About the Yamamoto Family Residence Small Storehouse
The Yamamoto Family Residence Small Storehouse (山本家住宅小蔵, Yamamoto-ke Jūtaku Kogura) is a fireproof earthen storehouse in Mori, Hakuta-cho, Yasugi City, Shimane Prefecture, built in the late Edo period (1830 to 1867) and entered on Japan's register of Registered Tangible Cultural Properties in 2005. It stands behind the main house, next to the kamaya on its west side, and held the household's tools. The two-story Dozo-zukuri building covers 10 square meters.
As the name says, it is the smallest of the four Yamamoto storehouses, and it is also the oldest. The Agency for Cultural Affairs registered the Yamamoto Family Residence Small Storehouse for its contribution to the historic landscape, remarking that it is plain and small but carefully made.
Four Walls, Four Kinds of Protection
The Yamamoto Family Residence Small Storehouse has a gabled roof (Kirizuma-zukuri) running east to west, set on the earthen body as an Okiyane and laid with pantiles (Sangawara-buki). Its door is in the east gable wall, unlike the front and new storehouses, which open to the south.
The walls are carefully plastered with Shikkui, and each face is then protected in its own way. Vertical boards cover the south wall and the west gable, and on the north side the lower wall is clad in horizontal boards held by vertical battens, the batten-fixed form of Shitami-itabari.
Door on the east, boards on the south and west, a boarded skirt on the north: every face of this little storehouse is finished differently.
Why It Was Registered, and What to Notice
The Yamamoto Family Residence Small Storehouse covers only 10 square meters, yet its plaster walls are protected with boarding face by face. That thoroughness is what lies behind the Agency for Cultural Affairs' description of a plain, small building that is nonetheless carefully made.
Compare it with the kamaya, its neighbor of exactly the same size. The kamaya is a single-story shed with exposed chestnut posts; the small storehouse is a two-story plastered earthen store. Both date from the late Edo period and are older than the 1884 main house.
Visiting the Yamamoto Family Residence Small Storehouse
The Yamamoto Family Residence Small Storehouse is not open to the public either. Tucked behind the main house and west of the kamaya, it is all but invisible from the road.
Photography is not addressed anywhere either. However tempting it is to compare the storehouse with the kamaya beside it, stay outside the property. Directions are on the Yamamoto Family Residence page.
- 📍 Plan Your Visit to Shimane
- Find tours, activities & transport passes near Yamamoto Family Residence Small Storehouse
- [ Izumo Taisha Shrine & Adachi Museum Gardens ]
Q&A
- Can you visit the Yamamoto Family Residence Small Storehouse?
- No public opening has been announced and the interior cannot be seen. It stands behind the main house and is hard to see from the road.
- When was the Yamamoto Family Residence Small Storehouse built?
- In the late Edo period (1830 to 1867). It is the oldest of the four storehouses on the estate.
- What was kept in the Yamamoto Family Residence Small Storehouse?
- According to the Agency for Cultural Affairs, tools.
- How are the walls of the Yamamoto Family Residence Small Storehouse finished?
- With carefully applied lime plaster, protected by vertical boards on the south and west, and by batten-fixed horizontal boards on the lower north wall.
- What is the registration number of the Yamamoto Family Residence Small Storehouse?
- 32-0040. It was registered for its contribution to the historic landscape.
Basic Information
| Name | Yamamoto Family Residence Small Storehouse (山本家住宅小蔵) |
|---|---|
| Location | 71 Mori, Hakuta-cho, Yasugi City, Shimane Prefecture |
| Designation | Registered Tangible Cultural Property (Structure) |
| Year Designated | 2005 (registered) |
| Quantity | 1 building |
| Dimensions | Building area 10 square meters (two-story earthen storehouse, tiled roof) |
| Owner | Not disclosed |
| Public Access | No public opening announced |
References
- Database of National Cultural Properties (Agency for Cultural Affairs): Yamamoto Family Residence Small Storehouse
- https://kunishitei.bunka.go.jp/bsys/maindetails/101/00004621
- Cultural Heritage Online: Yamamoto Family Residence Small Storehouse (Japanese)
- https://online.bunka.go.jp/heritages/detail/141891
- Shimane Prefecture: Registered Cultural Properties (Japanese)
- https://www.pref.shimane.lg.jp/life/bunka/bunkazai/shimane/tourokubunkazai2.html
Last verified: 2026.09.29
