A 1926 Picture House in Old Uchiko
Asahikan (旭館) is a former cinema built in 1926 in Uchiko, Uchiko Town, Kita District, Ehime Prefecture, and was registered as a Registered Tangible Cultural Property (structure) on December 24, 2013. Built as a katsudo shashin-kan, a moving-picture house, it stands a short way down a lane from the Yokaichi-Gokoku historic streetscape. It is owned by Moribun Jozo, a long-established Uchiko brewery.
The Agency for Cultural Affairs records Asahikan as a single-storey wooden building with a partial second floor, a tiled roof, a building area of 273 square metres and a rooftop tower. It dates from 1926 and was altered in the mid-Showa period (1946 to 1965). Its registration number is 38-0109.
Why It Was Registered
Asahikan was registered as a building that contributes to the historic landscape of the country. The Agency for Cultural Affairs describes it as a former cinema with a gabled roof of pantiles that conveys the bustle of the early Showa years.
The west front is the showpiece. Its centre projects slightly, and the top edge, gently curved, steps down in three stages, trimmed with mouldings and dentils. A veranda sits above the central entrance, and a hexagonal drum tower crowns the roof (Agency for Cultural Affairs). A tiled wooden hall with a Western-style front and a drum tower on top is a fine record of how country towns built for entertainment.
Inside, the stage is at the front end, aisles run down both sides, and a second-floor balcony rises toward the back (Agency for Cultural Affairs). The balcony looking down on the stage makes plain that this was built as a hall for paying audiences.
What to Look For
Start in the lane and look up at the west front: the three-stepped outline, the mouldings and dentils beneath it and the veranda over the door all read as one composition. Step back a little to see the hexagonal drum tower riding on the gabled tile roof.
According to Ehime's official tourism site, Iyokan-net (2025), Asahikan stopped operating as a cinema in 1965 and later served as a furniture showroom and storehouse. In 2013 it hosted its first screening in about half a century, and since 2024 local residents have led efforts to use and preserve the building. 2026 marks 100 years since it was built.
Visiting Asahikan
Asahikan is not open every day. Iyokan-net reports that besides screenings and other events, including the Asahikan Ennichi fair held every year at the end of August, the building opens for guided visits and general viewing; dates are announced on Asahikan's official Instagram account (@asahikan_uchiko). To see the interior, plan your visit around one of those days.
The exterior can be seen from the lane. The address is 2307 Uchiko and adjoining lots (Agency for Cultural Affairs), in the same old quarter as the Uchiza theatre and the Yokaichi-Gokoku streetscape. Check at each event whether photography is allowed.
Q&A
- When was Asahikan built?
- In 1926, with alterations in the mid-Showa period (1946 to 1965).
- When was Asahikan registered as a cultural property?
- It became a Registered Tangible Cultural Property on December 24, 2013.
- What does Asahikan look like?
- A gabled, tile-roofed former cinema whose west front steps down in three stages with mouldings and dentils, with a veranda over the entrance and a hexagonal drum tower on top.
- Can you go inside Asahikan?
- Only on event and open days; dates are posted on Asahikan's official Instagram (@asahikan_uchiko).
- When did Asahikan close as a cinema?
- In 1965. A screening in 2013 brought films back for the first time in about half a century.
Basic Information
| Name | Asahikan (旭館) |
|---|---|
| Location | 2307 Uchiko and adjoining lots, Uchiko Town, Kita District, Ehime Prefecture |
| Designation | Registered Tangible Cultural Property (Structure) |
| Year Designated | Registered 2013/12/24 (Heisei 25) |
| Quantity | 1 building |
| Dimensions | Wooden, single storey with partial second floor, tiled roof, building area 273 square metres, with rooftop tower |
| Owner | Moribun Jozo Co., Ltd. |
| Public Access | Exterior viewable; interior on event and open days only |
References
- Asahikan (Database of National Cultural Properties, Agency for Cultural Affairs)
- https://kunishitei.bunka.go.jp/heritage/detail/101/00009846
- Asahikan, a Taisho-era cinema in Uchiko (Iyokan-net, Ehime Prefecture official tourism site)
- https://www.iyokannet.jp/blog/164
Last verified: 2026.10.05