What Is the Odagaki Shoten Workshop?
The Odagaki Shoten Workshop (小田垣商店作業場, Odagaki Shōten Sagyōba) is an early Meiji-era timber work building on the Odagaki Shoten property in Tatemachi, Tamba-Sasayama City, Hyogo Prefecture, registered as a Registered Tangible Cultural Property on October 2, 2007. It stands directly east of the shop, behind the shop's earthen floor, with its ridge running east to west, and forms one continuous space with the shop.
The building measures 9.7 by 8.8 meters and covers 122 square meters. It is single-storey under a gabled (Kirizuma-zukuri) roof of Sangawara-buki tiles, with a second floor over only part of the west side. A wing projects south from the west end of the south face, and a dormer sits on the south slope of the roof.
Why the Odagaki Shoten Workshop Was Registered
The Odagaki Shoten Workshop was registered, like the other nine Odagaki buildings, for its contribution to the historic landscape. It cannot be seen directly from the street, but together with the shop in front it gives the merchant property its depth.
The agency's description of the former sake brewery to the east says that building, together with the workshop and others, carried on the core facilities of the family's sake-making era. The workshop itself dates from the early Meiji era, around the time in 1868 when the Odagaki family turned to seeds and began dealing in black soybeans. It is one of the buildings that shows the same site being reused as the business moved from sake to beans. No source we found says exactly what work was done inside.
A Tall Frame Inside the Odagaki Shoten Workshop
The agency describes the frame of the Odagaki Shoten Workshop as unusually tall. Although it is a single-storey building, its posts rise high and the beams sit well above the floor; the upper floor is limited to part of the west end, and the rest is one lofty space from floor to roof framing.
The dormer on the south roof slope lets light down into that space from above. Together with the southwest wing, it is the easiest way to read the building's outline from outside.
Walk back from the shop's earthen floor and you pass straight into the workshop. The description makes a point of this: the front shop and the rear workshop run together as one space rather than being walled apart.
Visiting the Odagaki Shoten Workshop
Odagaki Shoten's website presents the Odagaki Shoten Workshop alongside the shop as part of its main store. Because it opens straight off the shop floor, you can see into it while the store is open, although how far you can walk in depends on how the sales floor is arranged. If you want to look up at the frame, ask the staff (checked September 2026).
Ask before taking photos inside and keep other customers out of the frame. Opening hours and directions are on the Odagaki Shoten page.
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- Find tours, activities & transport passes near Odagaki Shoten Workshop
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Q&A
- When was the Odagaki Shoten Workshop built?
- The Agency for Cultural Affairs dates the Odagaki Shoten Workshop to the early Meiji era; the shop in front and the former sake brewery to the east are both late Edo.
- Can I visit the Odagaki Shoten Workshop?
- The Odagaki Shoten Workshop opens straight off the main shop floor, so you can see into it while the store is open. Ask the staff how far you may go (checked September 2026).
- What does the tall frame of the Odagaki Shoten Workshop mean?
- The posts rise high and the beams sit well above the floor, so most of this single-storey building is one tall open space; only part of the west end has an upper floor.
- What is distinctive about the roof of the Odagaki Shoten Workshop?
- It is a gabled sangawara-tiled roof with a dormer on the south slope, and a wing projects south from the west end.
- When was the Odagaki Shoten Workshop registered?
- It was registered on October 2, 2007, under registration number 28-0284.
Basic Information
| Name | Odagaki Shoten Workshop |
|---|---|
| Location | 19-5 Tatemachi and others, 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 2nd floor, tiled roof, building area 122 square meters; 9.7 meters by 8.8 meters |
| Owner | Not listed in the Agency for Cultural Affairs database |
| Public Access | Visible as part of the main shop during opening hours (ask how far you may enter) |
References
- Agency for Cultural Affairs, Database of National Cultural Properties: 小田垣商店作業場
- https://kunishitei.bunka.go.jp/bsys/maindetails/101/00006350
- Cultural Heritage Online: Odagaki Shoten Workshop
- https://online.bunka.go.jp/heritages/detail/186253
- Agency for Cultural Affairs, Database of National Cultural Properties: 小田垣商店旧酒蔵
- https://kunishitei.bunka.go.jp/bsys/maindetails/101/00006351
- Odagaki Shoten official site: Main Store and Mamedou
- https://www.odagaki.co.jp/store/facility
- Odagaki Shoten official site: History
- https://www.odagaki.co.jp/about/history
Last verified: 2026.09.28
