Shojukan New Storehouse
Shojukan New Storehouse is a mud-walled storehouse of 1865 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 45 square metres, it stands on the western edge of the site, west of the main house.
The plan is four bays along the ridge by three across. Three bays of depth make it the deepest of the five storehouses and give it a footprint close to square, under a Kirizuma-zukuri roof laid north to south in Sangawara-buki pantiles on a separate outer frame.
Built in the Last Years of the Shogunate
1865 falls three years before the Tokugawa order ended. Shojukan New Storehouse went up in that year, the fifth storehouse on the estate counting from the north storehouse of 1800 and the last one raised in the Edo period. Its name reflects that sequence: it was the new one, set against the storehouses already standing.
The three-bay depth defines the building. Widening the span of a storehouse loads the roof frame, so two bays or two and a half is the usual limit. Shojukan New Storehouse went a full bay beyond that. Its 45 square metres rank second on the estate behind the document storehouse at 53. Capacity was the priority.
The walls carry Shikkui lime plaster with a thickened band near the top, and the doorway takes double plaster-faced clay leaves. The register calls the interior a plain finish in carefully sawn timber and places the building within the estate of an Ōmi merchant's family seat. That a merchant house was still commissioning new storehouses this late in the Edo period says something about how the business stood at the time.
What to Look For
Take it from the gable end to judge the depth. A storehouse three bays deep presents a nearly square wall, and with only one bay separating depth from length, the mass reads quite differently from the narrow north storehouse.
Follow the ridge. Four bays of length give a long ridge, and the horizontal of the outer roof runs a long way down the western edge of the site.
If the interior is open, look at how posts and beams are finished. Nothing in Shojukan New Storehouse is decorated, yet the faces are true and the arrises sharp. Plain, in the register's sense, does not mean rough.
Visiting
Shojukan New Storehouse sits on the western edge of the site, reached by passing through the mizuya and out to the west. Entry to the interior is at the discretion of the Merchant Museum, Kyōrinbō Betsuin on the day. Its season covers spring and autumn weekends and public holidays, with dates published by the temple.
Cameras are welcome. The north storehouse and the rice storehouse stand along the same edge, so framing all three at once shows the differences in scale. For the route and the entrance fee, see the Shojukan page.
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Q&A
- When was Shojukan New Storehouse built?
- In 1865, the last of the five storehouses on the estate to be raised during the Edo period.
- What shape is the plan of Shojukan New Storehouse?
- Four bays by three, close to square. Three bays of depth is the greatest of any storehouse on the estate.
- Where does the name Shojukan New Storehouse come from?
- From its position in the sequence: it was the newest storehouse when built. The Agency for Cultural Affairs gives the reading as shinkura, not as a phrase about collecting.
- Where does Shojukan New Storehouse stand?
- On the western edge of the site, west of the main house, sharing that edge with the north storehouse and the rice storehouse.
- How large is Shojukan New Storehouse?
- The building area is 45 square metres, second on the estate to the document storehouse at 53 square metres.
Basic Information
| Name | Shojukan New 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 45 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 New Storehouse (Agency for Cultural Affairs)
- https://kunishitei.bunka.go.jp/bsys/maindetails/101/00013577
- Merchant Museum, Kyorinbo Betsuin (official temple website)
- https://kyourinbo.jimdofree.com/home/kyorinbo-betsuin-merchant-museum/
Last verified: 2026.09.13
