The stock room behind the shop
The Former Tamura Kimono Store Storehouse (旧田村呉服店蔵, Kyū Tamura Gofukuten Kura) is a Taishō-era earthen-walled storehouse in the Hōjō district of Tsukuba City, Ibaraki Prefecture, registered as a national Registered Tangible Cultural Property on November 17, 2015. It stands behind the shop, towards the middle of a plot that runs a long way back from the street.
The building measures 3 ken along its length and 2 and a half ken across, rises 2 storeys, and covers 32 square metres. Its ridge runs north to south under a Kirizuma-zukuri roof of Sangawara-buki pantiles, and the roof frame inside is Wagoya. A connecting roof bridges the gap to the main house, so bolts of cloth could be carried in and out without meeting the rain.
The Tamura family opened their shop on this plot late in the Taishō era (1912-1926), dealing in gofuku, the silk cloth used for kimono, and futomono, the cotton and hemp weaves worn by everyone else. What sat on the shop counter was a fraction of the stock. The Former Tamura Kimono Store Storehouse held the rest.
What a merchant's stock storehouse had to do
Cloth is vulnerable to damp, to insects, and to light. For a draper, protecting stock was the business, and the thick walls of a storehouse were equipment rather than decoration. Dozo-zukuri is usually explained as fireproofing, and it is, but the same mass also keeps the inside temperature and humidity from swinging with the weather outside. Building 2 storeys on a plot this narrow was a way of buying shelf height instead of floor area.
The Agency for Cultural Affairs database calls this a carefully built stock storehouse and counts it as one of the parts that make up a complete merchant compound. It was registered under the criterion covering buildings that contribute to the historic character of the landscape. On the same day, November 17, 2015, three more buildings on the plot joined it: the shop storehouse and main house on the street, the grain storehouse with its bathhouse on the eastern side, and the kitchen to the north-east. Compounds where the selling, the storing and the cooking all survive as separate structures are not common. The Former Tamura Kimono Store Storehouse is the one of those 4 that sat closest to the trade itself.
What to look at
The doorway is on the south gable end, closed by a pair of thick hinged doors, with a lean-to hood projecting above it. Openings are the weak point of any storehouse, and roofing over the door to throw rain clear is standard practice for making one last. On the Former Tamura Kimono Store Storehouse that hood is still in place.
The walls are finished in black plaster, the same treatment as the shop that faces the street. The colour was carried right to the back of the plot, onto a building no customer would ever see.
The north gable is handled differently. It is clad in boarding held by battens, a technique called Shitami-itabari. North walls dry slowly and plaster on them fails first; with boards, only the damaged pieces need replacing. The choice looks ahead to maintenance rather than to appearance.
Along the eaves runs a thickened plaster band. Building the top of the wall out in a heavy collar stiffens the junction with the roof, sheds water better, and tightens the outline. For a small building, the amount of care in the detailing matches the house in front.
The record notes repairs carried out in 2012. On May 6 of that year a tornado struck Hōjō. The joint survey by the National Institute for Land and Infrastructure Management and the Building Research Institute recorded timber buildings collapsed and roofing thrown across a wide area, and the gust, rated F2 on the Fujita scale at first, was later revised to F3.
Visiting the Former Tamura Kimono Store Storehouse
The Former Tamura Kimono Store Storehouse sits at the back of the plot and is not open to the public. What is open on the same plot is the 1st-floor shop of the misegura on the street, which operates as the Hōjō Fureai-kan on Saturdays, Sundays and public holidays, 10:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m., free of charge. The local Hōjō Machizukuri Shinkōkai runs it, and the telephone number is 080-6788-0693. Anyone hoping to see the storehouse should ask there in advance.
No published photography rule could be found. Ask whoever is minding the Fureai-kan before taking pictures on the plot.
