The kura or storehouse is a traditional structure of great antiquity, the design of which is believed to have influenced the architecture of the earliest Shinto shrines.

During the Heian period the Great Storehouse at the imperial palace was designated as one of the eight divisions of a beaurocracy modelled on that of Tang-dynasty China.

With the coming of Buddhism, two styles of sacred storehouse appeared – the stilted azekura-style storehouse typified by the Shoso-in at Todai-ji Temple (8th century) and the ground-level kura represented by the sutra storehouse at Kasuga Grand Shrine (13th century), both in Nara.

A further development took place during the Kamakura period, when Zen Buddhists introduced an octagonal-shaped sutra storehouse (kyozo). These often contained a revolving bookshelf (rinzo), the belief being that turning the bookshelf round earned as much religious merit as reading the scriptures.

Many storehouses attached to Buddhist temples and Shinto shrines were used to house collections of paintings, calligraphy and other art objects and later became known as ‘treasure houses’. Many of these still exist today and now function as temple and shrine museums.

The commercial storehouse (kura or dozo) was developed during the Kamakura period to store trade goods, and subsequently became commonplace in port cities, castle towns and post towns. Built stronger than the Japanese house, with an interior framework of heavy timber and thick mud walls covered in white plaster, it could withstand earthquakes, typhoons and fires, as well as being suitable for making and storing fermented products such as miso paste and soy sauce. The roof was frequently raised above the walls to permit some circulation of air. Several different types of kura can be found in Japan, each built in a distinctive style according to local tradition, with decorated windows and roof tiles.