A Merchant's Storehouse of 1886 in Masuda
The Yamanaka Kichisuke Shoten Zashikigura (山中吉助商店座敷蔵) is a two-storey earthen storehouse with formal rooms, built in 1886 in Nakamachi, Masuda, Masuda-machi, Yokote City, Akita Prefecture, and was registered as a Registered Tangible Cultural Property (structure) on September 10, 2010 (Agency for Cultural Affairs).
The Agency for Cultural Affairs records a two-storey earthen-walled (dozo-zukuri) building with a sheet-iron roof and a building area of 131 square metres; registration number 05-0177.
Masuda's Hidden Storehouses
According to the multilingual commentary database of the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism, the long, narrow merchant houses of Masuda's preservation district for traditional buildings hide uchigura, interior storehouses joined to the main house by a covering roof called a saya and used as living space as well as for storage.
The Masuda Town Tourism Association says that the main house of the Yamanaka Kichisuke Shoten dates from the mid-Meiji period and its zashikigura storehouse from 1886, while the shop front was remodelled in 1954. The Yamanaka Kichisuke Shoten Zashikigura is one of these storehouses at the back of a Masuda merchant house.
Why It Was Registered
The Yamanaka Kichisuke Shoten Zashikigura was registered as a structure that has become a model of design. The Agency for Cultural Affairs calls it a zashikigura showing the typical design of the area.
What to Look For
It is a two-storey storehouse in the middle of a long, narrow plot, entered from the gable end (tsumairi); the west gable and the openings are finished in black plaster and the rest in white (Agency for Cultural Affairs).
The ground floor was originally divided into front and back rooms, and the back room has a batten ceiling with lacquered battens. On the ground floor, chestnut and cedar posts alternate closely, one every 1.5 shaku (about 45 centimetres) (Agency for Cultural Affairs).
Visiting
The Yamanaka Kichisuke Shoten Zashikigura stands at the back of a merchant house, and no official information on public opening has been found. For visits to Masuda's storehouses, enquire with the Masuda Town Tourism Association (0182-45-5541).
The address is 104 Nakamachi, Masuda, Masuda-machi, Yokote City (Agency for Cultural Affairs).
Q&A
- When was the Yamanaka Kichisuke Shoten Zashikigura built?
- In 1886 (Agency for Cultural Affairs).
- How is 山中吉助 read?
- Yamanaka Kichisuke (Agency for Cultural Affairs).
- What is a zashikigura?
- In Masuda, storehouses at the back of merchant houses were joined to the house by a covering roof and used as living space as well as for storage (MLIT).
- What are its features?
- A gable-entry two-storey storehouse with black plaster on the west gable and openings, and closely set chestnut and cedar posts (Agency for Cultural Affairs).
- When was it registered?
- On September 10, 2010.
Basic Information
| Name | Yamanaka Kichisuke Shoten Zashikigura (山中吉助商店座敷蔵) |
|---|---|
| Location | 104 Nakamachi, Masuda, Masuda-machi, Yokote City, Akita Prefecture |
| Designation | Registered Tangible Cultural Property (Structure) |
| Year Designated | Registered 2010/09/10 (Heisei 22) |
| Quantity | 1 building |
| Dimensions | Earthen-walled storehouse, two storeys, sheet-iron roof, building area 131 square metres |
| Owner | Not recorded |
| Public Access | No public opening announced (enquire with the tourism association) |
References
- Yamanaka Kichisuke Shoten Zashikigura (Database of National Cultural Properties, Agency for Cultural Affairs)
- https://kunishitei.bunka.go.jp/heritage/detail/101/00008241
- List of traditional buildings (Masuda Town Tourism Association, Japanese)
- https://masuda-matta.com/facility/
- Uchigura: Masuda's Hidden Storehouses (MLIT multilingual commentary database)
- https://www.mlit.go.jp/tagengo-db/R3-00441.html
Last verified: 2026.10.14