The Storehouse at the Back of the Yamasaki Estate
The Yamasaki Family Residence North Storehouse (山﨑家住宅北蔵, Yamasaki-ke Jūtaku Kitagura) is a 1918 earthen storehouse in the northwest corner of the Yamasaki family estate in Kokawa, Kinokawa City, Wakayama Prefecture, listed as a Registered Tangible Cultural Property on February 4, 2021. It marks the far end of a compound that begins just north of JR Kokawa Station.
With the main house at the center of the estate and the south storehouse on the street, the Yamasaki Family Residence North Storehouse holds the back of the lot. Its date is firm: the Wakayama Prefectural Board of Education notes that the ceremonial staff, or heigushi, used at the roof-raising still survives, fixing construction in 1918, a year after the main house went up in 1917.
An Earthen Storehouse Wrapped in Steel
The Yamasaki Family Residence North Storehouse is a two-storey dozo storehouse with a tiled roof and a building area of 124 square meters, more than three times the 36 square meters of the south storehouse. It runs east to west under a hipped roof of pan tiles.
The first surprise is the skin. Up to the hachimaki, the thickened band of plaster just under the eaves, the walls are sheathed in iron sheet. If you arrive expecting the white plaster of a textbook kura, the dark metal comes as a jolt.
Inside, the plan is simple and deliberate. The ground floor has two separate rooms at the east and west ends, with a middle room between them finished in thick plastered walls. A stair in the east room climbs to a single open room upstairs with no partitions. Inclined beams carry short struts that hold up the ridge and purlins, giving the roof its low pitch.
Why It Was Registered
The Yamasaki Family Residence North Storehouse was registered on February 4, 2021 (registration no. 30-0297) under the criterion of contributing to the historic landscape of the nation. The main house, south storehouse and perimeter wall were registered the same day.
Wakayama Prefecture stresses how completely the estate keeps its Taishō-era arrangement. If the main house was for guests and family life, the north storehouse anchored the rear, with the south storehouse holding the street front. A building that can be dated by its own roof-raising staff is a useful fixed point for reading how the whole compound came together.
What to Look For
Notice where the iron sheathing stops at the hachimaki and the eaves take over. Because the hipped roof is so gently pitched, the building sits low and long, nothing like the tall, steep gable of the south storehouse.
Also look at how it meets the wall. The national database entry for the perimeter wall notes that the wall faces on either side of the north storehouse are finished in mortar, which suggests the storehouse stands right on the northern boundary and closes off the back of the estate together with the brick wall.
Seeing the North Storehouse
There is no notice of the interior of the Yamasaki Family Residence North Storehouse being opened. Because it stands in the far northwest corner, the main house and south storehouse block it from view on the street side.
A closer look is possible only on days when the café in the main house is open and visitors can enter the grounds. Ask the staff on the day about walking over to the storehouse and about photography. Directions and café days are on the Yamasaki Family Residence page.
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Q&A
- When was the Yamasaki Family Residence North Storehouse built?
- In 1918. Its roof-raising staff (heigushi) survives and confirms the date, one year after the main house was framed in 1917.
- How is the Yamasaki Family Residence North Storehouse built?
- It is a two-storey earthen storehouse with a building area of 124 square meters, a hipped pan-tile roof and exterior walls sheathed in iron sheet up to the plaster band under the eaves.
- What is inside the Yamasaki Family Residence North Storehouse?
- Three rooms on the ground floor, with a thick-walled middle room between the east and west rooms, and one open room upstairs reached from the east room. The interior is not open to visitors.
- Can I visit the Yamasaki Family Residence North Storehouse?
- There is no public opening of the interior. It stands at the back of the estate and is hard to see from the street; on café days, ask the staff about a closer look.
- What kind of cultural property is the Yamasaki Family Residence North Storehouse?
- It was listed as a Registered Tangible Cultural Property (building) on February 4, 2021, as registration no. 30-0297. The main house, south storehouse and wall on the same estate were registered the same day.
Basic Information
| Name | Yamasaki Family Residence North Storehouse (山﨑家住宅北蔵) |
|---|---|
| Location | 853-3 Kokawa, Kinokawa City, Wakayama Prefecture |
| Designation | Registered Tangible Cultural Property (building) |
| Year Designated | Registered 2021/2/4 (Reiwa 3) |
| Quantity | 1 building |
| Dimensions | Earthen storehouse, 2 storeys, tiled roof, building area 124 square meters |
| Owner | Private (individual) |
| Public Access | Interior not open to the public |
References
- Database of National Cultural Properties (Agency for Cultural Affairs): Yamasaki Family Residence North Storehouse
- https://kunishitei.bunka.go.jp/bsys/maindetails/101/00013627
- Database of National Cultural Properties (Agency for Cultural Affairs): Yamasaki Family Residence Wall
- https://kunishitei.bunka.go.jp/bsys/maindetails/101/00013628
- Wakayama Cultural Heritage portal (Wakayama Prefectural Board of Education): Yamasaki Family Residence
- https://wakayama-bunkazai.jp/bunkazai/bunkazai-spot-1002/
Last verified: 2026.09.24
