About the Nakamura Yaichi Shoten New Reception Wing
The Nakamura Yaichi Shoten New Reception Wing (中村弥市商店新座敷, Nakamura Yaichi Shōten Shinzashiki) is a reception wing of about 1937 on the Nakamura family estate in Honcho 1-chome, Kiryu City, Gunma Prefecture, made up of a 1-story reinforced concrete room and a 2-story wooden section, and it was registered as a Registered Tangible Cultural Property in 2005.
Shinzashiki, or new reception rooms, is what the family calls it, to set it apart from the inner room built in 1894. The Nakamura Yaichi Shoten New Reception Wing went up at the same time as the document storehouse and has a building area of 37 square meters.
It comes in two parts. One is a Kuramae room in front of the storehouse entrance, a 1-story reinforced concrete space 8.22 m long and 2.46 m deep. The other is a wooden section on its west side, 2 stories high under a gabled Kirizuma-zukuri roof of Sangawara-buki tiles.
Why the Nakamura Yaichi Shoten New Reception Wing was registered
The Nakamura Yaichi Shoten New Reception Wing was registered as a model of design. The Agency for Cultural Affairs singles it out, together with the document storehouse, as a fairly early case of reinforced concrete being used in a Japanese home.
The concrete room has a Flat roof flat roof that doubles as a balcony. The wooden section to the west is 2 stories so that the balcony can be reached from its upper floor. Treating the roof of a reception room as open-air space is hard to imagine in a tile-roofed townhouse.
What to look for at the Nakamura Yaichi Shoten New Reception Wing
In the middle of the ceiling is a skylight set with glass blocks. Since the balcony is directly above, the glass appears to be laid into the balcony floor to drop daylight into the room below. Of all the details in the Nakamura Yaichi Shoten New Reception Wing, this shows most clearly how new materials were being tried out in the 1930s.
The balcony railing is now built of concrete blocks, but it is said to have been brass when the wing was built. The south wall of the concrete room is finished in mortar, and the wall of the kitchen area to its right is faced with granite.
The wooden section is a long, narrow room 6.52 m by 2.45 m running along the store. Kiryu City records that the first Nakamura Yaichi laid tatami there and ran it as a Go parlor. The concrete room at one point served as a dining room for the shop's employees.
For a building called a reception wing, it has done many jobs: anteroom to a storehouse, a place to play Go and a staff canteen, depending on what the house and shop needed at the time.
Visiting the Nakamura Yaichi Shoten New Reception Wing
The Nakamura Yaichi Shoten New Reception Wing sits behind the store and in front of the document storehouse, and its interior is not open to the public. The store blocks it from view, so almost nothing of it can be seen from Honcho-dori.
The balcony and skylight are on the inner side of the estate and should be assumed invisible from outside. Please do not go through the gate or down the north alley. The layout of the whole estate and directions are on the Nakamura Yaichi Shoten and Nakamura Family Residence page.
- 📍 Plan Your Visit to Gunma
- Find tours, activities & transport passes near Nakamura Yaichi Shoten New Reception Wing
- [ Kusatsu Onsen & Tomioka Silk Mill Heritage Tours ]
Q&A
- When was the Nakamura Yaichi Shoten New Reception Wing built?
- About 1937, at the same time as the document storehouse. It was registered as a Registered Tangible Cultural Property on November 10, 2005.
- Why is it called the Nakamura Yaichi Shoten New Reception Wing?
- The family named it the new reception rooms to distinguish it from the inner room built in 1894.
- How is the Nakamura Yaichi Shoten New Reception Wing built?
- It combines a 1-story reinforced concrete room in front of the storehouse with a 2-story wooden section on the west. The concrete part has a flat roof used as a balcony.
- What is unusual about the ceiling of the Nakamura Yaichi Shoten New Reception Wing?
- A glass-block skylight sits in the middle of the ceiling. The balcony railing above was originally brass.
- Can I visit the Nakamura Yaichi Shoten New Reception Wing?
- No. The interior is closed, and because it stands behind the store, it can hardly be seen from Honcho-dori.
Basic Information
| Name | Nakamura Yaichi Shoten New Reception Wing (中村弥市商店新座敷) |
|---|---|
| Location | 1-6-33 Honcho, Kiryu City, Gunma Prefecture |
| Designation | Registered Tangible Cultural Property (Building) |
| Year Designated | Registered 2005-11-10 (Heisei 17) |
| Quantity | 1 building |
| Dimensions | Building area 37 square meters |
| Owner | Unknown (not listed in the Agency for Cultural Affairs database) |
| Public Access | Not open to the public (inside the estate, hardly visible from the street) |
References
- Database of National Cultural Properties (Agency for Cultural Affairs): Nakamura Yaichi Shoten New Reception Wing
- https://kunishitei.bunka.go.jp/bsys/maindetails/101/00004935
- Cultural Heritage Online: Nakamura Yaichi Shoten New Reception Wing
- https://online.bunka.go.jp/heritages/detail/151545
- Kiryu City: Nakamura Family Residence (Nakamura Yaichi Shoten Store) and six other buildings
- https://www.city.kiryu.lg.jp/kankou/bunkazai/1010700/kunitouroku/1002002.html
- Database of National Cultural Properties (Agency for Cultural Affairs): Nakamura Yaichi Shoten Document Storehouse
- https://kunishitei.bunka.go.jp/bsys/maindetails/101/00004934
Last verified: 2026.10.06
