The Household Storehouse in the Northwest Corner
The Tsuchiyama Family Residence (Tsuchiyama-shuku Honjin Site) Storehouse (土山家住宅（土山宿本陣跡）土蔵, Tsuchiyama-ke Jūtaku Dozō) is a two-storey earthen-walled storehouse of the late Edo period (1830 to 1868) in the northwest corner of the former honjin in Kitatsuchiyama, Tsuchiyama-cho, Koka City, Shiga Prefecture, and it was registered as a Registered Tangible Cultural Property on 27 February 2023.
Built in the fireproof Dozo-zukuri manner with a tiled roof and a building area of 63 square metres, it held the household goods of the Tsuchiyama family, who ran the inn. Along with the rice storehouse, it is the oldest of the four registered buildings on the site.
Why It Was Registered
The listing criterion is its contribution to the historic landscape. The Agency for Cultural Affairs describes the Tsuchiyama Family Residence Storehouse as the building that shapes the historic character of the northwest part of the property.
A honjin had to keep large stocks of trays, bowls, bedding and furnishings to receive a lord and his retinue at short notice. No record has been found of exactly what this storehouse held in the inn's working years, but it is a household store raised on a honjin property in its final decades, and it shows a side of inn-keeping that the street front does not.
What to Look For: A Floating Roof and Its Windows
The gable roof is laid with Sangawara-buki pantiles and set Hirairi fashion, but it is an Okiyane, a roof built as a separate frame and rested on top of the plastered body of the store. The gap between roof and walls helps ventilation, and in a fire the roof can burn away while the thick clay shell protects what is inside.
Both doorways are on the east face, the side turned toward the inner part of the property. Windows are placed on the outer faces instead: four on the west and two on the north. The arrangement reads as a deliberate response to the building's position in the corner of the lot.
Inside, the ground floor is split into two rooms, north and south, with the stair set against the south side of the northern room. The upper floor is a single open room. One of the photographs in the national database shows the roof framing on the upper floor, the timber structure that carries the floating roof.
Seeing the Storehouse
The Tsuchiyama Family Residence Storehouse stands at the back of the property and is hidden from the old Tokaido by the main house. Its interior is not advertised as open.
If you book a visit to the honjin site, ask whether the exterior can be seen across the garden. Booking details and transport are on the page for the Tsuchiyama Family Residence as a whole.
Q&A
- How old is the Tsuchiyama Family Residence Storehouse?
- It dates from the late Edo period (1830 to 1868), making it, with the rice storehouse, the oldest of the four registered buildings.
- What was the Tsuchiyama Family Residence Storehouse used for?
- The Agency for Cultural Affairs describes it as a store for household goods.
- What kind of roof does the Tsuchiyama Family Residence Storehouse have?
- A pantiled gable roof built as an okiyane, a separate roof frame resting on the plastered body of the store.
- When was the Tsuchiyama Family Residence Storehouse registered?
- On 27 February 2023, as a Registered Tangible Cultural Property contributing to the historic landscape.
- Can I see the Tsuchiyama Family Residence Storehouse from the street?
- No. It stands in the northwest corner of the lot behind the main house, and the interior is not advertised as open.
Basic Information
| Name | Tsuchiyama Family Residence (Tsuchiyama-shuku Honjin Site) Storehouse (土山家住宅（土山宿本陣跡）土蔵) |
|---|---|
| Location | 1628 and others, Aza Harinokihara, Kitatsuchiyama, Tsuchiyama-cho, Koka City, Shiga Prefecture |
| Designation | Registered Tangible Cultural Property (Building) |
| Year Designated | Registered 2023/2/27 (Reiwa 5) |
| Quantity | 1 building |
| Dimensions | Two-storey dozo-zukuri storehouse, tiled roof, building area 63 square metres |
| Owner | Private individual |
| Public Access | Interior not open (not visible from the street) |
References
- 土山家住宅（土山宿本陣跡）土蔵 (Agency for Cultural Affairs, Database of National Cultural Properties)
- https://kunishitei.bunka.go.jp/bsys/maindetails/101/00014490
- 土山家住宅（土山宿本陣跡）土蔵 (Cultural Heritage Online)
- https://bunka.nii.ac.jp/heritages/detail/525794
Last verified: 2026.09.29
