Tachikawa Yoshimura Family Residence Utensil Storehouse

What the Tachikawa Yoshimura Family Residence Utensil Storehouse Is

The Tachikawa Yoshimura Family Residence Utensil Storehouse (立川吉村家住宅什器蔵, Tachikawa Yoshimura-ke Jūtaku Jūkigura) is a small mid-Meiji storehouse in Tachikawa-cho, Tottori City, registered as a Registered Tangible Cultural Property on July 23, 1998.

It is a 2-storey timber building with a tiled roof and a footprint of just 36 square meters, the smallest of the six Yoshimura registrations. It stands right against the main house, on the north side of the entrance.

Jūki means household utensils and furnishings, so the name suggests a store for the family's everyday equipment.

A Storehouse That Was Moved and Turned

According to a note in the Agency for Cultural Affairs records, when a road was widened in 1936 this storehouse was moved together with the main house by Hikiya, sliding the building intact rather than dismantling it, and was turned to face its present direction at the same time.

The Agency adds that, despite the new orientation, the storehouse does not look out of place beside the main house.

Like the other Yoshimura buildings, the Tachikawa Yoshimura Family Residence Utensil Storehouse was registered for its contribution to the historic landscape. On its own it is modest, but read together with the main house it completes the front of the compound.

What to Look For: Two Pent Roofs and Wainscoting

The Utensil Storehouse has a pent roof on both front and back, so even a building this small shows an eave line on two sides.

Its walls are finished in Shikkui lime plaster above a band of wooden wainscoting. The same pairing of white plaster and boards appears on the main house, which is why the two buildings read almost as one.

Look closely at the point where the storehouse meets the main house. It is the best place to judge how neatly the two were fitted together after the move.

Seeing the Tachikawa Yoshimura Family Residence Utensil Storehouse

No interior opening has been announced for the Tachikawa Yoshimura Family Residence Utensil Storehouse, so a visit is limited to the exterior. It is visible from the road, just north of the main house entrance.

Because it is small and tucked against the main house, it is easy to miss. Start at the front of the main house and let your eye move north. Please view it from the road without entering the property.