By public transport, start at Tsukuba Station on the Tsukuba Express and use the Tsukuba Center bus terminal. The Tsukuba Bus Hokubu Shuttle reaches Tsukuba Kōryū Center in about 40 minutes, leaving a walk of about 10 minutes. The Oda Shuttle stops at Hōjō Nakamachi, right in front of the plot, but its route is roundabout and takes close to an hour. Published sources do not say if the property has its own parking.
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Q&A
- Can you go inside the Former Tamura Kimono Store Storehouse?
- No. It is closed to the public. On the same plot, the 1st-floor shop of the street-facing building opens as the Hōjō Fureai-kan on Saturdays, Sundays and public holidays, 10:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m., free of charge. Enquiries go to 080-6788-0693.
- When was the Former Tamura Kimono Store Storehouse built and registered?
- It dates from the Taishō era (1912-1926) and was repaired in 2012. It was entered on the national register of tangible cultural properties on November 17, 2015.
- What was the Former Tamura Kimono Store Storehouse used for?
- It held the shop's stock. Bolts of cloth suffer from damp, insects and light, and the thick earthen walls kept conditions steady. A connecting roof runs to the main house so goods could be moved in wet weather.
- How big is the Former Tamura Kimono Store Storehouse?
- It is 3 ken by 2 and a half ken, 2 storeys high, with a footprint of 32 square metres. The construction is earthen-walled storehouse work under a tiled roof, with a connecting roof to the main house.
- How do you reach the Former Tamura Kimono Store Storehouse from the nearest station?
- From Tsukuba Station on the Tsukuba Express, take the Hokubu Shuttle from Tsukuba Center to Tsukuba Kōryū Center, about 40 minutes, then walk about 10 minutes. The Oda Shuttle stops outside the plot at Hōjō Nakamachi but takes nearly an hour.
Basic Information
| Name | Former Tamura Kimono Store Storehouse (旧田村呉服店蔵) |
|---|---|
| Location | 39-1 Hinata, Hōjō, Tsukuba City, Ibaraki Prefecture |
| Designation | Registered Tangible Cultural Property (Structure) |
| Year Designated | Registered on November 17, 2015 (Heisei 27) |
| Quantity | 1 building |
| Dimensions | Storehouse construction, 2 storeys, tiled roof, footprint 32 square metres, with connecting roof. 3 ken by 2 and a half ken |
| Owner | Private (the Tamura family) |
| Public Access | Closed. On the same plot the 1st floor of the shop storehouse and main house opens as the Hōjō Fureai-kan on Saturdays, Sundays and public holidays, 10:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m., free of charge |
References
- Agency for Cultural Affairs, National Database of Designated Cultural Properties: Kyu Tamura Gofukuten Kura
- https://kunishitei.bunka.go.jp/heritage/detail/101/00010740
- Cultural Heritage Online: Kyu Tamura Gofukuten Kura
- https://bunka.nii.ac.jp/heritages/detail/247195
- Tsukuba City: Protection of Cultural Properties
- https://www.city.tsukuba.lg.jp/soshikikarasagasu/kyoikukyokubunkazaika/gyomuannai/2/1/1001638.html
- Tsukuba City: Registered Tangible Cultural Properties in Tsukuba (PDF)
- https://www.city.tsukuba.lg.jp/material/files/group/156/R8_tsukuba_tourokubunkazai.pdf
- Hojo Machizukuri Shinkokai: Highlights of Hojo
- https://tsukuba-hojo.jp/highlights/
- Hojo Machizukuri Shinkokai: Hojo Fureai-kan
- https://tsukuba-hojo.jp/town/
- National Institute for Land and Infrastructure Management and Building Research Institute: Field Survey of Building Damage from the Tsukuba Tornado of May 6, 2012 (PDF)
- https://www.kenken.go.jp/japanese/contents/activities/other/disaster/kaze/2012tsukuba/120506-tsukuba.pdf
- Tsukuba City: Tsukuba Bus community bus guide
- https://www.city.tsukuba.lg.jp/soshikikarasagasu/toshikeikakubusogokotsuseisakuka/gyomuannai/2/1/1001471.html
Last verified: 2026.09.07