A Taishō-Era Reception Wing of Fine Timber
The Miya Soy Sauce Store Detached Wing (宮醤油店離れ, Miya Shōyu-ten Hanare) is a single-storey reception wing built in 1925 at a soy sauce brewery in Sanuki, Futtsu City, Chiba Prefecture, and registered as a Registered Tangible Cultural Property in 2007.
It stands southwest of the Main House under a hipped pantile roof, with a building area of 61 square metres. Inside, a 10-mat reception room with a Tokonoma alcove and a built-in writing desk (Tsukeshoin) sits north-south with a 6-mat room. Verandas wrap the east and south sides, and a courtyard garden lies to the east. It is the newest of the nine registered buildings.
Why It Was Registered
The Miya Soy Sauce Store Detached Wing was registered on 31 July 2007 as number 12-0080, and its criterion stands apart. The other eight buildings were all registered for their contribution to the historic landscape; this one was registered because it would not be easy to reproduce. What earned it a place was the quality of its interior craftsmanship rather than its role in the streetscape.
The Agency for Cultural Affairs notes high ceilings in both rooms and prized timbers such as shihō-masa, posts with straight grain running down all four faces, which only a large log can yield in small numbers, and tamamoku, wood with a swirling figure. It praises the transom panels (Ranma) and the joinery around the alcove as excellent and finely detailed.
What to Look For
Most of the registered Miya buildings exist to make, sell or store soy sauce. The Miya Soy Sauce Store Detached Wing does not. It is a room for receiving guests, and it shows how much care a prosperous brewing family put into its domestic spaces in the closing years of the Taishō era.
The verandas along the east and south sides are designed around a view of the courtyard, and the high ceilings give the paired rooms an airy feel that a single-storey building rarely has.
Visiting
The Miya Soy Sauce Store Detached Wing is private: it belongs to the family's living quarters and is not open to the public, inside or out. When visiting the shop, please keep clear of the residential part of the property. The Agency's database entry is the best way to learn more about its features.
Q&A
- Can you visit the Miya Soy Sauce Store Detached Wing?
- No. The Miya Soy Sauce Store Detached Wing is part of the family's private living quarters and is not open to the public.
- When was the Miya Soy Sauce Store Detached Wing built?
- In 1925, making it the newest of the nine registered Miya buildings.
- Why was the Miya Soy Sauce Store Detached Wing registered?
- For the excellent, finely detailed carpentry of its reception rooms, built with prized timbers. It is the only one of the nine registered on the ground that it would not be easy to reproduce.
- What kind of cultural property is the Miya Soy Sauce Store Detached Wing?
- It is a Registered Tangible Cultural Property (building), registered on 31 July 2007 as number 12-0080.
- Where on the property is the Miya Soy Sauce Store Detached Wing?
- Southwest of the Main House, with a courtyard garden on its east side.
Basic Information
| Name | Miya Soy Sauce Store Detached Wing (宮醤油店離れ) |
|---|---|
| Location | 247 Nishimasaishi, Sanuki, Futtsu City, Chiba Prefecture |
| Designation | Registered Tangible Cultural Property (Building) |
| Year Designated | Registered 2007/7/31 (Heisei 19) |
| Quantity | 1 building |
| Dimensions | Building area 61 square metres |
| Owner | Private |
| Public Access | Not open to the public (private residence) |
References
- Agency for Cultural Affairs, Database of National Cultural Properties: Miya Shōyu-ten Hanare
- https://kunishitei.bunka.go.jp/bsys/maindetails/101/00006517
- Chiba Prefectural Board of Education: Miya Shōyu-ten Tenpo and Other Buildings
- https://www.pref.chiba.lg.jp/kyouiku/bunkazai/bunkazai/q111-074.html
Last verified: 2026.09.26
