A warehouse founded on silk
Face the north exit of JR Maebashi Station and one of the buildings looking back at you is No. 1 of the Jomo Soko warehouses. The company behind them, Jomo Soko, was founded in December 1895 to store the raw silk and cocoons that made Maebashi rich. Gunma was silk country, and Maebashi one of its great markets; in Europe, good silk was simply called maebashi.
No. 1 building went up later, in 1949, and was repaired in 1990. It is a single-storey reinforced-concrete structure of 331 square metres with a gabled, pantiled roof, standing at the south-east of the yard.
Modern frame, older face
In August 2025 it was registered as a Tangible Cultural Property for the part it plays in the historic townscape near the station. The concrete frame is dressed to read as an older building: mortar walls carry a raised band course, and high windows are fitted with iron shutters.
The roof hides a timber king-post truss, a wooden frame within a modern shell. The overall look borrows from the dozo storehouse tradition, so that a postwar warehouse still keeps company with its brick elders next door.
Visiting
The warehouses are working buildings, not a museum. Jomo Soko still uses the yard for storage, now of newsprint and cardboard, and rents trunk rooms; film crews borrow the site for period scenes. You can take in the row of them from the public street by the station.
For the silk story behind them, the Maebashi Sericulture Memorial Hall and, further out, the Tomioka Silk Mill, a World Heritage site, open their doors in a way these private warehouses do not.
- 📍 Plan Your Visit to Gunma
- Find tours, activities & transport passes near Ebara Honke Jomo Warehouse Building 1
- [ Kusatsu Onsen & Tomioka Silk Mill Heritage Tours ]
Q&A
- What did these warehouses store?
- At first, raw silk and cocoons, the goods that drove Maebashi's economy. No. 1 building later held other freight, and the company now keeps paper and cardboard here.
- Can I go inside?
- No. The Jomo Soko warehouses are private, working buildings. Their exteriors can be seen from the street near JR Maebashi Station, but the interiors are not open.
- When was No. 1 building built?
- In 1949, with a repair in 1990. It is younger than the brick warehouses on the same site, which date to 1896.
- Why is a concrete warehouse a cultural property?
- It was registered for its contribution to the historic townscape. Its mortar walls, band course and storehouse-style form keep the older character of the district by the station.
Basic Information
| Name | Ehara Honke Jomo Soko No. 1 Building |
|---|---|
| Location | 25-2 Omotecho 2-chome, Maebashi, Gunma |
| Designation | Registered Tangible Cultural Property (Building), reg. no. 10-0363 |
| Registered | 6 August 2025 |
| Structure | Single-storey reinforced concrete, pantiled roof, 331 m² footprint |
| Period | Showa 24 (1949); repaired 1990 |
| Owner | Jomo Soko Co., Ltd. (private) |
| Access | Private working warehouse; exterior visible from public street, interior not open |
References
- 国指定文化財等データベース — 江原本家上毛倉庫一号棟
- https://kunishitei.bunka.go.jp/bsys/maindetails/101/00015401
- 群馬県 文化遺産課 — 群馬の文化財
- https://www.pref.gunma.jp/page/5190.html
- 前橋市 — 国指定文化財一覧
- https://www.city.maebashi.gunma.jp/soshiki/kyoiku/bunkazaihogo/gyomu/3/2/5104.html
Last verified: 2026.07.03