What Is the Suzuzen Nakazashiki?
The Suzuzen Nakazashiki (鈴善中座敷, middle parlor) is a single-story timber parlor wing built in 1929 around a courtyard, adjoining the shop and the storehouse parlor on the premises of the Suzuzen lacquerware wholesaler in Chuo 1-chome, Aizuwakamatsu City, Fukushima Prefecture, and it was registered as a Registered Tangible Cultural Property in 2021.
The Suzuzen Nakazashiki joins two tatami rooms (Zashiki), one of 8 mats and one of 10, with a corridor, so that the rooms enclose a small courtyard. Its roof is a simple double-pitched form called ryosage-zukuri, covered in Sangawara-buki pantiles, and the building area is 116 square meters. Of the seven registered Suzuzen buildings, it is the one that links the shop to the storehouses.
A Courtyard Framed by a Corridor
The rooms follow the south wall of the shop and the east wall of the Kurazashiki, and the corridor between them closes the square. The space left inside is the courtyard. The photograph the Agency for Cultural Affairs publishes for the Suzuzen Nakazashiki was taken from that courtyard, looking back toward the entrance.
Slipping a low parlor wing between shop and storehouse and wrapping it around a garden brought light and air into the back of a town lot that the street never sees, and gave the rooms something to look at on a tight urban site.
An Irimoya Porch and the Stair to the Shop
At the north end of the east side, the Suzuzen Nakazashiki has an entrance porch under a hip-and-gable (Irimoya-zukuri) roof. It is the only part of the wing with that roof form, and it marks the way in.
The entrance area also holds the stair up to the second floor of the Suzuzen Store, where the reception rooms are. Guests shown upstairs most likely came in through this porch and climbed from here. The Nakazashiki was a parlor in its own right, but it also handled the movement of visitors through the house.
Sukiya Touches in the Parlors
The alcoves and other fittings draw on the relaxed Sukiya-zukuri style. The Agency for Cultural Affairs describes the Suzuzen Nakazashiki as part of the principal buildings of one of the city's leading merchant houses.
The year 1929 also saw the Kurazashiki go up next door. A parlor inside a heavy storehouse and a lighter sukiya-style parlor facing a garden were completed back to back in the same year.
Visiting the Suzuzen Nakazashiki
The Suzuzen Nakazashiki sits behind the shop and the Kurazashiki and cannot be seen from the street. The premises are open as the Aizu-nuri Densho-kan Suzuzen, and the website says corridors link the former living quarters with the storehouses so visitors can move between them.
The website lists its spaces by function, though, and does not say whether the rooms or courtyard of the Suzuzen Nakazashiki are part of the visit (checked October 2026). Opening times and directions are on the Suzuzen page.
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Q&A
- When was the Suzuzen Nakazashiki built?
- It was built in 1929 and registered as a Registered Tangible Cultural Property in 2021.
- What kind of building is the Suzuzen Nakazashiki?
- A single-story timber parlor wing with an 8-mat and a 10-mat tatami room joined by a corridor around a courtyard, under a pantiled double-pitched roof.
- What is special about the entrance of the Suzuzen Nakazashiki?
- A hip-and-gable roofed porch at the north end of the east side, which also houses the stair up to the second floor of the Suzuzen Store.
- What style are the rooms of the Suzuzen Nakazashiki?
- The alcoves and fittings use sukiya-style detailing. The Agency for Cultural Affairs counts the wing among the principal buildings of a leading merchant house.
- Can visitors see the Suzuzen Nakazashiki?
- It is not visible from the street. The premises are open as a museum, but the official website does not say whether these rooms or the courtyard can be viewed.
Basic Information
| Name | Suzuzen Nakazashiki (Middle Parlor) (鈴善中座敷) |
|---|---|
| Location | 138 Chuo 1-chome and other lots, Aizuwakamatsu City, Fukushima Prefecture |
| Designation | Registered Tangible Cultural Property (Building) |
| Year Designated | Registered 2021 |
| Quantity | 1 building |
| Dimensions | Building area 116 m² |
| Owner | Not listed (the owner field in the Agency for Cultural Affairs database is blank) |
| Public Access | Not visible from the street; the premises are open as the Aizu-nuri Densho-kan Suzuzen (access to this building unconfirmed) |
References
- Database of National Cultural Properties (Agency for Cultural Affairs): Suzuzen Nakazashiki
- https://kunishitei.bunka.go.jp/bsys/maindetails/101/00013925
- Cultural Heritage Online: Suzuzen Nakazashiki
- https://online.bunka.go.jp/heritages/detail/553805
- Aizu-nuri Densho-kan Suzuzen: Facilities
- https://suzuzen.com/facility/
Last verified: 2026.10.02
