A storehouse built for ledgers
Matsumotoya Document Storehouse stands on a merchant plot in Sanchome, Kitakata City, Fukushima Prefecture, built in the late Taisho years between 1919 and 1926 and listed as a Registered Tangible Cultural Property on 1 August 2016. It is a two-storey Dozo-zukuri building with a tiled roof covering 38 square metres.
It stands towards the east of the southern side of the plot, gabled in Kirizuma-zukuri with Sangawara-buki tiles and entered on the gable end, with an anteroom on the west front. It is the smallest of the three buildings here.
A document storehouse held papers and ledgers. For a merchant the accounts were the property itself, and worth protecting from fire. Its registration number is 07-0163.
Why it was listed
Matsumotoya Document Storehouse was listed for contributing to the historic landscape, the same criterion as the shop and household storehouses, all three entered together.
No single elevation here is remarkable on its own. What was recognised is that the whole run from street to back of plot survives, and this building occupies the middle of it.
Storehouses in Kitakata vary with their use. A document storehouse is smaller than a rice or goods store, and the walls read as thicker for it. The figure of 38 square metres is itself a statement of purpose.
The anteroom, and the doors upstairs
The distinguishing feature is the anteroom across the west front. Setting a second small space before the storehouse door keeps outside air and damp from entering whenever it is opened, which is what a building full of paper needs.
Both floors are boarded, with cupboards worked into the corners. Boards rather than an earth floor keep damp from rising. The household storehouse on the same plot has a concrete floor below, so what was kept inside decided what was underfoot.
The lower wall is mortar-rendered and the rest is Shikkui plaster. The windows carry single-leaf iron shutters, except the upper front window, which has double earthen doors. Changing the fittings only on the face that shows is the same reasoning as the front of the shop storehouse.
Visiting
Matsumotoya Document Storehouse is privately owned and still in use. It is not a museum, and the interior cannot be visited.
Standing on the southern side of the plot, it shows little more than part of its roof from the street, though the gabled form can be made out from below. Do not enter the plot.
Directions and the wider setting are set out on the page for Matsumotoya.
- 📍 Plan Your Visit to Fukushima
- Find tours, activities & transport passes near Matsumotoya Document Storehouse
- [ Aizu-Wakamatsu Castle & Ouchi-juku Village Tours ]
Q&A
- What was Matsumotoya Document Storehouse for?
- Papers and ledgers. For a merchant the accounts were the property itself, and worth protecting from fire.
- Why does Matsumotoya Document Storehouse have an anteroom?
- A second small space before the door keeps outside air and damp from entering whenever the storehouse is opened, which suits a building full of paper.
- What are the floors like?
- Boarded on both storeys, with cupboards in the corners, unlike the household storehouse on the same plot, which has a concrete floor below.
- Can Matsumotoya Document Storehouse be visited?
- No. It is privately owned and in use, and little more than part of its roof shows from the street.
- What is the registration number of Matsumotoya Document Storehouse?
- 07-0163. All three buildings on the plot were listed together on 1 August 2016.
Basic Information
| Name | Matsumotoya Document Storehouse |
|---|---|
| Location | 4791 Sanchome, Kitakata City, Fukushima Prefecture |
| Designation | Registered Tangible Cultural Property (Structure) |
| Year Designated | Registered 2016 (Heisei 28) |
| Quantity | 1 building |
| Dimensions | Dozo-zukuri, 2 storeys, tiled roof, building area 38 square metres |
| Owner | Matsumotoya Limited Company |
| Public Access | Only part of the roof shows from the street; interior not open |
References
- National Cultural Properties Database: Matsumotoya Document Storehouse (Agency for Cultural Affairs)
- https://kunishitei.bunka.go.jp/heritage/detail/101/00011044
Last verified: 2026.09.17
