About the Higashikadowaki Family Residence Former Miso Storehouse
The Higashikadowaki Family Residence Former Miso Storehouse (東門脇家住宅旧味噌蔵, Higashi-Kadowaki-ke Jūtaku Kyū Misogura) is a two-story storehouse for making and keeping miso, built in 1899 in Tokorogo, Daisen Town, Tottori Prefecture, and entered on Japan's register of Registered Tangible Cultural Properties on November 8, 2004. It is a timber building under a Kirizuma-zukuri gabled roof of Sangawara-buki pan tiles, entered on the long side (Hirairi), with a building area of 30 square meters.
The miso storehouse stands on the west edge of the estate, beside the water channel that runs along the Bōryō road. The west earthen wall, coming up from the south, ends here, so the storehouse closes off the north end of the wall. A year earlier, in 1898, the family had put up its sake storehouse and koji room at the back of the lot.
A Storehouse on Stone, by the Water
The Higashikadowaki Former Miso Storehouse sits on a stone foundation. It measures 2.5 by 2 ken, with two doorways on its east side, parallel to the ridge. The walls are finished in Shikkui lime plaster, and the west wall, facing the channel, is sheathed in horizontal boards.
Boards on the water side and a stone plinth underfoot are sensible precautions for a storehouse built on damp ground by a watercourse. The doors open inward to the estate rather than toward the channel, so everything moved in and out from within the grounds. To the street it shows only the stone base, the boarded west wall and the white plaster and tiles above.
A Work Area Under the South Eave
On the south gable end, a Hisashi roof shelters a work area. Making miso involves outdoor handwork under cover: mashing boiled soybeans, mixing in koji and salt, and packing the mixture into barrels. Storage inside and a work space under the eave is a layout that plausibly fits those steps.
The Agency for Cultural Affairs describes the building as a facility showing part of the household's daily life. That sets it apart from the estate's sake storehouse and koji room, which served the family business; the Higashikadowaki miso storehouse served the family's own table.
Why the Former Miso Storehouse Was Registered
The Higashikadowaki Family Residence Former Miso Storehouse was registered for its contribution to the historic landscape. Standing on the channel and ending the line of the west earthen wall, it helps form the view of the estate from the Bōryō road.
Seeing the Higashikadowaki Former Miso Storehouse
The Higashikadowaki Former Miso Storehouse stands along the west channel and can be seen from the Bōryō road. Follow the west earthen wall north from the southwest corner, and where the wall stops, the storehouse appears on its stone base. The doorways and the work-area eave are on the east and south sides, inside the grounds, and are hard to see from the road.
The estate is a private home that is not open to the public, and the storehouse interior is closed. No official guidance on photography could be found as of September 2026. Please stay out of the channel.
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Q&A
- When was the Higashikadowaki Family Residence Former Miso Storehouse built?
- In 1899 (Meiji 32).
- What kind of building is the Higashikadowaki Former Miso Storehouse?
- A two-story timber storehouse with a gabled roof, entered on the long side and set on a stone foundation. Its building area is 30 square meters, it has two doorways on the east side, and its plastered walls are boarded on the west.
- What is the work area at the Higashikadowaki Former Miso Storehouse?
- A covered space under an eave on the south gable end, used as a work area.
- Where is the Higashikadowaki Family Residence Former Miso Storehouse on the estate?
- On the west edge, by the channel along the Bōryō road, at the north end of the west earthen wall.
- Can I visit the Higashikadowaki Former Miso Storehouse?
- The interior is not open, but the west side of the building can be seen from the Bōryō road.
Basic Information
| Name | Higashikadowaki Family Residence Former Miso Storehouse (東門脇家住宅旧味噌蔵) |
|---|---|
| Location | 425 Tokorogo, Daisen-cho, Saihaku-gun, Tottori Prefecture |
| Designation | Registered Tangible Cultural Property (Structure) |
| Year Designated | 2004 (registered) |
| Quantity | 1 building |
| Dimensions | Building area 30 m² (timber, 2 stories) |
| Owner | Not disclosed |
| Public Access | Not open (exterior visible from the Bōryō road) |
References
- Database of National Cultural Properties (Agency for Cultural Affairs): Higashikadowaki Family Residence Former Miso Storehouse
- https://kunishitei.bunka.go.jp/bsys/maindetails/101/00004405
- Cultural Heritage Online: Higashikadowaki Family Residence Former Miso Storehouse
- https://online.bunka.go.jp/heritages/detail/151015
- Daisen Town: Higashikadowaki Family Residence (Japanese)
- https://www.daisen.jp/10/33/1/s148/p136/
Last verified: 2026.09.29
