A shop storehouse of about 1928, facing the street
The Matsumotoya Shop Storehouse (松本屋店舗蔵, Matsumoto-ya Tenpogura) is a shop storehouse of about 1928 on the Matsumotoya plot in Sanchome, Kitakata City, Fukushima Prefecture, listed as a Registered Tangible Cultural Property on 1 August 2016. It is a two-storey Dozo-zukuri building with a tiled roof and a building area of 49 square metres.
It stands at the street end of the long, narrow plot, facing west. It is a Misegura, a fireproof shop building, with the shop on the ground floor and two eight-Tatami rooms above. Its registration number is 07-0162. The document and household storehouses behind it are late Taisho buildings, which makes this the youngest of the three.
Three windows and a winged canopy
The upper floor is what catches the eye on the Matsumotoya Shop Storehouse. Three windows with double-leaf Tsuchido earthen doors sit in a row, sheltered by a small canopy with short side walls. Earthen doors are thick plastered shutters closed against an approaching fire, and setting three of them in a row is what gives the facade its order.
At ground level a Geya lean-to roof projects about 90 centimetres across the front. The lower wall is finished in sprayed artificial stone and the rest in Shikkui plaster.
A hard base, plastered walls and heavy shuttered windows: layered together, they make the imposing front the Agency for Cultural Affairs describes.
Why it was registered
The shop storehouse was registered for contributing to the historic landscape of the country. The Agency singles out its heavy facade, with the triple earthen-door windows and the canopy with side walls.
The two storehouses at the back went up in the late Taisho era; this is the public face of the business, added toward the street in the early Showa years.
Visiting
The front of the Matsumotoya Shop Storehouse faces the street, and its upper windows and canopy can be seen from the road. The pattern of shadow under the canopy reads best from a few steps back.
There is no opening of the interior as a cultural property (as of October 2026). The owner, Matsumotoya Ltd., is listed in map directories as a seller of books and stationery, but its opening days and hours could not be confirmed from official sources. If you go into the shop, do so as a customer, and ask the staff before taking any photographs inside.
Q&A
- Can I visit the Matsumotoya Shop Storehouse?
- The front can be seen from the street. There is no opening of the interior as a cultural property, as of October 2026.
- When was the Matsumotoya Shop Storehouse built and registered?
- It was built in about 1928 and registered on 1 August 2016, under number 07-0162.
- What is special about the front of the Matsumotoya Shop Storehouse?
- Three upper windows with double-leaf earthen doors sit in a row under a small canopy with side walls, and a lean-to roof about 90 centimetres deep runs across the ground floor.
- What is inside the Matsumotoya Shop Storehouse?
- The ground floor is the shop, and the upper floor has two eight-mat rooms.
- How are the walls of the Matsumotoya Shop Storehouse finished?
- The lower wall is sprayed artificial stone and the rest is shikkui lime plaster.
Basic Information
| Name | Matsumotoya Shop Storehouse |
|---|---|
| Location | 4791 Sanchome, Kitakata City, Fukushima Prefecture |
| Designation | Registered Tangible Cultural Property (Building) |
| Year Designated | Registered 2016/8/1 (Heisei 28) |
| Quantity | 1 building |
| Dimensions | 2-storey dozo-zukuri storehouse, tiled roof, building area 49 square metres |
| Owner | Matsumotoya Ltd. |
| Public Access | Front visible from the street. No interior opening as a cultural property |
References
- National Cultural Properties Database (Agency for Cultural Affairs): Matsumotoya Shop Storehouse
- https://kunishitei.bunka.go.jp/bsys/maindetails/101/00011043
- Cultural Heritage Online: Matsumotoya Shop Storehouse
- https://bunka.nii.ac.jp/heritages/detail/288890
- NAVITIME: Matsumotoya Ltd.
- https://www.navitime.co.jp/poi?spot=00004-07120700020
Last verified: 2026.10.07
