A pawn storehouse at the foot of Mt. Akagi
On the wooded southern slope of Mt. Akagi, a small white-plastered storehouse stands with its back to the north. This is the Ehara Honke Shichigura, once a shichigura, or pawn storehouse, in the Asahicho district of Maebashi. Built in the early Meiji period, sometime between 1868 and 1882, it was taken apart and moved to the Ehara family estate in 2001, then repaired again in 2024.
The building is compact, with a footprint of just 35 square metres, yet it rises two full storeys under a hipped, pantiled roof. Its walls carry two tiers of drip mouldings in white plaster, while the lower skirt is finished in black plaster, a practical way of shedding rain away from the base.
Why it was recognised
In March 2025 the storehouse joined Japan's Registered Tangible Cultural Properties, listed as a model of its building type. What earned that listing is the quiet precision of the work rather than any grand scale.
Step inside and the craftsmanship shows. The ground floor is fitted with a mid-height sill rail, and the roof is a doubled-beam wa-goya frame, its ridge carried on a row of short posts. Windows are few and small, a deliberate choice for a building meant to guard valuables. The thick plastered doors, built up in careful layers (kakko-nuri), close like the lid of a strongbox.
Visiting
The storehouse no longer holds pledged goods. It now works as a guest room of Seiho Sanso, a small cultural hotel on the Ehara estate, where the thick earthen walls that once shut out the world are used to hold sound instead. Guests watch films in a room built to keep noise in and weather out.
Reaching it means driving about 30 minutes up the Akagi road from central Maebashi, past a long nagaya-mon gate that marks the estate. The building sits within a broad garden that turns red and gold in autumn.
- 📍 Plan Your Visit to Gunma
- Find tours, activities & transport passes near Ebara Honke Pawnshop (formerly Asahimachi Pawnshop)
- [ Kusatsu Onsen & Tomioka Silk Mill Heritage Tours ]
Q&A
- What was a shichigura used for?
- It was a storehouse where a pawnbroker kept goods pledged against loans. Thick earthen walls protected those items from fire and theft, which is why so much care went into the doors and walls.
- Can I go inside?
- The storehouse is a guest room of the Seiho Sanso hotel on the Ehara estate, so the interior is open to overnight guests rather than casual callers. Booking is required and availability is limited.
- How old is the building?
- The timber and plaster date to the early Meiji period, roughly 1868 to 1882. It has been moved twice in its life and was repaired in 2024, so parts have been renewed while the original form was kept.
- Where did it originally stand?
- In the Asahicho district of central Maebashi, where it stood among buildings tied to a local soy-sauce brewing business before the move to Mt. Akagi.
Basic Information
| Name | Ehara Honke Shichigura (Former Asahicho Shichigura) |
|---|---|
| Location | Ryu-no-kuchi, Akagisan, Fujimi-machi, Maebashi, Gunma |
| Designation | Registered Tangible Cultural Property (Building), reg. no. 10-0355 |
| Registered | 13 March 2025 |
| Structure | Two-storey earthen-walled storehouse (dozo), pantiled roof, 35 m² footprint |
| Period | Early Meiji (1868-1882); relocated 2001, repaired 2024 |
| Owner | Ehara Honke (private) |
| Access | Guest room of Seiho Sanso hotel; interior open to guests by reservation |
References
- 国指定文化財等データベース — 江原本家質庫（旧朝日町質庫）
- https://kunishitei.bunka.go.jp/bsys/maindetails/101/00015281
- 群馬県 文化遺産課 — 群馬の文化財
- https://www.pref.gunma.jp/page/5190.html
- 赤城宿 清芳山荘 — 施設案内
- https://akagi-shuku.com/hotels/seiho-sanso/
Last verified: 2026.07.03