The Working Store Behind the House
The Former Matsuoka Family Residence Rear Storehouse (旧松岡家住宅後の蔵, Kyū Matsuoka-ke Jūtaku Ushiro no Kura) is an earth-walled storehouse built in 1899 for tools and rice, on a farmstead in Utamaru, Nagai City, Yamagata Prefecture; it was listed as a Registered Tangible Cultural Property on 2022/10/31.
Ushiro means behind. The storehouse stands to the north-west of the main house, at its back, facing east, and its name pairs it with the front storehouse on the other side of the yard. It is built in the dozo-zukuri manner, single storey with part on 2 storeys, with a building area of 46 square metres, and was renovated in the mid-Showa period.
Where the front storehouse kept the harvest as unhulled grain, the Former Matsuoka Family Residence Rear Storehouse held tools and rice. The prefecture describes the north end as an earth-floored workroom and the south end as a two-storey rice store with board floors. It was a store and a workplace in one.
Why It Was Registered
The storehouse holds registration number 06-0205 from the 103rd round of national registrations, under the criterion of contributing to the historic landscape.
The Agency for Cultural Affairs points to its role on the western edge of the property. Set behind the house, it closes off the yard and, with the trees around it, forms the farm's outline on that side. Because both storehouses survive, one for grain and one for tools and rice, the compound shows clearly how a rice-farming household divided up its harvest and its equipment.
What to Look For
Two storeys under a separate roof
The Agency's description calls the building two-storeyed, while its structure entry reads single storey with part on 2 storeys. Both make sense if only the southern half has an upper floor. The roof is gabled, entered on the long side in the hirairi manner, and built as an okiyane: a sheet-metal roof set on top of the plastered body of the store.
One wall clad in metal
The walls are finished at the middle coat of plaster, except on the south-west face, which is protected with sheet metal. It is most likely a shield for the side that takes the worst of the wind and rain. Look for that one wall with a different texture when you study the photographs.
Workroom to the north, rice to the south
The door is on the east side, and inside there are two rooms: an earth-floored doma to the north and a boarded room to the south, with an upper floor above it. One of the database photographs shows the northern workroom. It is easy to picture straw work and tool repairs on the earth floor, with rice stored in the boarded room and the loft next door.
Visiting
The storehouse is owned by Abe Shoten Co., Ltd. As of October 2026 we found no official announcement of interior openings, so please do not enter the grounds. Since it stands behind the main house, we have not confirmed whether it can be seen from outside the property.
The east elevation and the northern workroom can be seen in photographs in the Agency for Cultural Affairs database, and the Former Matsuoka Family Residence Rear Storehouse also appears in the document Yamagata Prefecture published on registration.
- 📍 Plan Your Visit to Yamagata
- Find tours, activities & transport passes near Former Matsuoka Family Residence Rear Storehouse
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Q&A
- When was the Former Matsuoka Family Residence Rear Storehouse built?
- In 1899. It was renovated in the mid-Showa period.
- How do you pronounce the Japanese name of the rear storehouse?
- Kyū Matsuoka-ke Jūtaku Ushiro no Kura. Ushiro means behind: it stands behind the main house, as a counterpart to the front storehouse.
- What was the Former Matsuoka Family Residence Rear Storehouse used for?
- Storing tools and rice. The north end was an earth-floored workroom, and the boarded south end with its upper floor served as the rice store.
- Can I visit the Former Matsuoka Family Residence Rear Storehouse?
- As of October 2026 we found no official announcement of interior openings. The owner is Abe Shoten Co., Ltd. Photographs of the exterior and interior are in the national database.
- Why is the Former Matsuoka Family Residence Rear Storehouse a Registered Tangible Cultural Property?
- It was registered in 2022 for contributing to the historic landscape, as the storehouse that shapes the western side of the farm.
Basic Information
| Name | Former Matsuoka Family Residence Rear Storehouse (旧松岡家住宅後の蔵) |
|---|---|
| Location | 1629 Kubo-ni, Utamaru, Nagai City, Yamagata Prefecture |
| Designation | Registered Tangible Cultural Property (Building) |
| Year Designated | Registered 2022/10/31 (Reiwa 4) |
| Quantity | 1 building |
| Dimensions | Earth-walled storehouse, single storey with part on 2 storeys, sheet-metal roof, building area 46 square metres |
| Owner | Abe Shoten Co., Ltd. |
| Public Access | No public openings announced (privately managed) |
References
- Agency for Cultural Affairs, Database of National Cultural Properties: Former Matsuoka Family Residence Rear Storehouse
- https://kunishitei.bunka.go.jp/bsys/maindetails/101/00014312
- Cultural Heritage Online: Former Matsuoka Family Residence Rear Storehouse (Japanese)
- https://online.bunka.go.jp/heritages/detail/547581
- Yamagata Prefecture: registration notice for the Former Matsuoka Family Residence and others, 2022 (Japanese, PDF)
- https://www.pref.yamagata.jp/documents/19483/touroku.pdf
Last verified: 2026.10.07
