About the Yamashita Family Residence Gate Storehouse
The Yamashita Family Residence Gate Storehouse (山下家住宅門蔵, Yamashita-ke Jūtaku Mongura) is a two-story earthen-walled storehouse in Matsukawa-cho, Gotsu City, Shimane Prefecture, built in 1841 and entered on Japan's register of Registered Tangible Cultural Properties on January 15, 2010. Its building area is 25 square meters.
Of the eight registered structures on the Yamashita estate, the gate storehouse is the oldest with a firm construction date. It is 42 years older than the main house of 1883, and it has held the southeast corner of the site since the late Edo period.
Plastered Right Up to the Eaves
The Yamashita Family Residence Gate Storehouse measures 6.1 meters by 4.1 meters, with its ridge running north to south. It is built in the Dozo-zukuri manner and roofed with a gable (Kirizuma-zukuri) of red Sekishū tiles (Sekishū-gawara).
The walls are finished in white Shikkui plaster, and the plaster is carried all the way up over the rafters and the underside of the eaves, so that no timber is left exposed. Sealing the woodwork in this way was a defense against fire, and it gives the building a clean white outline right to the roof edge. The lower part of the wall is clad in boards with narrow battens over the joints.
The doorway is on the west side, closed by a single sliding door, and there is a window on the south side. Compared with the back storehouse, whose east face has a decorative tiled base, the gate storehouse is plain and businesslike.
A Storehouse That Marks the Corner
The Yamashita Family Residence Gate Storehouse stands southeast of the main house, in the southeast corner of the site. The Agency for Cultural Affairs notes that its position helps give the estate an orderly appearance.
The estate is built on a terrace cut into a slope, faced along the road by a stone wall. With a white storehouse on the southeast corner, one end of that frontage is clearly defined. Look for the balance with the row house on the southwest side: between them, the two buildings frame the front of the main house.
Mongura, gate storehouse, is a name used in many regions for a storehouse near a gate or one that doubled as a gateway. How this storehouse related to the entrance of the estate, however, is not recorded in the published sources.
Why the Gate Storehouse Was Registered
The Yamashita Family Residence Gate Storehouse was registered as a structure that contributes to the historic landscape of the country. A late Edo storehouse still standing at the corner of the site, alongside buildings from the Meiji and Showa eras, is central to the way the estate reads in the landscape.
Seeing the Gate Storehouse
The Yamashita Family Residence Gate Storehouse is on private property, and we found no official notice of interior openings. Because it stands at the southeast corner of the site, its white walls and red roof are probably among the easier parts of the estate to pick out from the road, though what you can see depends on where you stand.
Stay on the road and do not enter the property. If you take photographs, keep residents, cars and daily life out of the frame. Directions are on the Yamashita Family Residence page.
- 📍 Plan Your Visit to Shimane
- Find tours, activities & transport passes near Yamashita Family Residence Gate Storehouse
- [ Izumo Taisha Shrine & Adachi Museum Gardens ]
Q&A
- When was the Yamashita Family Residence Gate Storehouse built?
- In 1841. It is the oldest structure on the estate with a firm construction date.
- Where is the Yamashita Family Residence Gate Storehouse?
- Southeast of the main house, in the southeast corner of the site, with its ridge running north to south.
- How are the walls of the Yamashita Family Residence Gate Storehouse finished?
- In white plaster carried right up over the eaves, with a board-clad lower wall whose joints are covered by narrow battens.
- How does the Yamashita Family Residence Gate Storehouse differ from the back storehouse?
- The gate storehouse dates from 1841 and has a board-clad base; the back storehouse dates from 1898 and has namako tiling at the base of its east face.
- Can you visit the Yamashita Family Residence Gate Storehouse?
- It is on private property and we found no official information about openings. You can look at the exterior from the road without entering.
Basic Information
| Name | Yamashita Family Residence Gate Storehouse (山下家住宅門蔵) |
|---|---|
| Location | 598 Hatada, Matsukawa-cho, Gotsu City, Shimane Prefecture |
| Designation | Registered Tangible Cultural Property (Structure) |
| Year Designated | 2010 (registered) |
| Quantity | 1 building |
| Dimensions | 6.1 m by 4.1 m; building area 25 square meters (earthen-walled storehouse, two stories, tiled roof) |
| Owner | Not disclosed |
| Public Access | No public opening announced (on private property; exterior from the road) |
References
- Database of National Cultural Properties (Agency for Cultural Affairs): Yamashita Family Residence Gate Storehouse
- https://kunishitei.bunka.go.jp/bsys/maindetails/101/00008062
- Cultural Heritage Online: Yamashita Family Residence Gate Storehouse
- https://online.bunka.go.jp/heritages/detail/207813
- Shimane Prefecture: List of Registered Tangible Cultural Properties (Structures)
- https://www.pref.shimane.lg.jp/life/bunka/bunkazai/shimane/tourokubunkazai2.html
Last verified: 2026.09.29
