Former Yoza Bunko Library

Hōsa Bunko Old Storehouse: A Tokugawa-Era Treasure House Reborn

Tucked inside the lush grounds of Tokugawa-en garden in Nagoya stands a striking white-walled building with a tiled roof — the Hōsa Bunko Old Storehouse (Hōsa Bunko Kyū Shoko). Once the working repository for one of Japan's most distinguished feudal book collections, this 1935 structure today welcomes visitors as the entrance hall of the Hōsa Library, where centuries of samurai scholarship still live on the shelves beyond. Officially designated as a Registered Tangible Cultural Property of Japan in 2014, the building offers a rare chance to step physically into the architectural world of a daimyo family's intellectual life.

Historical Background

The story of this building is inseparable from the Owari Tokugawa family, the most senior of the three privileged Tokugawa branches (Gosanke). The family's bibliographic tradition reaches back to 1616, when Tokugawa Ieyasu — the founder of the Tokugawa shogunate — passed away and his ninth son Yoshinao inherited approximately 3,000 volumes known as the "Suruga Goyuzuribon." These formed the seed of the Goyō Bunko, the daimyo book repository established within Nagoya Castle.

For three centuries the collection grew, sheltered first inside Nagoya Castle and later within the Owari Tokugawa family's Ozone residence in Nagoya. By the early 20th century, nine traditional earthen storehouses (dozō) stood on the Ozone estate, each safeguarding portions of the family's accumulated treasures. In 1912, the 19th head of the family, Tokugawa Yoshichika, gave the collection the poetic name "Hōsa Bunko" — using "Hōsa," the classical literary name for Nagoya, which itself referred to the city's position to the left of the legendary Hōrai-no-miya (Atsuta Shrine).

In 1935, when the Owari Tokugawa Reimeikai foundation established the Tokugawa Art Museum on the same Ozone grounds, two of the nine existing earthen storehouses were combined and remodeled into a single, larger building to serve as a utensil and book storehouse. This is the structure now known as the Hōsa Bunko Old Storehouse. It served as the working book repository of the Hōsa Library for decades, before being relocated and renovated in 2004 as part of a major facility renewal.

Why It Was Designated a Cultural Property

The Hōsa Bunko Old Storehouse was added to Japan's national Register of Tangible Cultural Properties on October 7, 2014. Its value lies in a fascinating layering of building traditions. Designed by architect Yoshio Yoshimoto, the project took two pre-existing Edo-style earthen storehouses — traditionally squat, fireproof, two-story dozō built to protect valuables from fire and theft — and joined them into one continuous structure suitable for the systematic storage of a modern library.

What makes the design especially interesting is the roof construction. Instead of the heavy timber framing typically used in Japanese kura, the architect chose a king-post truss, a triangulated roof system more commonly seen in Western architecture. The exterior walls are finished in mortar plaster all the way up to the roof boards, giving the building its luminous white appearance while reinforcing its fire-resistant character. The result is a hybrid structure — Japanese in silhouette and purpose, modern Western in its skeleton — that captures the cultural transition of early Showa-era Japan.

The building also carries deep historical significance as the long-time guardian of one of Japan's finest private book collections, including several Important Cultural Properties such as the Kanazawa Bunko manuscripts of "Shoku Nihongi" and the Kawachi-bon "Tale of Genji."

Highlights and What to See

Visitors today encounter the Old Storehouse first as the entrance hall of the present-day Hōsa Library. The thick mortar-plastered walls, the gentle interior light, and the visible timber framing give a strong sense of the original storehouse atmosphere. Look upward as you pass through, and you can still see traces of the king-post trusses that supported the heavy tile roof for nearly a century.

Beyond the entrance hall, the Hōsa Library itself holds a remarkable collection.

• Approximately 110,000 to 140,000 volumes of Japanese, Chinese, and Korean classical texts
• Important Cultural Properties including the "Shoku Nihongi" (Kanazawa Bunko edition) and the Kawachi-bon "Tale of Genji"
• More than 2,000 historical maps and illustrated documents, ranging from Nagoya castle-town maps to world maps
• Rotating exhibitions that showcase warrior-class scholarship in coordination with the adjacent Tokugawa Art Museum

The building's modest scale — about 230 square meters of footprint over two stories — makes it feel intimate rather than monumental, a quality that suits its bookish heritage.

Visitor Information

The Hōsa Library is located within the grounds of Tokugawa-en, sharing an integrated visitor area with the Tokugawa Art Museum. Most visitors purchase the combined ticket, which provides access to both institutions and lets you walk seamlessly between the museum's daimyo treasures and the library's literary heritage.

The library's reading room is open free of charge for those who wish to consult the open-shelf collection. The exhibition rooms operate on standard museum hours, generally 10:00 to 17:00 with last entry at 16:30, and the facility is closed on Mondays (or the following weekday when Monday falls on a national holiday) and during the New Year period. Please confirm hours and admission fees on the official website before your visit, as they may be updated.

Surrounding Attractions

The Hōsa Bunko sits within an extraordinarily rich cultural cluster in the Higashi ward of Nagoya. The main entrance to the complex is through the Kuromon (Black Gate), a Meiji-era former gate of the Owari Tokugawa Ozone residence that is itself a Registered Tangible Cultural Property.

• Tokugawa-en — a stroll-style daimyo garden built on the former retirement villa grounds of Tokugawa Mitsutomo, the second lord of Owari, with seasonal blossoms, a central pond, and dramatic autumn maple displays
• Tokugawa Art Museum — directly connected to the library, holding the National Treasure "Genji Monogatari Emaki" picture scrolls and an extensive collection of daimyo arms, lacquerware, and tea ceremony objects
• Kenchū-ji Temple — the family temple of the Owari Tokugawa, founded in 1651 in memory of Yoshinao
• Nagoya Castle — the former seat of the Owari Tokugawa, a short ride away by bus or subway
• Cultural Path (Bunka-no-michi) — a heritage walking route featuring Meiji and Taisho-era residences in the same district