About the Yatagai Family Residence Storehouse
The Yatagai Family Residence Storehouse (矢田貝家住宅土蔵, Yatagai-ke Jūtaku Dozō) is a two-story earthen-walled storehouse of the mid-Meiji period at the Yatagai Family Residence in Kamihosomi, Hōki Town, Tottori Prefecture, and was registered as a Registered Tangible Cultural Property in 2011.
It stands behind the Main House, facing north. The plan measures 9.7 m by 4.1 m, with a building area of 50 square meters. It is built in the Dozo-zukuri manner, with thick fireproof clay walls, and has a gabled roof of Sangawara-buki pantiles. Covered work areas, Kuramae, are attached on the north and east sides; Tottori Prefecture describes the storehouse as a large one whose eaves on two sides have been enclosed as indoor space.
Fujiki Tatsuya's paper adds that the roof is framed in the ordinary Japanese way, with a lean-to half a bay deep on the north and one bay deep on the east. The two original doorways are on the north wall, but a later lean-to now encloses them, so the storehouse is entered from the east. Each floor is divided into two rooms, and the upper floor is reached by a box staircase in the room on the house side. The family used it to store household equipment.
Why the Yatagai Storehouse was registered
The Yatagai Family Residence Storehouse was registered for its contribution to the historic landscape. The Agency for Cultural Affairs notes how the walls are finished: weatherboarding held by vertical battens up to about waist height, and above it plaster carried all the way to the eaves, with the shapes of the rafters modeled in it. A crane in relief plaster decorates the gable. The agency regards it as a storehouse of real presence that gives character to the back garden.
The national database dates it to the mid-Meiji period, with repairs in 1988 and 1991. Fujiki leaves the date open but reports the family tradition that it was standing by 1905, the year the fourth head of the family was born, and counts it among the oldest buildings after the Main House.
In the Meiji era the Yatagai yard was full of storehouses for sake, soy sauce and miso. With nearly all of them gone, the Yatagai Storehouse is one of the few buildings left from the back yard of a family that grew rich through brewing and landholding.
During the building survey of 2010, large quantities of documents from the Edo period onward were found in the storehouse and elsewhere on the estate, and they became the starting point for later university research. The published studies do not say exactly which storehouse held what.
What to look for in the Yatagai Storehouse
Look for the plaster reliefs, known as Kote-e. Besides the crane on the gable, Fujiki records swirling motifs at the ends of the beams and what appears to be a pine above a doorway. All of them are modest in size.
Notice how the walls are divided. On the south side, where there is no lean-to, the boarding reaches the bottom of the upper-floor openings; on the west it runs right up to the eaves. Much less white plaster shows than you might expect, and the building reads less as a white-walled storehouse than as a heavy, board-clad one.
The original north doorways are now hidden inside the added lean-to. What was once the front of the storehouse has become its back, a quiet record of how the household's routines changed.
Visiting the Yatagai Family Residence Storehouse
The Yatagai Family Residence Storehouse is privately owned, and its interior is not open. It stands behind the Main House on the back-garden side and cannot be seen from National Route 181. We found no notice that visitors can enter the back garden even on days when the house is open, and no photography policy is published. Directions and visiting conditions for the estate are on the Yatagai Family Residence page.
Q&A
- When was the Yatagai Family Residence Storehouse built?
- The national database gives the mid-Meiji period. The exact year is unknown, but the family says it was standing by 1905. It was repaired in 1988 and 1991.
- How big is the Yatagai Family Residence Storehouse?
- It is a two-story earthen-walled storehouse of 9.7 m by 4.1 m, with a building area of 50 square meters and a gabled pantiled roof. Work areas are attached on the north and east, and each floor has two rooms.
- Where is the plaster crane on the Yatagai Storehouse?
- The crane is on the gable wall. There are also swirling motifs at the ends of the beams and what appears to be a pine above a doorway, all modest in size.
- Why is the Yatagai Family Residence Storehouse a Registered Tangible Cultural Property?
- It was registered on July 25, 2011, for its contribution to the historic landscape. It is valued as a large storehouse of real presence, with board-and-plaster walls and a plaster crane on the gable.
- Can I visit the Yatagai Storehouse?
- It is privately owned and not open, and it stands behind the Main House where it cannot be seen from the road. Ask the Hōki Town Board of Education lifelong learning office before visiting.
Basic Information
| Name | Yatagai Family Residence Storehouse |
|---|---|
| Location | 486 Kamihosomi and other lots, Hōki Town, Saihaku District, Tottori Prefecture |
| Designation | Registered Tangible Cultural Property (Building) |
| Year Designated | Registered July 25, 2011 |
| Quantity | 1 building |
| Dimensions | 9.7 m × 4.1 m in plan; building area 50 m² |
| Owner | Private (no owner named in the national database) |
| Public Access | Not open; stands behind the main house and cannot be seen from the road |
References
- Agency for Cultural Affairs, Database of National Cultural Properties: Yatagai Family Residence Storehouse
- https://kunishitei.bunka.go.jp/bsys/maindetails/101/00008758
- Cultural Heritage Online: Yatagai Family Residence Storehouse
- https://online.bunka.go.jp/heritages/detail/239489
- Tottori Bunkazai Navi (Tottori Prefecture Cultural Properties Division): Yatagai Family Residence
- https://db.pref.tottori.jp/bunkazainavi.nsf/bunkazai_web_view/117213810028FEE749257C5A00296E73
- Fujiki Tatsuya, "The Yatagai Family Residence as Revealed Through Kaso Diagrams and Diaries," Studies of San'in Region Extra Issue 2 (Shimane University, 2026)
- https://ir.lib.shimane-u.ac.jp/55741
- Nikaido Yukinobu et al., "History of the Yatagai Family," Studies of San'in Region Extra Issue 2 (Shimane University, 2026)
- https://ir.lib.shimane-u.ac.jp/55736
Last verified: 2026.10.07
