What the Wakaki Shoten Store is
The Wakaki Shoten Store (若喜商店店舗, Wakaki Shōten Tenpo) is the 2-story wooden, Western-style shop of a miso and soy sauce maker in Aza Sanchome, Kitakata City, Fukushima Prefecture, built in 1931 and listed as a Registered Tangible Cultural Property in 2001.
It covers 98 square meters. The Agency for Cultural Affairs credits the design to Honma Kahei, a native of Kitakata. The roof is a concrete slab laid flat, a Flat roof with no visible pitch, and the walls are clad in tile. In a town where most shops were plastered storehouses under heavy tile roofs, this one looked different from the day it opened.
Wakaki Shoten says Honma later became president of the construction firm Taisei, and that the seventh head of the family, who carried the hereditary name Kiichirō, entrusted him with the job. When it opened, the company adds, the Wakaki Shoten Store sold butter and cheese and ground coffee to order. It is still the company's sales floor, stocked with miso, soy sauce and local sake, and it is also the way in to the brick storehouses behind.
Why the Wakaki Shoten Store was registered
It was registered as a building that "contributes to the historic landscape of the country." The Agency for Cultural Affairs describes a modernist design built on the flat roof and tiled walls, enlivened by small octagonal windows and bay windows, and notes that it stands on a corner and stands out sharply from the street around it.
The contribution here is contrast, not harmony. On streets lined with white and black storehouses, a provincial merchant in the early Showa years chose the newest architecture he could find, and that choice has become part of how Kitakata reads today.
The Wakaki Shoten Store was registered on October 12, 2001, as number 07-0058, on the same day as the brick and zashiki storehouses behind it.
What to look for at the Wakaki Shoten Store
Start from the opposite corner of the crossing. With almost no eaves and no roof slope in view, the box-like outline makes a 2-story building look tall. Small octagonal windows and a projecting bay break up the flat walls.
The company says the facing is the same Scratch tile used at the Imperial Hotel in Tokyo, a fired tile scored with fine grooves that catch raking light and give the wall a rough grain. The base, it says, is marble brought from Italy.
Inside, look up. The interior of the Wakaki Shoten Store is plastered right up to the ceiling, and the room is bright and open with few posts. The company is proud of how the space carries sound.
Visiting the Wakaki Shoten Store
Anyone can walk in during business hours, which the company gives as about 9:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m., and there is no charge. The back of the shop leads straight into the display room on the ground floor of the brick storehouse, where you look through glass into the persimmon-wood room of the zashiki storehouse.
The exterior can be seen freely from the street. Because the Wakaki Shoten Store sits on a corner, 2 faces are visible at once, and the bay windows and tile texture read best in low afternoon light. The company gives no photography policy for the interior, so ask at the counter first.
- 📍 Plan Your Visit to Fukushima
- Find tours, activities & transport passes near Wakaki Shoten Store
- [ Aizu-Wakamatsu Castle & Ouchi-juku Village Tours ]
Q&A
- When was the Wakaki Shoten Store built and who designed it?
- It was built in 1931. The Agency for Cultural Affairs credits the design to Honma Kahei, a native of Kitakata, whom Wakaki Shoten describes as a later president of Taisei.
- Can I go inside the Wakaki Shoten Store?
- Yes. It is a working shop, open from about 9:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m., and entry is free.
- Why is the Wakaki Shoten Store a Registered Tangible Cultural Property?
- Its modernist design, with a flat concrete roof and tiled walls, stands out among Kitakata's storehouses and was judged to contribute to the historic landscape. It was registered in 2001.
- What kind of tile covers the Wakaki Shoten Store?
- Wakaki Shoten says it is scratch tile of the same kind used at the Imperial Hotel in Tokyo. The Agency for Cultural Affairs simply says the walls are tiled.
- Can I see the brick storehouses from the Wakaki Shoten Store?
- Yes. The back of the shop opens into the ground-floor display room of the brick storehouse, where the persimmon-wood room of the zashiki storehouse can be seen through glass, from about 9:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m.
Basic Information
| Name | Wakaki Shoten Store |
|---|---|
| Location | 4786 Aza Sanchome, Kitakata City, Fukushima Prefecture |
| Designation | Registered Tangible Cultural Property (Building) |
| Year Designated | Registered 2001 (Heisei 13) |
| Quantity | 1 building |
| Dimensions | Wooden, 2 stories, building area 98 m² |
| Owner | Not listed in the Agency for Cultural Affairs database (business operated by Wakaki Shoten Co., Ltd.) |
| Public Access | Shop open during business hours (about 9:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m., free) |
References
- Wakaki Shoten Store (Agency for Cultural Affairs, Database of National Cultural Properties)
- https://kunishitei.bunka.go.jp/bsys/maindetails/101/00002353
- Wakaki Shoten Store (Cultural Heritage Online, Japanese)
- https://online.bunka.go.jp/heritages/detail/182263
- Shop (Wakaki Shoten, Japanese)
- https://www.wakaki-kura.jp/tenpo/
- Company Profile (Wakaki Shoten, Japanese)
- https://www.wakaki-kura.jp/company/
Last verified: 2026.10.04
