A Rice Store behind a Net Maker's House
The Aze Family Residence Rice Storehouse (阿瀬家住宅米蔵) is the rice storehouse of a merchant's house of the late Edo period in Yuasa, Yuasa Town, Arida District, Wakayama Prefecture, and was registered as a Registered Tangible Cultural Property (structure) on August 7, 2023 (Agency for Cultural Affairs). The name is read Azeke Jutaku Komegura (also written Azeke Jūtaku Komegura).
The Agency records a 2-storey earthen-walled storehouse with a tile roof and a building area of 25 square metres, built at the end of the Edo period; registration number 30-0343.
A Tin-Lined Room for Grain
The Aze Family Residence Rice Storehouse stands at the back of the plot of a merchant family that made fishing nets, its ridge running north to south (Agency for Cultural Affairs). It shares one large roof with the tool storehouse to its north, and the two are the same size: 2-storey buildings in Dozo-zukuri earthen-walled construction, each with a building area of 25 square metres.
The roof is gabled and laid in lapped tiles. The doorway has an urajiro door, the plastered sliding door of a storehouse, and a lattice sliding door, and both floors are boarded. So far it matches its neighbour (Agency for Cultural Affairs).
The difference is in the north-east corner of the ground floor, where a small room is lined on the inside with tinplate (Agency for Cultural Affairs). The report of the Council for Cultural Affairs says the rice storehouse "has a grain bin", which appears to refer to this room.
Why It Was Registered
The Agency sees the Aze Family Residence Rice Storehouse as evidence of the prosperity that net making brought to Yuasa, and registered it under the criterion for buildings that contribute to the historic landscape of the country.
Yuasa is best known for soy sauce, but the Wakayama Prefectural Board of Education notes that these buildings recall a time when net making was an industry on the same scale as brewing.
What to Look For
From outside, the Aze Family Residence Rice Storehouse matches the tool storehouse to its north: vertical boards on the ground floor, white Shikkui plaster above, and a practical look with little ornament (Wakayama Prefecture).
Because the roof is continuous, it does not show where one building ends and the next begins. You have to read the walls to find the rice storehouse.
The tin-lined room is inside and cannot be seen from outside.
Visiting
The Aze Family Residence Rice Storehouse is privately owned and its interior is not open. No information on visits was found in the materials of the Agency, Wakayama Prefecture or Yuasa Town (checked November 2026).
It stands at the back of the plot, so it is hard to see from the main-house side on Nakamachi-dori, and how much of it shows from the surrounding streets is something to check on the spot. Visitors may not enter the plot. The location of the property and its distance from the station are given on the Aze Family Residence page.
Q&A
- When was the Aze Family Residence Rice Storehouse built?
- At the end of the Edo period (Agency for Cultural Affairs).
- How does the Aze Family Residence Rice Storehouse differ from the tool storehouse?
- They are the same size and construction and share one large roof. The rice storehouse has a small tin-lined room in the north-east corner of its ground floor (Agency for Cultural Affairs).
- What is the tin-lined room in the Aze Family Residence Rice Storehouse?
- The report of the Council for Cultural Affairs says the rice storehouse has a grain bin, which appears to refer to this room.
- Can I go inside the Aze Family Residence Rice Storehouse?
- No. It is privately owned and not open, and the tin-lined room cannot be seen from outside.
- When was the Aze Family Residence Rice Storehouse registered?
- On August 7, 2023 (Agency for Cultural Affairs).
Basic Information
| Name | Aze Family Residence Rice Storehouse (阿瀬家住宅米蔵) |
|---|---|
| Location | 535-1 Nakamachi, Yuasa, Yuasa-cho, Arida-gun, Wakayama Prefecture |
| Designation | Registered Tangible Cultural Property (Structure) |
| Year Designated | Registered 2023/08/07 (Reiwa 5) |
| Quantity | 1 building |
| Dimensions | Earthen-walled storehouse, 2 storeys, tile roof, building area 25 m² |
| Owner | Private owner |
| Public Access | Privately owned; interior not open (visibility of the exterior unverified) |
References
- Aze Family Residence Rice Storehouse (Database of National Cultural Properties, Agency for Cultural Affairs, Japanese)
- https://kunishitei.bunka.go.jp/bsys/maindetails/101/00014669
- Aze Family Residence (Cultural Properties of Wakayama, Wakayama Prefectural Board of Education, Japanese)
- https://wakayama-bunkazai.jp/bunkazai/bunkazai-spot-978/
- Report of the Council for Cultural Affairs on new registrations, March 17, 2023 (Agency for Cultural Affairs, Japanese)
- https://www.bunka.go.jp/seisaku/bunkazai/shokai/yukei_kenzobutsu/pdf/93871701_01.pdf
- Nationally designated and registered cultural properties (Yuasa Town, Japanese)
- https://www.town.yuasa.wakayama.jp/site/rekishi-bunka/8530.html
Last verified: 2026.11.11
