The storehouse that held the household goods
The Former Daitoku Kimono Shop Facing Storehouse is an earthen-walled storehouse of the early Meiji period, built between 1868 and 1882, in Chuo 1-chome, Tsuchiura City, Ibaraki Prefecture, and registered as a Registered Tangible Cultural Property (structure) on 1 August 2016. It stands at the southern end of the plot, well back from Nakajo-dori and the line of the old Mito highway, with its ridge running east to west. The building covers 35 square meters, rises 2 stories in Dozo-zukuri earthen-wall construction, and carries a tile roof.
The doorway opens to the north, towards the buildings in front of it. The route by which goods came out of the house and into store is fixed in the plan. What went in was not merchandise. The Agency for Cultural Affairs records that this storehouse originally held bedding, tableware and other household possessions.
The roof frame uses noboribari, sloping beams. Instead of horizontal beams carrying short posts up to the ridge, the beams themselves follow the pitch of the roof. On a small storehouse this saves timber and leaves more usable height under the eaves. Anyone able to look up inside the Former Daitoku Kimono Shop Facing Storehouse will see those diagonals forming the skeleton of the loft.
An east gable that varies the street
The Former Daitoku Kimono Shop Facing Storehouse carries registration number 08-0289, the highest of the 5 buildings on the former Daitoku premises. It became a Registered Tangible Cultural Property on the same day as the shop storehouse north building (08-0285), the shop storehouse south building (08-0286), the side storehouse (08-0287) and the original storehouse (08-0288). The criterion is contribution to the historic landscape of the nation, and the owner is Tsuchiura City.
The feature the national commentary picks out is the treatment of the east gable. A window is opened at the second floor and hung with a kakegonuri door. Kakegonuri describes a joint cut in steps, so that the gap between door and frame turns a corner instead of running straight through, keeping sparks and hot air out. The technique is standard on storehouse joinery, but placed where it can be seen it also works as design.
Above that window sits a pent roof carried on udegi, timber brackets projecting horizontally from the wall. They throw a band of shadow across an otherwise flat plane. The registration commentary reads this small projection as what keeps a street of continuous earthen-walled buildings from falling into monotony. It is a useful example of what contribution to the landscape means in practice: not a grand gesture, but one shadow line at second-floor height.
What to look for at the Former Daitoku Kimono Shop Facing Storehouse
Take the east gable in order, from a few paces back. Ground floor wall, then the upper window, then the stepped door, the brackets, and the pent roof above them. The elements multiply as the eye climbs, and the shadow arrives last. That accumulation gives depth to a building of only 35 square meters.
At the north doorway, test the depth of the reveal. The wall around a storehouse door is the thickest part of the whole structure, and how far the opening sinks back is a direct measure of how seriously fire was taken.
Once you reach the back of the plot, turn around. Looking from the Former Daitoku Kimono Shop Facing Storehouse towards Nakajo-dori, the ridges alternate in direction: this one east to west, the building in front of it north to south. Crossed rooflines stacked one behind another make a view that the street outside never gives you.
Visiting the Former Daitoku Kimono Shop Facing Storehouse
The Former Daitoku Kimono Shop Facing Storehouse belongs to the group of buildings Tsuchiura City opens as Tsuchiura Machikado-kura Daitoku, and the grounds can be walked freely during opening hours. These are 9 a.m. to 6 p.m., admission is free, and the site closes from 29 December to 3 January. Enquiries go to the Tsuchiura City Tourism Association, whose office is inside the complex, on 029-824-2810.
This building sits at the back of the plot and cannot be seen from the highway. Enter by the lattice door of the north building on Nakajo-dori and work south between the structures. Displays and bookings change from day to day and the interior is not always accessible, so a question at the counter before walking through saves a wasted trip. Ask about photography at the same time.
Nakajo-dori is about a 10 minute walk from the west exit of Tsuchiura Station on the JR Joban Line. Across the street stands Tsuchiura Machikado-kura Nomura, another group of registered buildings opened by the city. Moving between the 2 plots gives a clear sense of how storehouses lined the old Mito highway on both sides.
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Q&A
- Can you visit the Former Daitoku Kimono Shop Facing Storehouse, and what are the hours and admission?
- The building stands within Tsuchiura Machikado-kura Daitoku and its exterior can be seen during opening hours, 9 a.m. to 6 p.m., with free admission. The site closes from 29 December to 3 January. Enquiries: Tsuchiura City Tourism Association, 029-824-2810.
- What was kept in the Former Daitoku Kimono Shop Facing Storehouse?
- Bedding, tableware and other household possessions. That set it apart from the side storehouse, which held the shop's stock of kimono cloth. Each storehouse on the Daitoku plot had its own assigned contents.
- When was the Former Daitoku Kimono Shop Facing Storehouse built and registered?
- It was built in the early Meiji period, between 1868 and 1882, and registered on 1 August 2016 under number 08-0289. Repairs were carried out in 2000.
- What is the kakegonuri door on the Former Daitoku Kimono Shop Facing Storehouse?
- A door whose meeting edge is cut in steps, so the gap between door and frame turns a corner rather than running straight through. That keeps sparks and hot air out. Here it hangs at the upper window of the east gable.
- Where is the Former Daitoku Kimono Shop Facing Storehouse?
- At 914-5 and adjacent lots, Chuo 1-chome, Tsuchiura City, Ibaraki Prefecture, at the back of the Machikado-kura Daitoku plot. It is about a 10 minute walk from the west exit of Tsuchiura Station on the JR Joban Line.
Basic Information
| Name | Former Daitoku Kimono Shop Facing Storehouse |
|---|---|
| Location | 914-5 and adjacent lots, Chuo 1-chome, Tsuchiura City, Ibaraki Prefecture |
| Designation | Registered Tangible Cultural Property (structure), registration number 08-0289 |
| Year Designated | Registered on 1 August 2016 |
| Quantity | 1 building |
| Dimensions | Building area 35 square meters; 2 stories, earthen-wall construction, tile roof |
| Owner | Tsuchiura City |
| Public Access | Open as part of Tsuchiura Machikado-kura Daitoku; 9 a.m. to 6 p.m., free admission, closed 29 December to 3 January |
References
- Agency for Cultural Affairs, National Cultural Properties Database, Kyu Daitoku Gofukuten Mukogura
- https://kunishitei.bunka.go.jp/bsys/maindetails/101/00011054
- Tsuchiura City, Sightseeing and landmarks
- https://www.city.tsuchiura.lg.jp/kanko-bunka-sports/kanko-matsuri-event/kanko/page001097.html
- Tsuchiura City public relations bulletin, Machikado-kura Daitoku and Nomura registered as national cultural properties
- https://www.city.tsuchiura.lg.jp/data/doc/1488350280_doc_159_1.pdf
- Tsuchiura City Tourism Association, Machikado-kura
- https://www.tsuchiura-kankou.jp/machikado_kura/
Last verified: 2026.09.07