A Store for Pattern Cards
The Goto Textile West Storehouse (後藤織物西蔵, Gotō Orimono Nishigura) is a single-storey timber store built around 1936 in Higashi 1-chome, Kiryu City, Gunma Prefecture, used to keep jacquard pattern cards, and listed as a Registered Tangible Cultural Property on March 27, 2006. It stands north of the Factory toward the west, facing south, with a building area of 64 square metres under a sheet-iron roof.
It sits beside the East Storehouse and matches it in size at 6 by 2 Ken. A lean-to (Geya) 1 ken deep runs the full length of the south side, but there is no partition even where the lean-to meets the main body, so the interior is one open room.
Kiryu City believes the Goto Textile West Storehouse was built when the weaving factory was expanded in 1936, and the national record calls it the store for pattern cards and one of the principal buildings of the mill.
Why It Was Registered
The storehouse was listed for its contribution to the historic landscape of the nation. Its interest lies in what it was built for: the pattern cards, or monkami, without which a weaving house cannot produce figured cloth.
Monkami are stiff paper cards punched with holes that tell a jacquard loom which warp threads to lift. An elaborate obi design can need a long chain of them, and the Goto family had woven mainly obi fabric since the Meiji era, so every new design added to the pile. The answer was a store with 64 square metres of floor and no internal walls.
For a weaving house, the cards are also the designs themselves. To weave the same obi again, you need the same cards. In that sense the Goto Textile West Storehouse guarded the mill's accumulated library of patterns.
What to Look For
Look at it next to the East Storehouse. Both are 6 by 2 ken with a 1-ken lean-to on the south, the same basic outline. But the East Storehouse is a two-storey early Meiji building that was moved here and divided into two rooms, while the west one is a single-storey building of around 1936 with a single room. Two stores of equal size stand side by side, from different eras and for different jobs.
Note how the lean-to is handled. At the East Storehouse it is closed off as a front porch; here there is no partition, and everything under the roof is one continuous floor, ideal for bringing in bundles of cards and laying them out to check.
The roof is sheet iron, unlike the tiled East Storehouse, the light and practical covering you would expect on a works building from the prewar expansion.
Visiting
The Goto Textile West Storehouse is at the very back of the site, north of the Factory. Since it lies beyond the weaving shed, ask when you book whether the tour goes this far and whether the interior is shown, and check on photography too.
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 West Storehouse
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Q&A
- What was kept in the Goto Textile West Storehouse?
- Monkami, the punched paper cards that control a jacquard loom's pattern. The national record calls it the pattern-card store and a principal building of the mill.
- When was the Goto Textile West Storehouse built?
- Around 1936. Kiryu City believes it went up with the expansion of the weaving factory that year.
- How does the Goto Textile West Storehouse differ from the East Storehouse?
- Both are 6 by 2 ken, but the west one is single-storey with one room and a sheet-iron roof, while the east one is a two-storey early Meiji building, moved to the site, with two rooms and a tiled roof.
- Can I see the Goto Textile West Storehouse?
- It may be included in a reserved tour of Goto Textile Mill. Because it is at the back of the site, confirm the tour route and photography rules when you book.
- What are the pattern cards kept in the Goto Textile West Storehouse?
- Stiff paper cards punched with holes that tell a jacquard loom which warp threads to lift. The more elaborate the design, the longer the chain of cards.
Basic Information
| Name | Goto Textile West Storehouse (後藤織物西蔵) |
|---|---|
| Location | 730 Higashi 1-chome, Kiryu City, Gunma Prefecture |
| Designation | Registered Tangible Cultural Property (Structure), registration no. 10-0163 |
| Year Designated | Registered 2006/3/27 (Heisei 18) |
| Quantity | 1 building |
| Dimensions | Timber, single storey, sheet-iron roof, building area 64 square metres |
| Owner | Texte Kiryu Co., Ltd. |
| Public Access | Open by advance reservation (weekdays) |
References
- Cultural Heritage Database, Agency for Cultural Affairs: 後藤織物西蔵 (Goto Textile West Storehouse)
- https://kunishitei.bunka.go.jp/heritage/detail/101/00005414
- Goto Orimono (Kiryu City official website, Japanese)
- https://www.city.kiryu.lg.jp/kankou/bunkazai/1010700/kunitouroku/1007533.html
- Goto Orimono: Factory, Former Kettle House, Storage Shed, Exhibition Room, East and West Storehouses (Kiryu City, PDF, Japanese)
- https://www.city.kiryu.lg.jp/_res/projects/default_project/_page_/001/007/533/02-gotopdf.pdf
Last verified: 2026.09.24
