The Storehouse at the Corner of the Plot
The Aze Family Residence Tool Storehouse (阿瀬家住宅道具蔵) is an earthen-walled 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 Dogugura (also written Azeke Jūtaku Dōgugura).
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 30-0342.
Two Storehouses under One Roof
The Aze Family Residence Tool Storehouse stands at the back of the plot of a merchant family that made fishing nets (Agency for Cultural Affairs). Two storehouses stand in a row east of the main house, and this is the northern one (Wakayama Prefecture).
It is built in Dozo-zukuri, the thick earthen-walled construction of Japanese storehouses, with 2 storeys and a gabled roof of lapped tiles whose ridge runs north to south. The roof does not stop at the end of the building but carries on over the rice storehouse to the south as one large roof (Agency for Cultural Affairs).
The doorway has an urajiro door, a plastered sliding door used on storehouses, and a lattice sliding door. Both floors are boarded (Agency for Cultural Affairs).
Why It Was Registered
The Agency describes the Aze Family Residence Tool Storehouse as plain and practical, with little ornament, and values it because it forms the north-east corner of the plot and gives the street a settled look. It was registered under the criterion for buildings that contribute to the historic landscape of the country.
A storehouse with so little decoration was registered because of where it stands. The main house is the face of the business on the street; this building draws the outline of the property at the back.
What to Look For
Because the Aze Family Residence Tool Storehouse stands at the north-east corner of the plot, its rear and side walls face the street. The photograph in the Agency database is also taken from the north-east.
The walls are clad in vertical boards on the ground floor and finished in white Shikkui plaster above (Wakayama Prefecture). Dark boards below, white plaster above, and the lapped tiles over both: follow the roof with your eye and it runs on without a break to the rice storehouse to the south.
Visiting
The Aze Family Residence Tool 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).
Only the walls facing the street can be seen, and it is not confirmed that the doorway shows from there. 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 Tool Storehouse built?
- At the end of the Edo period (Agency for Cultural Affairs).
- Where on the plot is the Aze Family Residence Tool Storehouse?
- East of the main house, at the north-east corner at the back of the plot. The rice storehouse is immediately to the south (Agency for Cultural Affairs; Wakayama Prefecture).
- What is distinctive about the Aze Family Residence Tool Storehouse?
- It is a 2-storey earthen-walled storehouse that shares one large roof with the rice storehouse beside it, boarded below and plastered above (Agency for Cultural Affairs; Wakayama Prefecture).
- Can I go inside the Aze Family Residence Tool Storehouse?
- No. It is privately owned and not open; the exterior can be seen from the street.
- When was the Aze Family Residence Tool Storehouse registered?
- On August 7, 2023 (Agency for Cultural Affairs).
Basic Information
| Name | Aze Family Residence Tool Storehouse (阿瀬家住宅道具蔵) |
|---|---|
| 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 (exterior visible from the street) |
References
- Aze Family Residence Tool Storehouse (Database of National Cultural Properties, Agency for Cultural Affairs, Japanese)
- https://kunishitei.bunka.go.jp/bsys/maindetails/101/00014668
- Aze Family Residence (Cultural Properties of Wakayama, Wakayama Prefectural Board of Education, Japanese)
- https://wakayama-bunkazai.jp/bunkazai/bunkazai-spot-978/
- 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
