What Is the Zaima Family Residence Pickle Storehouse and Firewood Shed?
The Zaima Family Residence Pickle Storehouse and Firewood Shed (財間家住宅漬物倉及び木小屋, Zaima-ke Jūtaku Tsukemonogura oyobi Kigoya) is a late Meiji-period (1898 to 1911) single-story timber outbuilding in Ushiroda, Tsuwano Town, Shimane Prefecture, registered as a Registered Tangible Cultural Property of Japan on September 10, 2010.
It runs east to west from the kitchen wing at the back of the Zaima main house. The building is long and narrow, 12 meters by 2.9 meters with a building area of 35 m², and was altered in the early Showa period (1926 to 1945).
Three Rooms in a Row
The Zaima Family Residence Pickle Storehouse and Firewood Shed is divided into three rooms from west to east. According to the Agency for Cultural Affairs, the west end is an earth-floored Doma with a well, the middle is the pickle store, and the east end is the kigoya, or firewood shed.
Starting from the kitchen side, then, come water, pickles and fuel. Kigoya is the usual word for a shed where firewood is stacked. The building shows how the household's cooking and food storage stretched out from the kitchen in a single line.
Pickles had a second home here too. Between the upper and lower storehouses of the Zaima Family Residence is a small room called the hiai, where pickle jars were kept.
Walls Facing In and Out
The roof is a Kirizuma-zukuri gable in pan tiles. The walls are finished differently on each side. Facing into the property they are Shinkabe, with the posts left exposed. Facing the street they are Ōkabe, with the posts plastered over.
The Agency for Cultural Affairs registered the Zaima Family Residence Pickle Storehouse and Firewood Shed for its contribution to the historic landscape, under registration number 32-0121, noting that this outer plastered wall continues on from the main house to form part of the streetscape. A humble kitchen outbuilding, in other words, presents the same finished face to the outside as the house itself.
Seeing the Zaima Family Residence Pickle Storehouse and Firewood Shed
The Zaima Family Residence Pickle Storehouse and Firewood Shed stands on private ground and its interior is not open to the public. Because the side gate opens onto the lane on the south side between this building and the upper storehouse, the plastered street wall appears to face that lane, and that wall is what you can see from outside. Please keep photographs to the exterior from the lane. Directions are on the page for the Zaima Family Residence.
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Q&A
- What is the Zaima Family Residence Pickle Storehouse and Firewood Shed?
- A single-story timber outbuilding of the late Meiji period (1898 to 1911) running east from the kitchen wing of the main house, 12 by 2.9 meters, with a building area of 35 m².
- How is the Zaima Family Residence Pickle Storehouse and Firewood Shed divided?
- Into three rooms: an earth-floored room with a well at the west end, the pickle store in the middle, and the firewood shed at the east end.
- What is special about the walls of the Zaima Family Residence Pickle Storehouse and Firewood Shed?
- The inner side shows its posts (shinkabe), while the street side is plastered over (okabe) and continues the wall line of the main house.
- When was the Zaima Family Residence Pickle Storehouse and Firewood Shed registered?
- On September 10, 2010, for its contribution to the historic landscape, as registration number 32-0121.
- Can I see inside the Zaima Family Residence Pickle Storehouse and Firewood Shed?
- No. Only the outer wall can be seen from outside the property.
Basic Information
| Name | Zaima Family Residence Pickle Storehouse and Firewood Shed |
|---|---|
| Location | Ha 38 and others, Ushiroda Aza Honmachi, Tsuwano Town, Kanoashi District, Shimane Prefecture |
| Designation | Registered Tangible Cultural Property (Building) |
| Year Designated | Registered 2010 |
| Quantity | 1 building |
| Dimensions | Building area 35 m², 12 m by 2.9 m |
| Owner | Private owner |
| Public Access | Not open to the public (exterior visible from the lane on the south side) |
References
- Agency for Cultural Affairs Database: Zaima Family Residence Pickle Storehouse and Firewood Shed (in Japanese)
- https://kunishitei.bunka.go.jp/bsys/maindetails/101/00008329
- Agency for Cultural Affairs Database: Zaima Family Residence Lower Storehouse (in Japanese)
- https://kunishitei.bunka.go.jp/bsys/maindetails/101/00008331
- Agency for Cultural Affairs Database: Zaima Family Residence Side Gate (in Japanese)
- https://kunishitei.bunka.go.jp/bsys/maindetails/101/00008334
- Tsuwano Culture Portal (Tsuwano Board of Education): Cultural Properties (in Japanese)
- https://tsuwano-bunka.net/cultural-property/
Last verified: 2026.10.01
