Kawasaki Storehouses

Location: 2 Kawasaki, Ise City

Kawasaki is a storied wholesale district that has made use of the Seta River's water transportation to flourish ever since the Middle Ages. Even today you can still see many storehouses that retain their signature style from days long since past.

Kawasaki storehouses are built in dozo-zukuri style (earthen-walled storehouse style) with gable roofs based on solid masonry. Their walls are thick and plastered, and the entire building is structurally designed to be fire resistant, quake‐resistant, and well-insulated. Furthermore, the outer layer is protected by the Ise region's unique jet-black finish, kizami-gakoi(outer wall style).

Ships bearing cargo would travel up the Seta River to Kawasaki, where storehouses with their doors facing open towards the river would accept their cargo directly from the shops, or loading and unloading would take place at riverside markets.

Furthermore, the narrow alleys in between Ise houses are called seko, and even here in Kawasaki they were used as passages connecting ships to storehouses and storehouses to shops.

The landscape of the waterside consisting of the storehouses, Ishigaki(stone fences), and the river could once be seen on both banks.

November 2017　Ise City Board of Education