Sakabe Family Residence Inui Storehouse

What the Sakabe Family Residence Inui Storehouse is

The Sakabe Family Residence Inui Storehouse (坂部家住宅乾蔵, Sakabe-ke Jūtaku Inui-gura) is an early-Meiji (1868–1882) plastered storehouse in the northwest corner of the Sakabe estate in Fuchū, Wakayama City, Wakayama Prefecture, registered as a Registered Tangible Cultural Property in 2015.

Inui (乾) is the old word for northwest, one of the compass points named after the signs of the Chinese zodiac. The Inui Storehouse is named for its position, at the northwest corner of the estate. It is a two-storey Dozo-zukuri building, thick earthen walls coated in plaster, with a building area of 20 m², or about 6 tsubo. The ridge runs north to south under a simple gabled Kirizuma-zukuri roof, so the gable ends face north and south.

The roof is of the Okiyane type and covered in Hongawarabuki tiles. The walls are finished in Shikkui plaster, with vertical boards around the base. Wakayama Prefecture notes that the plaster is white, that even the small roofs over the windows are carefully plastered, and that the door opens on the east side.

Why the Sakabe Inui Storehouse was registered

The Sakabe Family Residence Inui Storehouse was registered for its contribution to the historic landscape. The Agency for Cultural Affairs explains that it stands on a corner plot and helps shape the historic look of this farming district.

A storehouse on the corner of an estate is the first building a passer-by notices. White plaster walls and a tiled gable rising at the edge of the plot give the property the outline of an old family seat, something a fence or hedge alone could not do.

Its original use is also recorded. The Agency says it held household goods, and that tableware was kept on the upper floor. The description does not say what was stored on the ground floor.

What to look for on the Inui Storehouse

An okiyane roof is built as a separate frame and set on top of the storehouse's own thick earthen roof. The gap between the two lets air move, which is said to protect the contents from summer heat and from sparks in a fire. Look up under the eaves of the Inui Storehouse and see how the top of the wall meets the roof above it.

The boarded base deserves a look too. Plaster does not stand up well to rain splashing up from the ground, so the lowest part of the wall is often covered in timber. Here the boards run vertically, forming a band of wood beneath the white wall.

Then there are the windows. Wakayama Prefecture singles out the careful plasterwork even around the small window roofs. On a storehouse this size, the plasterers still took time over every opening.

Visiting the Sakabe Family Residence Inui Storehouse

The Sakabe Family Residence Inui Storehouse belongs to a private home, and its interior is closed. Because it stands on the northwest corner plot, though, it is probably the easiest of the four registered buildings to see from outside.

View it from the road without stepping onto the property. With the ridge running north to south, the long walls face east and west, and the west wall catches the afternoon sun. Please keep photography to the exterior as seen from the road. The Sakabe Family Residence page explains how to get to Fuchū.