep and the space goes dark. On Shojukan South Storehouse the projection is about what one person needs to stand and work under.
Look also at the joint with the hallway parlour. A sukiya-style room and a building engineered against fire and water meet across a single wall. Two structures with nothing in common in purpose or construction sit shoulder to shoulder, which is the history of this estate in miniature.
Visiting
Shojukan South Storehouse terminates the route that leads from the main house through the Shindachi and the hallway parlour, so visitors meet its exterior at the end of that walk. Going inside is not always possible and depends on the day at the Merchant Museum, Kyōrinbō Betsuin, whose season is limited to spring and autumn weekends and public holidays.
Cameras are welcome. Shoot from the north for the gable, or obliquely to show the depth of the kuramae. How to reach the estate, and what entry costs, are set out on the Shojukan page.
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Q&A
- Where does Shojukan South Storehouse stand?
- South of the main house, joined to the hallway parlour so that it is reached directly from a tatami room.
- What does tsumairi mean at Shojukan South Storehouse?
- That the entrance is on the triangular gable wall rather than the long side. Here the north face is the gable end, and this is the only one of the five storehouses arranged that way.
- What is the kuramae at Shojukan South Storehouse?
- A sheltered space under the eaves outside the clay doors, so that goods can be handled in wet weather without opening the storehouse wide. On this building it lies on the north side.
- When was Shojukan South Storehouse built?
- In the late Edo period. The Agency for Cultural Affairs record gives no more precise year.
- How large is Shojukan South Storehouse?
- The building area is 32 square metres, three bays by two.
Basic Information
| Name | Shojukan South 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 32 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 South Storehouse (Agency for Cultural Affairs)
- https://kunishitei.bunka.go.jp/bsys/maindetails/101/00013575
- Merchant Museum, Kyorinbo Betsuin (official temple website)
- https://kyourinbo.jimdofree.com/home/kyorinbo-betsuin-merchant-museum/
Last verified: 2026.09.13
