What Is the Okawa Family Residence Main Storehouse?
The Okawa Family Residence Main Storehouse (大川家住宅本蔵, Ōkawa-ke Jūtaku Hongura) is a 2-storey Dozo-zukuri earthen storehouse built in 1851 on the Okawa estate in Omata-cho, Ashikaga City, Tochigi Prefecture, and was registered as a Registered Tangible Cultural Property on 18 March 2003. It is the oldest of the seven registered buildings and the only one dated to an exact year.
It stands west of the Nando storeroom at the northwest corner of the Main House, its ridge running north to south, reached through a 2-storey Kuramae anteroom. The family could walk from the back of the house straight into the storehouse. It covers 50 square meters.
Like the Main House, the Okawa Family Residence Main Storehouse was registered as a model of its building type.
A Date Written on Paper
The date of the Okawa Family Residence Main Storehouse comes from a paper notice pasted inside it, as the Agency for Cultural Affairs records. The building itself carries its date.
In a 2017 interview, the head of the nursery school said the family had always been told the storehouse dated from 1851. Family memory and the written notice agree.
1851 was two years before Commodore Perry's ships arrived at Uraga. The storehouse shows that by the last years of the shogunate, the Okawa family already ran a business large enough to need a substantial fireproof store.
A Pawn Store in Black and White
The Okawa Family Residence Main Storehouse was built as a shichigura, a pawn storehouse, where pledged goods were kept safely until redeemed.
It is long and narrow, 6 by 2.5 Ken, with its entrance on the long side in the Hirairi manner. The gabled Sangawara-buki roof is an Okiyane, a separate roof set over the earthen walls rather than built into them.
The walls are finished in Shikkui lime plaster, black at the base and white above. The dark band protects and hides the part of the wall most exposed to splashing and wear, and the contrast gives the building a crisp outline. Among the Okawa storehouses, only this one has the two-tone finish.
Seeing the Okawa Family Residence Main Storehouse
The Okawa Family Residence Main Storehouse stands at the back of the nursery school grounds, northwest of the Main House. It is not open to the public, and entering the grounds requires contacting the school in advance.
If you have the chance to see it, note how the 2-storey anteroom joins it to the house, and how a covered passage leads southwest to the West Storehouse. Look closely at the height where the black plaster gives way to white.
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Q&A
- When was the Okawa Family Residence Main Storehouse built?
- In 1851. The date is known from a paper notice found in the storehouse.
- What was the Okawa Family Residence Main Storehouse used for?
- It was built as a pawn storehouse.
- What is special about the walls of the Okawa Family Residence Main Storehouse?
- They are plastered black at the base and white above. The gabled pantile roof is an okiyane set over the earthen walls.
- When did the Okawa Family Residence Main Storehouse become a Registered Tangible Cultural Property?
- On 18 March 2003, as registration number 09-0072, registered as a model of its building type.
- Can I visit the Okawa Family Residence Main Storehouse?
- It stands inside the grounds of a working nursery school and is not open to the public. Contact the school in advance if you wish to visit.
Basic Information
| Name | Okawa Family Residence Main Storehouse (大川家住宅本蔵, Ōkawa-ke Jūtaku Hongura) |
|---|---|
| Location | 1412 Omata-cho, Ashikaga City, Tochigi Prefecture |
| Designation | Registered Tangible Cultural Property (Structure), Registration No. 09-0072 |
| Year Designated | 2003 (registered 18 March 2003) |
| Quantity | 1 building |
| Dimensions | Earthen storehouse, 2-storey, tiled roof, building area 50 square meters |
| Owner | Omata Yoji Seikatsudan (social welfare corporation) |
| Public Access | In use as part of a nursery school; not open to the public (contact the school in advance) |
References
- Database of National Cultural Properties: Okawa Family Residence Main Storehouse (Agency for Cultural Affairs)
- https://kunishitei.bunka.go.jp/heritage/detail/101/00003189
- Okawa Family Residence Main Storehouse (Tochigi Cultural Properties, Tochigi Prefecture, in Japanese)
- https://bunkazai.pref.tochigi.lg.jp/cultural/%E3%80%90%E5%A4%A7%E5%B7%9D%E5%AE%B6%E4%BD%8F%E5%AE%85%E6%9C%AC%E8%94%B5%E3%80%91/
- Registered Tangible Cultural Properties, Buildings (Ashikaga City, in Japanese)
- https://www.city.ashikaga.tochigi.jp/education/000029/000169/000627/p001307.html
- School Buildings (Omata Yoji Seikatsudan, in Japanese)
- https://omatayouji.org/introduction
- Interview on Omata Yoji Seikatsudan (Ashikaga no Koto, 2017, in Japanese)
- https://www.ashikaga.life/2017/02/post-3155/
Last verified: 2026.09.27
