The Former Kosaka Mine Engineering Department Power Room
The Former Kosaka Mine Engineering Department Power Room (旧小坂鉱山工作課原動室) is a brick building on a timber frame, built in 1904 in Kosaka Town, Kazuno District, Akita Prefecture, and was registered as a Registered Tangible Cultural Property (structure) on October 27, 2017 (Agency for Cultural Affairs). It now houses a cafe, the Akarenga Club (Kosaka Town).
The Agency records a single-storey building of brick walls on a timber frame, with a copper roof and a building area of 95 square metres; registration number 05-0216. It was moved to its present site in 2014.
Power for the Mine's Workshops
According to the Agency, the Kosaka Mine power room supplied motive power to the forge and boiler shop where the mine made its machinery. The engineering department looked after the mine's plant, and the power room stood among its workshops.
Kosaka Town and Kosaka Machizukuri Co., which runs the cafe, describe it instead as a substation that sent out electricity. Either way, its job was to deliver power to the mine's works.
Why It Was Registered
The Former Kosaka Mine Engineering Department Power Room has brick walls set within a timber frame. A hipped roof sits on wooden trusses, and a raised Koshi-yane ventilator runs along the ridge (Agency for Cultural Affairs). Kosaka Town regards this timber-and-brick construction as typical of the Kosaka Mine.
The Agency registered it as a model of design and as a structure that records the history of Kosaka as a mining town.
What to Look For
Look first at the roof of the Kosaka Mine power room. The raised ventilator along the ridge was there to let heat and fumes escape, a clear sign that this was once a works building rather than a house.
Kosaka Town says most of the wall bricks were reused when the building was moved, so the exterior keeps its Meiji character. The town acquired it and rebuilt it on the international exchange plaza of Meiji Hyakunen-dori, midway between the Kōrakukan theatre and the Kosaka Mine Office (Kosaka Town; Kosaka Machizukuri Co.). On fine days there is seating on an outdoor deck.
Visiting the Former Kosaka Mine Engineering Department Power Room
The Former Kosaka Mine Engineering Department Power Room is open as a cafe, so you can see the interior by stopping in. The operator says the cafe opened in 2015 and serves light meals, drinks and local sweets. The town's guide, updated in March 2021, gives hours of 10:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m., closed on Thursdays and for part of the winter; the telephone number is 0186-25-8225.
It is worth checking opening days before you go. Directions to the town are on the Former Kosaka Mine page.
Q&A
- When was the Former Kosaka Mine Engineering Department Power Room built and registered?
- It was built in 1904 and registered on October 27, 2017 (Agency for Cultural Affairs).
- What was the Former Kosaka Mine Engineering Department Power Room used for?
- The Agency says it powered the forge and boiler shop where machinery was made; the town describes it as an electrical substation.
- Can I go inside the Former Kosaka Mine Engineering Department Power Room?
- Yes. It is now the Akarenga Club cafe; the town lists hours of 10:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m., closed Thursdays.
- What does timber-framed brick mean at the Former Kosaka Mine Engineering Department Power Room?
- The posts and frame are timber and the walls are brick, a method Kosaka Town regards as typical of the Kosaka Mine.
- Was the Former Kosaka Mine Engineering Department Power Room always on this site?
- No. It was moved from the mine's works to Meiji Hyakunen-dori in 2014 (Agency for Cultural Affairs).
Basic Information
| Name | Former Kosaka Mine Engineering Department Power Room (旧小坂鉱山工作課原動室) |
|---|---|
| Location | 34-5 Furudate, Kosaka Kozan, Kosaka Town, Kazuno District, Akita Prefecture |
| Designation | Registered Tangible Cultural Property (Structure) |
| Year Designated | Registered 2017/10/27 (Heisei 29) |
| Quantity | 1 building |
| Dimensions | Timber-framed brick, 1 storey, copper roof, building area 95 m² |
| Owner | Kosaka Town |
| Public Access | Open as a cafe |
References
- Former Kosaka Mine Engineering Department Power Room (Database of National Cultural Properties, Agency for Cultural Affairs)
- https://kunishitei.bunka.go.jp/bsys/maindetails/101/00011850
- Akarenga Club cafe (Kosaka Machizukuri Co., Japanese)
- https://kosaka-mco.com/pages/235/
- Meiji Hyakunen-dori, the mining town streetscape (Kosaka Town, Japanese)
- https://www.town.kosaka.akita.jp/machinososhiki/kankosangyoka/kankoshokohan/3/kosakakankouspot/1661.html
Last verified: 2026.11.08
