蔵(くら)

くら
noun
storehouse, warehouse
1. storehouse, warehouse, cellar, treasury
A traditional Japanese storehouse, typically a thick-walled building made of earth or plaster, designed to protect valuables, food, and goods from fire and theft. Also used more broadly for any storage building.
古(ふる)い蔵(くら)を改装(かいそう)してカフェにした。
They renovated an old storehouse into a café.
蔵(くら)の中(なか)から貴重(きちょう)な掛(か)け軸(じく)が見(み)つかった。
A valuable hanging scroll was found inside the storehouse.
この酒蔵(さかぐら)は江戸(えど)時代(じだい)から続(つづ)く老舗(しにせ)で、今(いま)も伝統的(でんとうてき)な製法(せいほう)で日本酒(にほんしゅ)を造(つく)っている。
This sake brewery is a long-established business dating from the Edo period, still making sake using traditional methods.

USAGE:
Traditional 蔵(くら) are iconic elements of Japanese architecture, especially in merchant towns. Many have been repurposed as restaurants, galleries, and museums. The word also appears in many compounds related to storage and production.

COMMON COMPOUNDS:

  • 酒蔵(さかぐら): sake brewery/cellar
  • 米蔵(こめぐら): rice storehouse
  • 蔵元(くらもと): sake brewery owner/operator
  • 蔵書(ぞうしょ): book collection, library holdings
  • 土蔵(どぞう): earthen storehouse
  • お蔵入(くらい)り: being shelved, put into storage (figuratively: a project being abandoned)
general
Added 2026.2.27 17:35
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