The Storehouse Behind the Shop
Bundoya Earthen Storehouse (分銅屋土蔵, also written Bundōya Dozō) is a two-storey dozo storehouse at Ushiroda, Tsuwano, Kanoashi District, Shimane Prefecture, built around the Ansei era (1854-1860) and entered on Japan's national register of Tangible Cultural Properties on September 10, 2010.
It stands to the rear and slightly east of the main house, on the same long lot that opens onto Honmachi street. The footprint is modest: 8.5 metres along the ridge, 4.5 metres across, 38 square metres in all. The ridge runs east to west, the gabled roof is covered in pantiles, and the single doorway faces west, back towards the shop, under a small sheet-metal canopy.
The date matters more here than it might elsewhere. In Kaei 6 (1853) fire swept the Tsuwano castle town and destroyed most of it. The Bundoya family rebuilt in the years immediately following, and this storehouse belongs to that campaign. A merchant house that has just watched its stock burn does not build an ordinary shed next.
How a Dozo Is Made
The word dozo means an earthen storehouse, and the construction is exactly that. A timber frame is wrapped in successive coats of clay laid over a woven bamboo lattice, built up over months until the walls reach a thickness that fire cannot penetrate quickly. The outer surface is then finished in white lime plaster. The result is heavy, slow to build, expensive, and close to fireproof. Towns that burned regularly filled up with them.
Every detail in the official description serves that end. The building sits on a base of cut stone, which keeps ground moisture out of the earth walls and gives the mass something stable to rest on. The lower part of the wall is faced with boards, the koshiita-bari treatment, protecting the plaster where rain splashes up and where people and cargo brush past. Above that line the lime finish runs clean to the eaves.
Then there is the crest. High on the gable end, the family mark is not painted or applied but formed in the plaster itself, raised out of the surface by the plasterer's trowel. It is the same crest that appears in the glass of the shopfront out on the street, executed in a completely different medium. Reading the two together tells you something about how a merchant house presented itself: the sign to the public in glass, the mark of ownership on the vault in mud and lime.
Registration came under the second of the three criteria in Japan's registration system, which asks that a building contribute to the historic landscape of the country. The number issued was 32-0128, in the sixty-eighth round.
Reading the Lot, and Visiting
Honmachi's merchant lots are narrow at the street and long behind, a plan sometimes called an eel's bed. Bundoya's lot follows the pattern, and the four registered buildings sit along it in a sequence that reflects how the business worked. The shop and residence take the street frontage. This storehouse comes next, close to the living quarters, where valuables and everyday stock stayed within reach. The working buildings, including the mat and pomade storehouse and the wax-berry storehouse, occupy the far end.
That sequence is the point of the whole site. Four buildings registered on one day in 2010 preserve not just four structures but a working layout, and three years later the surrounding streets were selected as an Important Preservation District for Groups of Traditional Buildings, roughly 11.1 hectares of samurai and merchant quarters.
Practical matters. The storehouse stands well back from the road and is not a visitor attraction in its own right; it is part of a private property behind a working shop. Some rooms and the inner garden are shown by prior arrangement, and a sencha tea experience is offered on the same basis, so anyone hoping to see the rear of the site should book. Call the shop on 0856-72-0021, or the Tsuwano Tourism Association on 0856-72-1771 between 9:00 and 17:00. Opening hours and closing days are not published on the association's page.
The site is about six minutes on foot from JR Tsuwano Station on the Yamaguchi Line, and parking is available. Photograph the street frontage freely; anything beyond it, ask first.
- 📍 Plan Your Visit to Shimane
- Find tours, activities & transport passes near Bundoya Storehouse
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Q&A
- What exactly is Bundoya Earthen Storehouse?
- A two-storey fireproof storehouse of earthen-wall construction, 8.5 by 4.5 metres and 38 square metres in area, standing behind and slightly east of the Bundoya shop in Tsuwano. It was registered as a Tangible Cultural Property on September 10, 2010.
- Why was Bundoya Earthen Storehouse built in earth rather than timber?
- Thick clay walls under lime plaster resist fire far better than exposed timber. The storehouse dates from just after the great fire of 1853, which destroyed most of the Tsuwano castle town, so the choice was a direct response to what had happened.
- Can visitors see Bundoya Earthen Storehouse?
- Not from the street. It stands deep in a private lot behind the shop. Part of the property, including the inner garden, is shown by advance reservation; enquire on 0856-72-0021 before visiting.
- What is the crest on the gable of Bundoya Earthen Storehouse?
- It is the Bundoya family crest, raised directly out of the plaster near the top of the gable end rather than painted on. The same crest appears worked into the glass above the shopfront on the street side.
- How does Bundoya Earthen Storehouse relate to the other Bundoya buildings?
- Four buildings on the lot were registered together in 2010: the shop and main house (32-0127), this storehouse (32-0128), the mat and pomade storehouse (32-0129), and the wax-berry storehouse (32-0130). They run in sequence from the street to the eastern end of the lot.
Basic Information
| Name | Bundoya Earthen Storehouse (分銅屋土蔵) |
|---|---|
| Location | 190 Honmachi-ro, Ushiroda, Tsuwano, Kanoashi District, Shimane Prefecture |
| Designation | Registered Tangible Cultural Property (Structure), No. 32-0128 |
| Year Designated | September 10, 2010 |
| Quantity | 1 building |
| Dimensions | Building area 38 sq m; 8.5 m along the ridge by 4.5 m across; earthen-wall construction, two storeys, tiled roof |
| Owner | Not published in the national database; part of the Bundoya property |
| Public Access | Not visible from the street. Part of the site shown by advance reservation. Tel. 0856-72-0021 |
References
- National Database of Designated Cultural Properties, Agency for Cultural Affairs: Bundoya Earthen Storehouse
- https://kunishitei.bunka.go.jp/heritage/detail/101/00008336
- National Database of Designated Cultural Properties: Bundoya Shop and Main House (same lot)
- https://kunishitei.bunka.go.jp/heritage/detail/101/00008335
- Tsuwano Town: Tsuwano Preservation District for Groups of Traditional Buildings
- https://www.town.tsuwano.lg.jp/www/contents/1464654399594/index.html
- Tsuwano Tourism Association: Bundoya
- https://tsuwano-kanko.net/info/fundoya/
- National Council for Preservation Districts: Tsuwano, Tsuwano Town
- https://www.denken.gr.jp/archive/tsuwano-tsuwano/index.html
Last verified: 2026.08.04