Chojiya Store and Residence

A Gable-Fronted Dyer's Shop in Ishioka

The Chojiya Store and Residence (丁子屋店舗兼住宅) is a gable-fronted merchant house with heavy plastered walls of the late Edo period in Kokufu, Ishioka City, Ibaraki Prefecture, and was registered as a Registered Tangible Cultural Property (structure) on July 1, 2003 (Agency for Cultural Affairs).

The Agency records a two-storey plastered storehouse-style building with a tiled roof and a building area of 119 square metres; registration number 08-0076.

A Merchant House Facing the Street

The Chojiya store and residence is a late Edo merchant house entered from the gable end, its east side facing the street (Agency for Cultural Affairs). It is a two-storey timber building whose ground floor has the shop front at the gable and an entrance on the side, with a low attic-like upper floor.

The tiled roof is hipped at the front and gabled at the back, with a lean-to canopy across the front (Agency for Cultural Affairs). The Agency singles out its skilful eaves and heavy plastered walls as a standout of the streetscape. According to the city, it was once a dyer's shop and survived the great fire of Ishioka.

Why It Was Registered

The Agency registered it for its contribution to the historic landscape.

What to Look For

Look for the hipped front roof with its canopy, the skilful eaves and the heavy plastered walls (Agency for Cultural Affairs).

Visiting

The owner is not listed in the Agency record. According to an Ishioka City visitor guide, the building, once a dyer's shop, is open as the Machikura Ai visitor facility, where you can try indigo dyeing; it is open from 8:30 to 18:30 and closed on Tuesdays and the second and third Mondays.