What Is the Odagaki Shoten Store?
The Odagaki Shoten Store (小田垣商店店舗, Odagaki Shōten Tenpo) is a large late Edo-period Machiya facing the old Kyo Kaido in Tatemachi, Tamba-Sasayama City, Hyogo Prefecture, registered as a Registered Tangible Cultural Property on October 2, 2007. It is the main shop of Odagaki Shoten, a black soybean wholesaler founded in 1734, and the only one of the firm's ten registered buildings that fronts the street.
It stands on the old highway that runs north to south through the merchant quarter east of Sasayama Castle, with its front to the west. The building measures 15 by 12 meters and covers 193 square meters under a gabled (Kirizuma-zukuri) roof of Sangawara-buki tiles. It is a Hirairi house, entered on its long side, with a low Tsushi-nikai loft above. The northern half of the interior is an earthen-floored work and trading area.
Why the Odagaki Shoten Store Was Registered
The Odagaki Shoten Store was registered for its contribution to the historic landscape, and the Agency for Cultural Affairs calls it a large town house at the core of the highway streetscape.
The point is less a rare technique than the role the building plays on the street. Fifteen meters of eave laid parallel to the road define a whole stretch of the old highway. The Japan Heritage portal describes the store's heavy plastered Nuriya-zukuri exterior and counts it among the components of the Japan Heritage story of Dekansho-bushi, the folk song of Tamba-Sasayama.
South of the castle town, the merchant houses of Kawaramachi mostly turn their narrow gable ends to the street (Tsumairi). The Odagaki Shoten Store does the opposite and presents its long side, and both approaches can be compared on foot within the same castle town.
Plastered Eaves and Drip Tiles
Look up at the eaves of the Odagaki Shoten Store first. The rafters are hidden, because the underside of the eaves is plastered over with earth, a fire precaution that kept sparks from lodging in exposed timber.
The gable walls carry Mizukiri-gawara, rows of small tile ledges set into the plaster to throw rainwater clear of the earthen wall. They read as horizontal bands of shadow; walk round to the north and south ends to see them.
Inside, the earthen floor runs straight back from the street through the northern half. In the 2021 restoration it was relaid with old paving stones from Kyoto town houses, a slightly reddish granite from around the Seto Inland Sea. The stones came from different sources and periods, so the floor has no single color. At its center stands a jujube-shaped stone water basin that once sat in the garden, now used for weighing out beans and displaying goods.
Behind the earthen floor the space opens straight into the early Meiji workshop, and a small courtyard garden separates the shop from the tatami room to the south. The Odagaki Shoten Store is the doorway to the whole compound.
Visiting the Odagaki Shoten Store
The Odagaki Shoten Store operates as the company's main shop. On any trading day you can walk in free of charge; it closes only over the New Year holidays (checked September 2026). Opening hours and directions are on the Odagaki Shoten page.
The exterior can be seen from the old Kyo Kaido at any time, and the west front catches the afternoon light. If you want to take photos inside, ask the staff first and keep other customers out of the frame.
- 📍 Plan Your Visit to Hyogo
- Find tours, activities & transport passes near Odagaki Shoten Store
- [ Himeji Castle & Kobe Night View Cruise ]
Q&A
- Can I go inside the Odagaki Shoten Store?
- Yes. The Odagaki Shoten Store is the company's working main shop, free to enter on any trading day; it closes only over New Year (checked September 2026).
- When was the Odagaki Shoten Store built?
- The Agency for Cultural Affairs dates the Odagaki Shoten Store to the late Edo period, 1751 to 1829.
- When was the Odagaki Shoten Store registered?
- It was registered on October 2, 2007, as number 28-0283, on the same day as nine other buildings on the property.
- What should I look at on the outside of the Odagaki Shoten Store?
- The eaves plastered right up to the roof as protection against fire, and the rows of drip tiles on the gable walls.
- Where do the floor stones in the Odagaki Shoten Store come from?
- The Odagaki Shoten Store's earthen floor was relaid in 2021 with reddish granite paving stones salvaged from Kyoto town houses.
Basic Information
| Name | Odagaki Shoten Store |
|---|---|
| Location | 19-5 Tatemachi, Tamba-Sasayama City, Hyogo Prefecture (listed as Sasayama City in the Agency for Cultural Affairs database) |
| Designation | Registered Tangible Cultural Property (building) |
| Year Designated | Registered October 2, 2007 |
| Quantity | 1 building |
| Dimensions | Timber, single storey with partial 2-storey loft, tiled roof, building area 193 square meters; 15 meters by 12 meters |
| Owner | Not listed in the Agency for Cultural Affairs database |
| Public Access | Open as the main shop (closed over New Year) |
References
- Agency for Cultural Affairs, Database of National Cultural Properties: 小田垣商店店舗
- https://kunishitei.bunka.go.jp/bsys/maindetails/101/00006235
- Cultural Heritage Online: Odagaki Shoten Store
- https://online.bunka.go.jp/heritages/detail/197229
- Japan Heritage Portal (Agency for Cultural Affairs): Odagaki Shoten (Store and 9 Others)
- https://japan-heritage.bunka.go.jp/ja/culturalproperties/result/882/
- Odagaki Shoten official site: Main Store and Mamedou
- https://www.odagaki.co.jp/store/facility
- New Material Research Laboratory: Odagaki Shoten
- https://shinsoken.jp/works/odagaki-shoten/
Last verified: 2026.09.28
