A portion of the floor at the second level emits an odd creak when you walk on it. Why does it make that sound? Take a minute and think about it.

The answer is that the creaky portion of the floor is actually a shutter box. Essentially, the first and second floors are partitioned by a sliding door. Its configuration is different from other hinged or sliding doors, but it’s a rather common feature in Masuda storehouses. Still, what’s its purpose? Is it to ward off snow in the winter? Or maybe to prevent the spread of a fire?

The door actually prevents rats from entering the storeroom. It would be crushing to find one’s valuables destroyed by rats after going out of the way to store them upstairs. For that reason, the shutter box was generally kept shut, and was opened only to quickly take items out of storage. One can glimpse into the minds of the people of that era with each creak.