An Edo Shop Storehouse in Makabe
The Kawashima Shoten Misegura (川島書店見世蔵) is the most complete Edo-type shop storehouse in Makabe of the late Edo period in Makabecho Makabe, Sakuragawa City, Ibaraki Prefecture, and was registered as a Registered Tangible Cultural Property (structure) on October 18, 2000 (Agency for Cultural Affairs).
The Agency records a two-storey plastered storehouse with a tiled roof and a building area of 47 square metres; registration number 08-0035.
The Shop Storehouse of a Herbal Pharmacy
The Kawashima Shoten misegura is the shop storehouse of the Kawashima family, who ran a herbal medicine shop from the late Edo period; it is said to have been built by the first head, Seibei (Agency for Cultural Affairs).
Four bays by two and a half, gabled and entered from the long side, it is a plastered storehouse with a lean-to canopy on the front. The ground floor is the shop and the upper floor has a matted room and a boarded room (Agency for Cultural Affairs). The Agency calls it the most complete Edo-type shop storehouse in Makabe, and well preserved.
Why It Was Registered
The Agency registered it as a model of design.
What to Look For
Look for the plastered shop front with its lean-to canopy (Agency for Cultural Affairs).
Visiting
The owner is not listed in the Agency record. No official information on public access was found.
Q&A
- When was it built?
- In the late Edo period.
- Who built it?
- Seibei, first head of the Kawashima family.
- How is it laid out?
- A shop below, two rooms above.
- How is it rated?
- As the finest Edo-type misegura in Makabe.
- When was the Kawashima Shoten Misegura registered?
- On October 18, 2000 (Agency for Cultural Affairs).
Basic Information
| Name | Kawashima Shoten Misegura (川島書店見世蔵) |
|---|---|
| Location | 335 Makabecho Makabe, Sakuragawa City, Ibaraki Prefecture |
| Designation | Registered Tangible Cultural Property (Structure) |
| Year Designated | Registered 2000/10/18 (Heisei 12) |
| Quantity | 1 building |
| Dimensions | Two-storey plastered storehouse, tiled roof, 47 m² |
| Owner | Not listed in the Agency database |
| Public Access | No official information on access |
References
- Kawashima Shoten Misegura (Database of National Cultural Properties, Agency for Cultural Affairs)
- https://kunishitei.bunka.go.jp/heritage/detail/101/00001862
Last verified: 2026.10.26