What the Marui Family Residence Storehouse Is
The Marui Family Residence Storehouse (丸井家住宅土蔵, Marui-ke Jūtaku Dozō) is a 2-storey earthen-walled storehouse built in 1916 in the southeast corner of the Marui family estate in Etchumachi, Kurayoshi City, Tottori Prefecture, and it was entered on Japan's register of Registered Tangible Cultural Properties on October 27, 2017.
The Marui Family Residence Storehouse is built in Dozo-zukuri, thick fire-resistant earth walls on a timber frame, with its ridge running east to west and a roof of interlocking pantiles. Its building area is 27 square meters. Inside there is a single room on each floor and nothing more. According to the Agency for Cultural Affairs, this is where the family kept its tea utensils and hanging scrolls: for a household named as one of the centres of Kurayoshi's tea circles from the Taisho era to the early Showa years, the strongroom for its tea treasures.
Why the Marui Family Residence Storehouse Was Registered
The Marui Family Residence Storehouse was registered, as no. 31-234, for its contribution to the historic landscape. The Agency ends its description by noting that the storehouse helps shape the scenery along the Tamagawa, the narrow canal at the back of the estate.
The Marui estate meets the Tamagawa on its southern edge, and the storehouse occupies the southeast corner. Where the main house and the red wall give the street on the north its character, the storehouse does the same for the waterside to the south. Front and back, the estate faces two different kinds of town scenery, and each end has a registered structure that defines it.
Two Faces of the Marui Family Residence Storehouse
The walls of the Marui Family Residence Storehouse are not finished the same way all round. The front is coated entirely in white Shikkui lime plaster. On the back, the ground floor is clad in vertical boards and only the upper part is plastered. Boarding the base of an earthen storehouse is a common way of protecting the lower wall from rain splash.
On the north face, the side toward the garden, a corridor continuing from the detached wing to the west is attached like a lean-to roof, so the wing and the storehouse are joined in one run.
Having the tea-utensil store right beside the formal rooms of the detached wing would make practical sense when preparing for a tea gathering. No source, however, records how the Marui family actually used the two together.
Visiting the Marui Family Residence Storehouse
The Marui Family Residence Storehouse stands in the far corner of a private estate and cannot be seen from the street on the north side. Kurayoshi City lists the Marui Family Residence as closed inside.
The Agency credits the storehouse with shaping the canal-side scenery, but published sources do not say whether there is a public spot along the Tamagawa or on the far bank from which its back can be seen.
Q&A
- Can I visit the Marui Family Residence Storehouse?
- No. The Marui Family Residence Storehouse is in the southeast corner of a private estate, and Kurayoshi City lists the property as closed inside. It cannot be seen from the street.
- What was kept in the Marui Family Residence Storehouse?
- According to the Agency for Cultural Affairs, tea utensils and hanging scrolls. The Marui family is described as one of the centres of tea ceremony in Kurayoshi from the Taisho era to the early Showa years.
- When was the Marui Family Residence Storehouse built and registered?
- It was built in 1916 and registered as a Registered Tangible Cultural Property on October 27, 2017, under number 31-234.
- What does the Marui Family Residence Storehouse look like?
- It is a 2-storey earthen-walled storehouse under a pantiled roof. The front is plastered all over; the back has vertical boarding on the ground floor and plaster above. A corridor from the detached wing runs along its north face.
- Why was the Marui Family Residence Storehouse registered for its landscape value?
- The estate's southern edge meets the Tamagawa canal, and the Agency considers the storehouse in that corner part of the canal-side scenery. It was registered as contributing to the historic landscape.
Basic Information
| Name | Marui Family Residence Storehouse (丸井家住宅土蔵) |
|---|---|
| Location | 2149 Etchumachi, Kurayoshi City, Tottori Prefecture |
| Designation | Registered Tangible Cultural Property (building), registration no. 31-234 |
| Year Designated | Registered October 27, 2017 |
| Quantity | 1 building |
| Dimensions | Earthen-walled dozo construction, 2 storeys, tiled roof, building area 27 square meters |
| Owner | Unknown (not listed in the Agency database) |
| Public Access | Closed |
References
- Agency for Cultural Affairs, Database of National Cultural Properties: Maruike Jutaku Dozo
- https://kunishitei.bunka.go.jp/bsys/maindetails/101/00012015
- Cultural Heritage Online: Maruike Jutaku Dozo
- https://bunka.nii.ac.jp/heritages/detail/286186
- Agency for Cultural Affairs, Database of National Cultural Properties: Maruike Jutaku Hanare
- https://kunishitei.bunka.go.jp/bsys/maindetails/101/00012014
- Kurayoshi City: Cultural Properties of the Uwanada, Seitoku and Meirin Districts
- https://www.city.kurayoshi.lg.jp/gyousei/div/kyouiku/bunkazai/1/1/5/
Last verified: 2026.10.04
