The storehouse that stands on the street
The Former Nomura Sugar Store Side Storehouse (旧野村さとう店袖蔵, Kyū Nomura Satō-ten Sodegura) is an early Meiji era earthen-walled storehouse in Chuo 1-chome, Tsuchiura City, Ibaraki Prefecture, entered on the national register as a Registered Tangible Cultural Property on 1 August 2016. It has 2 stories, a tiled roof and a building area of 49 square meters, and it abuts the east flank of the shop and main house on the same plot.
A sodegura is a storehouse set beside the shop like a sleeve on a garment. What makes it a sodegura rather than an ordinary storehouse is the position: not behind the dwelling, not at the back of the plot, but out on the street frontage, so goods could be moved in and out at the shop counter.
The Agency for Cultural Affairs records that the ground floor of the Former Nomura Sugar Store Side Storehouse held the shop's stock of sugar, with other goods kept above. The Nomura family had traded here since the Edo period, and Tsuchiura City records that from the Meiji era the household wholesaled sugar and mizuame, a malt syrup, under the name Nomura Satō-ten. This building is where that inventory sat.
The dating is early Meiji, 1868 to 1882, with repairs in 2002.
Gable end beside long flank
The criterion behind the listing is the contribution the building makes to the historic landscape of the country, and the register number is 08-0291. The official description locates the value not in the storehouse alone but in how it sits next to the shop.
The ridge of the Former Nomura Sugar Store Side Storehouse runs north to south, so what faces the street is a gable, a triangle of wall under the roof pitch. Its neighbour, the shop and main house, has its ridge running east to west, so what faces the street there is the long flank. A triangle then a horizontal band, side by side.
The Agency for Cultural Affairs describes this pairing as characteristic of the townhouses of the old castle town of Tsuchiura, and notes that it gives variety to the street elevation. It is a value you cannot read from one building. You have to walk the street.
The shop and main house, the document storehouse and the brick storehouse were listed on the same day, so the Nomura compound entered the register as a set of 4 buildings. In December 2024 Tsuchiura City also listed the property as its fourth Historic Landscape Formation Building.
What to look at
Look at the thickness of the walls. Coats of Shikkui lime plaster are built up over an earthen core, and at every opening that thickness shows itself in section. Doors and windows sit deep in their reveals, which is why the openings read as holes rather than as panels.
Because the storehouse touches the timber shop building, you can compare two wall surfaces at arm's length: lapped boarding on one side, plaster rendered flat and seamless on the other. The household sorted its property by what it could not afford to lose to fire, and built accordingly.
Today the Former Nomura Sugar Store Side Storehouse works as the multipurpose workshop of the Tsuchiura Machikado-gura Nomura facility. Soba noodle making classes are held here, and when the door is open you can step inside. Flour gets rolled on the floor where the sugar was stacked.
Walk on past it and the plot opens up: the document storehouse stands to the north, the brick storehouse behind the shop. Following that route shows how a merchant plot in Tsuchiura was organised, shop at the front, storehouses receding towards the back.
Visiting the Former Nomura Sugar Store Side Storehouse
The Former Nomura Sugar Store Side Storehouse is open all year as part of Tsuchiura Machikado-gura Nomura, from 9 a.m. to 6 p.m., closed from 29 December to 3 January. Admission is free.
The interior doubles as a working workshop, so it may be closed to casual visitors while a class or a private booking runs. If seeing the inside matters to you, contact the Tsuchiura City Tourism Association in advance. The exterior can be seen from the street at any hour.
Tsuchiura Station on the JR Joban Line lies about 10 minutes away on foot; leave by the west exit and head north-west. Drivers should allow roughly 10 minutes from either the Sakuratsuchiura or the Tsuchiura-kita interchange.
No photography rule is published. When the workshop is in use, ask at reception before taking pictures inside.
Q&A
- Can I visit the Former Nomura Sugar Store Side Storehouse, and what are the hours?
- It is open as part of Tsuchiura Machikado-gura Nomura from 9 a.m. to 6 p.m., closed from 29 December to 3 January, admission free. The interior may be unavailable while a workshop class is in progress.
- What does sodegura mean in the name Former Nomura Sugar Store Side Storehouse?
- It means a storehouse built beside the shop on the street frontage rather than at the back of the plot, so it forms part of the street elevation.
- What was kept inside the Former Nomura Sugar Store Side Storehouse?
- The Agency for Cultural Affairs records that the shop's sugar stock was held on the ground floor and other goods on the floor above.
- How do I get to the Former Nomura Sugar Store Side Storehouse from Tsuchiura Station?
- It is a walk of about 10 minutes from the west exit of Tsuchiura Station, on the JR Joban Line. Coming by car, allow roughly 10 minutes from either expressway interchange, Sakuratsuchiura or Tsuchiura-kita.
- How old is the Former Nomura Sugar Store Side Storehouse?
- It dates from the early Meiji era, between 1868 and 1882, and was repaired in 2002.
Basic Information
| Name | Former Nomura Sugar Store Side Storehouse (旧野村さとう店袖蔵) |
|---|---|
| Location | 950 and 952 (merged), Chuo 1-chome, Tsuchiura City, Ibaraki Prefecture |
| Designation | Registered Tangible Cultural Property (structure), register number 08-0291 |
| Year Designated | Registered on 1 August 2016 |
| Quantity | 1 building |
| Dimensions | Building area 49 square meters; earthen storehouse construction, 2 stories, tiled roof |
| Owner | Tsuchiura City |
| Public Access | Open as the workshop of Tsuchiura Machikado-gura Nomura, 9 a.m. to 6 p.m., closed 29 December to 3 January, admission free |
References
- Agency for Cultural Affairs, National Cultural Properties Database: Kyu Nomura Sato-ten Sodegura
- https://kunishitei.bunka.go.jp/heritage/detail/101/00011056
- Cultural Heritage Online: Kyu Nomura Sato-ten Sodegura
- https://bunka.nii.ac.jp/heritages/detail/284083
- Tsuchiura City: Historic Landscape Formation Building designation system
- https://www.city.tsuchiura.lg.jp/kankyo-kotsu-machizukuri/toshikeikaku-machizukuri/keikan/fuuchi-keisei-kenzoubutsu.html
- Tsuchiura City: Historic Landscape Formation Building register, no. 4, Former Nomura Sugar Store
- https://www.city.tsuchiura.lg.jp/data/doc/1742370004_doc_34_0.pdf
- Tsuchiura City public bulletin: registration of Machikado-gura Daitoku and Nomura
- https://www.city.tsuchiura.lg.jp/data/doc/1488350280_doc_159_1.pdf
- Tsuchiura City Tourism Association: Machikado-gura
- https://www.tsuchiura-kankou.jp/machikado_kura/
- Ibaraki Prefecture tourism site: Tsuchiura Machikado-gura Nomura
- https://www.ibarakiguide.jp/spot.php?mode=detail&code=1568
Last verified: 2026.09.07