What the Hanya Funakoshi Family Residence East Storehouse is
The Hanya Funakoshi Family Residence East Storehouse (判屋船越家住宅東蔵, Hanya Funakoshi-ke Jūtaku Higashigura) is a late Edo-period (1830 to 1868) earthen storehouse at the southeast corner of the Funakoshi property in Tenjinmachi, Yonago City, Tottori Prefecture, and was registered as a Registered Tangible Cultural Property on October 14, 2021. It is a 2-storey Dozo-zukuri building with a gabled roof of pantiles, entered at the gable end in the Tsumairi manner, and covers 32 square meters.
The rest of the Funakoshi buildings were rebuilt over three years from 1900, but Yonago City notes that the east storehouse is older than the main house and is said to date from the Edo period. Of the four registered structures, it is the only one the Agency for Cultural Affairs assigns to the Edo era.
The ridge runs north to south and the doorway opens in the north gable. Seen from the street-front main house, it stands at the very back of the plot.
Why the east storehouse matters
The Hanya Funakoshi Family Residence East Storehouse was registered as a building that contributes to the historic landscape of the country. The Agency for Cultural Affairs sums it up as a storehouse that shapes the outer edge of the property: standing in the corner, it defines the outline of the estate.
When the household was rebuilt around 1900, the east storehouse was kept rather than replaced. According to Yonago City, a gabled roof extends from the south end of the new main house's earthen passage all the way to the east storehouse, sheltering the hearths, the well and the miso shed. The old storehouse thus ended up joined under one continuous roofline to the service quarters of the new house.
No document has been published giving an exact construction year; the database entry simply says late Edo. Even so, it is the one structure on the site believed to predate the Meiji rebuilding.
How the Funakoshi east storehouse is built
The storehouse rests on a base of dressed stone. Its thick earthen walls are coated in Shikkui lime plaster right up into the underside of the eaves, which is the standard way to make a storehouse resistant to fire. The lower walls are faced with vertical boards in the Tateita-bari manner to protect the plaster from rain and splashback.
Openings are kept to a minimum. A small Geya lean-to roof shelters the doorway on the north side, and there is just one window. White walls and a closed, almost blank exterior are what a storehouse built to protect household goods from fire and theft typically looks like.
The Agency for Cultural Affairs database includes a photograph of the upper-floor roof frame. Because the interior is closed, that photograph is the only way to see the structure of the upper storey.
A comparison with the west storehouse on the same south side is instructive. The west storehouse has windows on three sides and Namako-kabe tiling on the lower north wall, whereas the Hanya Funakoshi east storehouse makes do with a single window and plain boarding, a noticeably simpler finish.
Seeing the Hanya Funakoshi Family Residence East Storehouse
The Hanya Funakoshi Family Residence East Storehouse stands within a private home, and neither the storehouse nor the house is open to visitors. It sits in the southeast corner, at the back of the plot, while the part of the property you see from the street on the main-house side is the main house front.
It has not been confirmed how much of the storehouse can be seen from the roads to the south or east. Please stay on public roads and do not enter the property. Directions to the site are on the Hanya Funakoshi Family Residence page.
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Q&A
- Can I visit the Hanya Funakoshi Family Residence East Storehouse?
- The interior is closed. The Hanya Funakoshi Family Residence East Storehouse is at the back of a private property, and it is not confirmed how much of it can be seen from outside.
- How old is the Hanya Funakoshi Family Residence East Storehouse?
- The Agency for Cultural Affairs dates it to the late Edo period (1830 to 1868). Yonago City says it is older than the main house and is said to be an Edo-period building.
- Where does the Hanya Funakoshi east storehouse stand on the property?
- In the southeast corner, with its ridge running north to south and its door on the north side. The rear gate stands to its west, and the west storehouse beyond that.
- How does the Hanya Funakoshi east storehouse differ from the west storehouse?
- The east storehouse is late Edo, with one window and board-faced lower walls. The west storehouse is late Meiji, with windows on three sides and namako-kabe tiling on the lower north wall.
- Why is the Hanya Funakoshi Family Residence East Storehouse a Registered Tangible Cultural Property?
- It was registered on October 14, 2021, as a building that contributes to the historic landscape of the country. The Agency for Cultural Affairs values it as a storehouse that shapes the outer edge of the estate.
Basic Information
| Name | Hanya Funakoshi Family Residence East Storehouse |
|---|---|
| Location | Tenjinmachi 2-chome 37 and other lots, Yonago City, Tottori Prefecture |
| Designation | Registered Tangible Cultural Property (Building) |
| Year Designated | Registered October 14, 2021 |
| Quantity | 1 building |
| Dimensions | Dozo-zukuri, 2 storeys, tiled roof, building area 32 m² |
| Owner | Private owner |
| Public Access | Not open (within a private property) |
References
- Agency for Cultural Affairs, Database of National Cultural Properties: Hanya Funakoshi Family Residence East Storehouse
- https://kunishitei.bunka.go.jp/bsys/maindetails/101/00014082
- Cultural Heritage Online: Hanya Funakoshi Family Residence East Storehouse (Japanese)
- https://online.bunka.go.jp/heritages/detail/572662
- Yonago City: Registered Tangible Cultural Properties, Hanya Funakoshi Family Residence (Japanese)
- https://www.city.yonago.lg.jp/36781.htm
- Street Museum: Yonago Castle, supervised by Yonago City (Japanese)
- https://www.streetmuseum.jp/historic-site/shiro/2026/10/14/295/
Last verified: 2026.10.14
