Built for rice, now a room for sound
The Miyamoto Family Residence Large Storehouse (宮本家住宅大蔵, Miyamotoke Jūtaku Ōgura) is an early Meiji period earth-walled storehouse of 1868 to 1911 at Hojo in Tsukuba City, Ibaraki Prefecture, registered as a Registered Tangible Cultural Property on 1 July 2003. It faces west from the middle of the eastern side of the compound and once held straw bales of rice.
It measures 11 metres along the ridge and 4.5 metres across, with a floor area of 50 square metres. The construction is Dozo-zukuri, 2 storeys, walls in Shikkui plaster, roof Kirizuma-zukuri with Sangawara-buki pantiles and its ridge running north to south. Entry is on the long side, making it Hirairi. A pentice is shared with the new storehouse adjoining to the north.
In 2008 the building was fitted out as a concert hall under the name Miyasei Ōgura. Ando Kunihiro, a researcher of vernacular houses and professor emeritus at the University of Tsukuba, supervised the work, which was carried out by architecture students from the same university. Recitals have been held here since, organised by the Hojo town-building association, and the Miyamoto Family Residence Large Storehouse has become a place where the district gathers.
Design quality, and the choice to keep using it
The Miyamoto Family Residence Large Storehouse holds registration No. 08-0088, entered under the criterion for buildings that serve as a model of design. The national record also remarks on how well the fabric has been kept.
The upper window on the front carries a frame in the shape of a torii, with a lintel running across above the uprights. It tightens the opening and gives the broad plastered wall its one piece of drawn detail. On a surface built up in wet plaster coat by coat, the presence or absence of that single frame changes the whole face of the building.
The registration system is built around continued use rather than preservation in amber, and this conversion from grain store to auditorium follows that logic closely. Thick earthen walls, a tall interior and the beams framed into the roof space became, without much alteration, the outline of a hall and its seating.
What to look for
From outside, follow the length of the west wall. The plaster runs 11 metres without a break, and the torii frame sits at upper-floor level near its centre. The new storehouse to the north turns its gable this way instead, so two neighbouring buildings meet the same courtyard at right angles to each other.
If you get inside, look up. The beams that were sized to carry stacked rice bales are fully exposed. As reflecting surfaces they are irregular, and the acoustics of the hall depend on exactly that roughness.
The height from floor to beam is a storehouse dimension too, cleared so that bales could be piled high, and now read as volume for players and listeners. That translation of storage measurements into musical ones is the thing to notice at the Miyamoto Family Residence Large Storehouse.
Visiting
Although privately owned, this is the building on the plot that visitors are most likely to get inside. When the Hojo town-building association stages a recital at the hall, an audience ticket is a way into the storehouse itself.
Concerts are occasional rather than scheduled, and dates, venue details and prices are announced for each one. On other days the Miyamoto Family Residence Large Storehouse is closed, and its position deep in the plot means there is little to see from the street. Check the association's announcements before planning a trip around it.
Photographing the exterior from the public road is fine. At concerts, follow the instructions given at the venue, since recording touches on the performers' rights.
If you are coming for a concert, the Oda Shuttle from Tsukuba Station on the Tsukuba Express takes about 45 minutes to Hojo Nakamachi. The Hokubu Shuttle is about 30 minutes to Tsukuba Koryu Center plus about 10 minutes on foot. Allow about 40 minutes on the Kantetsu Purple Bus from Tsuchiura Station.
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Q&A
- Can visitors go inside the Miyamoto Family Residence Large Storehouse?
- Not on ordinary days, but the building serves as the Miyasei Ogura concert hall, and audiences can enter when a recital is held. The Hojo town-building association announces dates.
- What was the Miyamoto Family Residence Large Storehouse originally used for?
- It was a grain store holding straw bales of rice. In 2008 it was fitted out as a concert hall and has been used for performances since.
- How large is the Miyamoto Family Residence Large Storehouse?
- It runs 11 metres by 4.5 metres, with a floor area of 50 square metres, in 2-storey earth-walled construction.
- When was the Miyamoto Family Residence Large Storehouse registered?
- On 1 July 2003, as No. 08-0088, under the criterion for buildings that serve as a model of design.
- How do I reach the Miyamoto Family Residence Large Storehouse?
- The Oda Shuttle from Tsukuba Station runs about 45 minutes to Hojo Nakamachi. Coming from Tsuchiura Station, the Kantetsu Purple Bus takes about 40 minutes.
Basic Information
| Name | Miyamoto Family Residence Large Storehouse |
|---|---|
| Location | 188 Hojo, Tsukuba City, Ibaraki Prefecture |
| Designation | Registered Tangible Cultural Property (Structure) |
| Year Designated | Registered on 1 July 2003 |
| Quantity | 1 building |
| Dimensions | 11 metres by 4.5 metres, building area 50 square metres |
| Owner | Private owner |
| Public Access | Normally closed; interior open to audiences when concerts are held in the Miyasei Ogura hall |
References
- Agency for Cultural Affairs, National Cultural Properties Database: Miyamotoke Jutaku Ogura
- https://kunishitei.bunka.go.jp/heritage/detail/101/00003366
- Ibaraki Prefectural Board of Education, Cultural Properties of Ibaraki: Miyamotoke Jutaku Misegura and seven other buildings
- https://kyoiku.pref.ibaraki.jp/bunkazai/bunkazai-registered-6404/
- Tsukuba City, Protection of Cultural Properties (list of registered tangible cultural properties)
- https://www.city.tsukuba.lg.jp/kankobunka/bunka/rekishi/1001638.html
- Tsukuba Sanroku Hojo, Hojo Town Development Association: Town building and the Miyasei Ogura hall
- https://tsukuba-hojo.jp/town/
- Tsukuba-michi Hojo Sanpo, Hojo Town Development Association: Access
- https://old.tsukuba-hojo.jp/access.html
Last verified: 2026.09.07