What Is the Kuroda Seiuemon Shoten Shop and Main House?
The Kuroda Seiuemon Shoten Shop and Main House (黒田清右衛門商店店舗兼主屋) is the late Edo-period shop and residence of a hardware wholesaler in Honmachi 2-chome, Miki City, Hyogo Prefecture, registered as a Registered Tangible Cultural Property on December 5, 2019.
It is a two-storey timber building with a tiled roof and a building area of 182 m². The government database dates it to the end of the Edo period, between 1830 and 1868, with alterations in the early Showa period. Registered as number 28-0720, it is the oldest and largest of the 11 registered structures at Kuroda Seiuemon Shoten, and the one that combines the business and the family home under one roof.
Why the Kuroda Seiuemon Shoten Shop and Main House Was Registered
The Kuroda Seiuemon Shoten Shop and Main House was registered for its contribution to the historic landscape of the nation. It faces north onto the street and still shows passers-by the full front of a working hardware wholesaler.
Hyogo Prefecture's landscape guidelines describe it as a gabled house entered on the long side (a Hirairi plan) facing the old Himeji-michi road, with a Hongawarabuki roof of round and flat tiles, Shikkui lime-plaster walls, Mushiko-mado slatted windows on the upper floor and Udatsu firewalls: the marks of a traditional Miki Machiya townhouse. The guidelines treat it as the core of the old road's traditional streetscape.
What to Look for at the Kuroda Seiuemon Shoten Shop and Main House
Eaves in three tiers
Start from across the street and look at the roofline. The tiled main roof is stepped down partway on the street side, and a lower lean-to roof, a Geya, projects beneath it. Seen from the front, the eaves step down in three tiers. The Agency for Cultural Affairs puts this three-tier front first in its description.
The great saw on the lean-to
At the centre of the lowest roof sits the shop sign: a huge saw, called an oga, the kind once used to rip large timbers lengthwise. A Miki City newsletter calls it a maebiki-noko, the two-man timber saw for which Miki was famous. A tool merchant could hardly choose a clearer sign, and it reads from far down the street.
Business at the front, home at the back
The interior is private, but the government description gives the plan. On the ground floor the east side is an earth-floored Doma work area; on the west, the shop room and a tea room face the street, with four rooms in two rows behind them. Upstairs, the north side is storage and the south holds four rooms, including an eight-mat reception room. Trade sits at the street edge, family life and guests further in.
Visiting the Kuroda Seiuemon Shoten Shop and Main House
The Kuroda Seiuemon Shoten Shop and Main House is still the shop and home of a working company, and no public opening of the interior is announced (checked October 2, 2026). The exterior can be seen freely from the Himeji-michi. The three-tier eaves and the saw sign are easiest to take in from the opposite side of the street, standing a few steps back.
Keep photography to the exterior and do not block the shop entrance. Directions and the history of the whole premises are on the Kuroda Seiuemon Shoten page.
- 📍 Plan Your Visit to Hyogo
- Find tours, activities & transport passes near Kuroda Seiuemon Shoten Shop and Main House
- [ Himeji Castle & Kobe Night View Cruise ]
Q&A
- When was the Kuroda Seiuemon Shoten Shop and Main House built?
- At the end of the Edo period according to the Agency for Cultural Affairs, with alterations in the early Showa period. It was registered in 2019.
- What is the saw on the roof of the Kuroda Seiuemon Shoten Shop and Main House?
- It is an oga, a large saw for ripping timber lengthwise, set at the centre of the lower lean-to roof as the sign of a hardware wholesaler.
- Why do the eaves of the Kuroda Seiuemon Shoten Shop and Main House look like three tiers?
- The main tiled roof drops a step partway down on the street side, and a lean-to roof projects below it, so three eave lines are visible from the front.
- Can visitors go inside the Kuroda Seiuemon Shoten Shop and Main House?
- No public opening of the interior is announced. It is a working business; the exterior can be viewed from the street (checked October 2, 2026).
- How large is the Kuroda Seiuemon Shoten Shop and Main House?
- It is a two-storey timber building with a building area of 182 m², the largest of the 11 registered structures on the premises.
Basic Information
| Name | Kuroda Seiuemon Shoten Shop and Main House |
|---|---|
| Location | 980 Honmachi 2-chome and other lots, Miki City, Hyogo Prefecture |
| Designation | Registered Tangible Cultural Property (Building) |
| Year Designated | Registered 2019 |
| Quantity | 1 building |
| Dimensions | Building area 182 m² |
| Owner | Kuroda Seiuemon Shoten Co., Ltd. |
| Public Access | Exterior visible from the street; interior not open |
References
- Agency for Cultural Affairs Database: Kuroda Seiuemon Shoten Shop and Main House (in Japanese)
- https://kunishitei.bunka.go.jp/bsys/maindetails/101/00013153
- Miki City History Museum: Kuroda Seiuemon Shoten (in Japanese)
- https://www.city.miki.lg.jp/site/mikirekishishiryokan/19137.html
- Hyogo Prefecture: Landscape guidelines for the Miki castle town district (in Japanese)
- https://www.city.miki.lg.jp/uploaded/attachment/50874.pdf
- Miki City newsletter: Kuroda Seiuemon Shoten as an Important Landscape Building (in Japanese)
- https://www.city.miki.lg.jp/uploaded/attachment/22870.pdf
Last verified: 2026.10.02
