The Strongroom of a Shipping House
The Former Yagi Shoten Main Store Inner Storehouse (旧八木商店本店内蔵) is a plastered storehouse of 1918 in Hashihama, Imabari City, Ehime Prefecture, entered on the national register as a Registered Tangible Cultural Property (Structure) on October 14, 2021. Wooden, of 2 stories under a tiled roof, it covers 36 square meters, the smallest of the six registered structures on the property, and adjoins the residence wing on its south side.
It is built in Dozo-zukuri, the thick clay-walled technique, under a Kirizuma-zukuri gable roof laid with Hongawarabuki tiles. The building rises on a plinth of cut stone. Its walls are rendered in Shikkui plaster up to the band beneath the eaves, with vertical boarding below, and the Tsuchido clay-clad door on the east face is framed by granite worked to a close fit.
Inside there is a single room on each floor. The Former Yagi Shoten Main Store Inner Storehouse held the papers and valuables of the business and is understood to have worked as its safe. Above those rooms runs a king post truss, a Western frame concealed within an entirely traditional shell.
Why a Storehouse Was Registered
Registration came under the criterion for structures contributing to the historic character of the national landscape, as register number 38-0159, in the hundredth round on October 14, 2021, alongside the shop, reception room, residence wing, detached wing and front wall. The Agency for Cultural Affairs also notes the part this storehouse plays in the composition of the garden.
For a utility building the finish is exacting. Framing a clay door in granite is not simply a way of making the opening durable; together with the cut stone plinth it treats the storehouse as something to be looked at from the garden.
The roof frame matters too. The museum explains that the residence wing and this storehouse, both at the rear of the property, carry Western trusses. Everything visible from the street stays Japanese in idiom, and the new engineering goes where visitors were unlikely to look. That division runs through the whole compound.
What to Look For
Check the height of the plinth first. Every course of cut stone lifts the floor further from damp and standing water. Hashihama sits low beside its harbour, and defences against water turn up all over this property; the base of this building is the plainest of them.
Come close to the granite frame on the east side. The joints have almost no gap. The stone was cut so that a heavy door would seat exactly where it had to seat, because a storehouse whose door does not close is no longer a storehouse.
Upstairs, the king post truss crosses overhead: a central post dropping from the ridge, diagonal members taking the load. It looks nothing like the stacked beams of a Japanese roof. Two building traditions sit one above the other on a floor of only 36 square meters.
The papers this building sheltered lead straight to the present day. In 2017 more than 1,900 documents relating to the Yagi family surfaced in a Tokyo antiquarian bookshop, and their return prompted the opening of the house to the public in April 2018. Container and contents came back to the same plot of ground after some eighty years apart.
Visiting
Getting inside the Former Yagi Shoten Main Store Inner Storehouse means booking with the Yagi Shoten Honten Museum. Reservations are the rule and callers who turn up without one may be refused. The charge is 1,000 yen a head. The museum shuts on Sundays, Mondays and public holidays, and its telephone (0898-41-5101) is answered between 10 a.m. and 4 p.m. on the days it opens. Parties above 10 need to discuss the visit first.
Eating, drinking and smoking are ruled out anywhere on the property, garden included. Photography under a room hire agreement is settled individually, so raise the question at the booking stage. The stair inside this building is narrow; take it slowly.
By rail, come to Hashihama on the JR Yosan Line and walk about 15 minutes north. Buses for Hashihama also leave from in front of Imabari Station. Drivers should use the car park north of the museum entrance. Built against the south side of the residence wing and turned toward the garden, this storehouse is invisible from the road.
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Q&A
- What was kept in the Former Yagi Shoten Main Store Inner Storehouse?
- Business papers and valuables. It is understood to have worked as the safe of the firm, with a single room on each of its two floors.
- Can visitors enter the Former Yagi Shoten Main Store Inner Storehouse?
- Yes. The interior is shown on a museum visit, booked in advance on 0898-41-5101. The charge is 1,000 yen a head.
- When was the Former Yagi Shoten Main Store Inner Storehouse built and registered?
- It was built in 1918 and registered as a Registered Tangible Cultural Property (Structure) on October 14, 2021, under register number 38-0159.
- What kind of roof frame does the Former Yagi Shoten Main Store Inner Storehouse have?
- A king post truss. The shell follows traditional clay-walled storehouse construction while the roof structure is Western.
- What are the closing days for the Former Yagi Shoten Main Store Inner Storehouse?
- The museum closes on Sundays, Mondays and public holidays. On open days the telephone line is answered from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m.
Basic Information
| Name | Former Yagi Shoten Main Store Inner Storehouse |
|---|---|
| Location | 406-1 Hashihama Ni-chome, Imabari City, Ehime Prefecture, and other lots |
| Designation | Registered Tangible Cultural Property (Structure) |
| Year Designated | Registered on October 14, 2021 (Reiwa 3) |
| Quantity | 1 building |
| Dimensions | Wooden, 2 stories, tiled roof, floor area 36 square meters |
| Owner | Fujitaka Kosan Co., Ltd. |
| Public Access | Open as the Yagi Shoten Honten Museum by advance reservation; admission 1,000 yen |
References
- Database of National Cultural Properties, Former Yagi Shoten Main Store Inner Storehouse (Agency for Cultural Affairs)
- https://kunishitei.bunka.go.jp/bsys/maindetails/101/00014110
- Former Yagi Shoten Main Store Garden Registered as a National Registered Monument, Place of Scenic Beauty (Imabari City, Division of Cultural Promotion)
- https://www.city.imabari.ehime.jp/bunka/info/017/
Last verified: 2026.09.04