Yurinso Third Storehouse

What Is the Yurinso Third Storehouse?

The Yurinso Third Storehouse (有隣荘三番蔵, Yūrinsō Sanbangura) is a two-story earthen clothing store built around 1923 in the middle of the row of storehouses behind the main house of the Yurinso estate in Kuniyasu, Tottori City, Tottori Prefecture, and registered as a Registered Tangible Cultural Property of Japan in 2013.

It sits between the Second Storehouse to the east and the Fourth Storehouse to the west. It measures 6.0 m by 4.1 m, with a building area of 36 square meters, which makes it slightly shorter along its length than its neighbors.

Why the Yurinso Third Storehouse Was Registered

The Yurinso Third Storehouse was registered as a Registered Tangible Cultural Property, number 31-0178, with the other eight structures on the estate, for contributing to the historic landscape of the country.

On its own it is not a showpiece. What Tottori Prefecture values is the continuous run of red-tiled, namako-walled storehouses along the back of the lot, and the Yurinso Third Storehouse holds the center of that run. Take away either end and the row is broken; take away the middle and the same is true.

What to Look for at the Yurinso Third Storehouse

A small window in the tilework

The upper front of the Yurinso Third Storehouse is faced with Namako-kabe tilework, and a small window is cut into it. Of the three storehouses, this is the only one whose official description mentions a window in the front tilework. Thick earthen walls kept out damp and fire, but a store for clothing still needed some light and air. Look for the small square opening set into the black-and-white grid.

Boards on the back only

The walls are finished in Shikkui plaster, and vertical boards cover only the rear wall. The front is sheltered by the lean-to, so it makes sense that the side most exposed to weather was the one given timber cladding. The roof is a Kirizuma-zukuri gable of Sangawara-buki tiles, and along the south face a Geya lean-to runs continuously across all three storehouses.

The clothing store

The Agency for Cultural Affairs records that this was the ishōgura, the clothing store, which for a family of this rank would have held kimono for weddings, memorial services and the changing seasons. Equipment went to the Second Storehouse at the east end and household goods to the Fourth at the west, with clothing kept in the middle.

Visiting the Yurinso Third Storehouse

The Yurinso Third Storehouse stands behind the main house, away from the dining rooms and the main garden, and there is no announcement of its interior being open (checked October 2, 2026). If you want to see its exterior, raise it when booking a guided option such as the Tea Time Plan.

No photography rule is published, so ask your guide. Directions are on the Yurinso page.