What Is the Uohashi Kimono Store Shop and Main House?
The Uohashi Kimono Store Shop and Main House (魚橋呉服店店舗兼主屋, Uohashi Gofukuten Tenpo-ken-Shuoku) is a two-story combined shop and residence of a kimono merchant facing west onto the old Nozato highway in Itokujimachi, Himeji City, Hyogo Prefecture; it was built in 1925 and registered as a Registered Tangible Cultural Property of Japan in 2014.
A timber building with a tiled roof and a building area of 147 square meters, it is the newest and largest of the four registered buildings of the Uohashi Kimono Store. It stands wall to wall with the south main house, and together the two form the store's street front.
Why the Uohashi Kimono Store Shop and Main House Was Registered
The Uohashi Kimono Store Shop and Main House was registered as a Registered Tangible Cultural Property for contributing to the historic landscape of the country. The Agency for Cultural Affairs values it as a large merchant building that conveys the streetscape of Nozato from its days as a district of trade and industry.
Built at the end of the Taisho period, it keeps the traditional townhouse front with projecting beams, yet combines it with a then-modern material, glass windows. With its earth-floored shop, raised tatami sales room and former open well, the interior shows in concrete terms how a kimono merchant received customers.
What to Look for at the Uohashi Kimono Store Shop and Main House
The upper floor of the front is built in the Degeta-zukuri manner, and the walls are plastered all the way up into the Nokijabara, the stepped bands of plaster moulding beneath the eaves. This kind of full plastering, which wraps the timber in earth to slow fire, goes hand in hand with the moulded cornice. Instead of slatted Mushiko-mado openings, the upper windows are glazed. Compare them with the slatted windows of the south main house next door, built in 1899, and the 26 years between the two buildings show up plainly on the facade.
Inside, the front part divides into the mise, an earth-floored shop area, and the misenoma, a raised room laid with tatami. Customers stood on the earth floor while the staff knelt on the tatami above them and unrolled bolts of cloth to show, an arrangement made for selling kimono fabric. The misenoma has a coffered Gō-tenjō ceiling that lends the sales room some formality.
The center of the building was once an open well, or Fukinuke, rising through both floors. It is no longer open, but a Kōran balustrade still runs around it on the upper floor and marks how tall the space once was.
Visiting the Uohashi Kimono Store Shop and Main House
The Uohashi Kimono Store Shop and Main House is privately owned, and the city and national sources say nothing about access to the interior. The front faces the Nozato road and can be seen from the street. To take in the moulded eaves and glazed upper windows in one view, look up from the west side of the road, in front of the Uohashi Family Residence.
Seen next to the south main house, the difference in eaves height and window type is easy to follow. Directions are on the Uohashi Kimono Store page.
- 📍 Plan Your Visit to Hyogo
- Find tours, activities & transport passes near Uohashi Kimono Store Shop and Main House
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Q&A
- When was the Uohashi Kimono Store Shop and Main House built?
- In 1925. It was registered as a Registered Tangible Cultural Property on April 25, 2014.
- What is distinctive about the front of the Uohashi Kimono Store Shop and Main House?
- The upper floor has projecting beams, walls plastered up into a moulded nokijabara cornice, and glazed windows.
- How is the sales area of the Uohashi Kimono Store Shop and Main House arranged?
- The front is split into an earth-floored mise and a tatami-floored misenoma with a coffered ceiling.
- Does the Uohashi Kimono Store Shop and Main House still have its open well?
- The center was originally open through both floors; it has since been closed, but the upper-floor balustrade survives.
- Can I visit the Uohashi Kimono Store Shop and Main House?
- City and national sources give no information on interior access. The front can be seen from the Nozato road.
Basic Information
| Name | Uohashi Kimono Store Shop and Main House |
|---|---|
| Location | 51-1 Itokujimachi, Himeji City, Hyogo Prefecture |
| Designation | Registered Tangible Cultural Property (Building) |
| Year Designated | Registered 2014 |
| Quantity | 1 building |
| Dimensions | Building area 147 m² |
| Owner | Private owner |
| Public Access | Exterior only (no information on interior access; privately owned) |
References
- Agency for Cultural Affairs Database: Uohashi Kimono Store Shop and Main House
- https://kunishitei.bunka.go.jp/bsys/maindetails/101/00010014
- Himeji City: Uohashi Kimono Store Shop and Main House (in Japanese)
- https://www.city.himeji.lg.jp/kanko/0000001851.html
- Himeji City: List of Registered Cultural Properties (in Japanese)
- https://www.city.himeji.lg.jp/kanko/0000001691.html
Last verified: 2026.10.02
