Where Buyers Were Received
The Goto Textile Inner Room (後藤織物奥座敷, Gotō Orimono Okuzashiki) is a single-storey timber reception wing built around 1925 in Higashi 1-chome, Kiryu City, Gunma Prefecture, and listed as a Registered Tangible Cultural Property on March 27, 2006. It adjoins the west side of the Main House, with a building area of 97 square metres under a hipped roof of pantiles.
The wing measures 6 and a half by 4 Ken and holds two rooms in a row from east to west: one of 10 Tatami mats, and one of 12 and a half mats fitted with a Tokonoma, display shelves and a built-in writing alcove (Tsukeshoin). Corridors run along both the south and north sides. Near the Main House, a separate entrance porch projects from the south face under its own hip-and-gable roof.
When the Agency for Cultural Affairs recorded the Goto Textile Inner Room, it was being used as a showroom for obi fabric. Kiryu City's survey likewise describes it as the room where Goto products and papers were laid out and guests were entertained.
Why It Was Registered
The Inner Room was listed for its contribution to the historic landscape of the nation. For a weaving house, the reception room was where buyers were shown bolts of obi cloth and deals were closed. A house and a factory alone do not make a hataya; with this wing, the business of selling what was woven also has its place on the site.
Its origins can be traced in the geomantic house plans kept in the Main House. The 1900 plan carries a paste-on overlay showing an extension exactly where the Goto Textile Inner Room now stands. The idea was there in late Meiji; the building followed around 1925, the same time the Main House workrooms were enlarged. Production and hospitality were upgraded together.
The separate entrance matters too. Guests could step straight up into the reception rooms through the hip-and-gable porch without crossing the Main House doma. Staff and visitors came and went by different doors, which says a good deal about how a Kiryu weaving house treated its customers.
What to Look For
From the south, the small hip-and-gable porch juts out in front of the broad hipped roof. Giving the entrance a roof of its own is a way of announcing, from outside, that this is the building where guests are received.
The 12 and a half mat room has the full set of formal fittings: tokonoma, shelves and writing alcove, following the conventions of Shoin-zukuri reception rooms. It is a room made for spreading out a length of obi fabric, or for seating an important client with his back to the alcove. It opens into the neighbouring 10-mat room, so with the sliding doors removed the two become one space.
Notice the corridors on both long sides. The south corridor is the bright side facing the garden; the north corridor looks onto the back of the house. Kiryu City places the Well House just north of the 10-mat room, so the water source for the dye works lay directly behind the room where guests were entertained.
Visiting
The Goto Textile Inner Room is seen as part of a reserved tour of the mill; the exterior is easiest to take in from the west side of the Main House. Whether you can step inside, or see any fabric and records on display, is worth asking when you book, along with photography.
Directions, booking and opening details for the whole mill are on the Goto Textile Mill page.
- 📍 Plan Your Visit to Gunma
- Find tours, activities & transport passes near Goto Textile Inner Room
- [ Kusatsu Onsen & Tomioka Silk Mill Heritage Tours ]
Q&A
- When was the Goto Textile Inner Room built?
- Around 1925. A house plan from 1900 already shows an extension planned on this spot.
- What is inside the Goto Textile Inner Room?
- Two reception rooms in a row, of 10 mats and 12 and a half mats, the larger with a tokonoma, shelves and a built-in writing alcove. Corridors run along the south and north sides.
- What was the Goto Textile Inner Room used for?
- It was the room for receiving guests and, when the national record was made, a showroom for obi fabric.
- Where is the entrance to the Goto Textile Inner Room?
- On the south side near the Main House, a separate porch with its own hip-and-gable roof lets guests enter without passing through the Main House.
- Can I visit the Goto Textile Inner Room?
- You can see it from outside on a reserved tour of Goto Textile Mill. Ask when booking whether the rooms, any displays and photography are included.
Basic Information
| Name | Goto Textile Inner Room (後藤織物奥座敷) |
|---|---|
| Location | 730 Higashi 1-chome, Kiryu City, Gunma Prefecture |
| Designation | Registered Tangible Cultural Property (Structure), registration no. 10-0160 |
| Year Designated | Registered 2006/3/27 (Heisei 18) |
| Quantity | 1 building |
| Dimensions | Timber, single storey, tiled roof, building area 97 square metres |
| Owner | Texte Kiryu Co., Ltd. |
| Public Access | Open by advance reservation (weekdays) |
References
- Cultural Heritage Database, Agency for Cultural Affairs: 後藤織物奥座敷 (Goto Textile Inner Room)
- https://kunishitei.bunka.go.jp/heritage/detail/101/00005411
- Goto Orimono (Kiryu City official website, Japanese)
- https://www.city.kiryu.lg.jp/kankou/bunkazai/1010700/kunitouroku/1007533.html
- Goto Orimono: Gate, Main House, Inner Room, Well House, Water Tower (Kiryu City, PDF, Japanese)
- https://www.city.kiryu.lg.jp/_res/projects/default_project/_page_/001/007/533/01goto-pdf.pdf
Last verified: 2026.09.24
