Matsumoto Family Residence Living Quarters Storehouse

About the Living Quarters Storehouse

The Matsumoto Family Residence Living Quarters Storehouse (松本家住宅居住蔵, Matsumoto-ke Jūtaku Kyojūgura) is a 2-story Dozo-zukuri earthen-walled storehouse built around 1907 in Chuo-cho, Mibu Town, Tochigi Prefecture, and was registered as a Registered Tangible Cultural Property on June 21, 2013. It measures 7.3 m by 4.6 m, with a building area of 33 m², under a Kirizuma-zukuri gabled roof of Sangawara-buki pantiles, and was renovated in 2010.

It stands at the east end of the row of three storehouses at the back of the estate, its ridge running north to south. The Grain Storehouse is next door to the west, with the Document Storehouse beyond.

It was built for storage but is now lived in. The name kyojūgura, living quarters storehouse, describes that present use directly.

Why It Was Registered

The registration number is 09-0209, under the criterion of contributing to the historic landscape of the country. The Agency for Cultural Affairs describes the Matsumoto Family Residence Living Quarters Storehouse as one of the storehouses, together with the Grain Storehouse, that make up the estate, and adds that it is now used as a residence.

Turning a storehouse into a place to live means dealing with light, insulation and plumbing in a building designed to keep things sealed. Even so, the exterior keeps the same size and roof as its two neighbors, and the row of three remains intact. Staying part of the estate's landscape after the 2010 renovation is what the registration rests on.

What to Look For

The walls are finished in white Shikkui lime plaster, with a Hachimaki running beneath the eaves. The hachimaki is a thickened band of plaster built out from the top of the wall to stop fire from reaching the underside of the eaves, and it reads clearly as a heavy stripe along the wall head.

The entrance is in the south gable wall, a Tsumairi entrance, facing the same way as the Grain Storehouse beside it, and the upper floor has a window on the south side. The Agency's description mentions no north windows, so the south gable appears to be the working front for both light and access.

All three storehouses were built to one size, but they ended up with different jobs: the Grain Storehouse in the middle was left half open to the roof for grain, the Document Storehouse at the west end opens to the side for records, and the Matsumoto Family Residence Living Quarters Storehouse at the east end is the one that took in daily life.

Visiting

The Matsumoto Family Residence Living Quarters Storehouse is still used as a home, and its interior is not open to the public. It is not confirmed whether the inside can be seen even during special openings of the estate.

How much of its exterior is visible from the public road has not been confirmed either, so look and photograph only from the road, and avoid pointing a camera at windows or doors of a building people live in. Access and opening information for the whole estate are on the Matsumoto Family Residence page.