A merchant's storehouse on the street front
The Miyamoto Family Residence Shop Storehouse (宮本家住宅店蔵, Miyamotoke Jūtaku Misegura) is a merchant building of the late Edo period, built between 1830 and 1867 at Hojo in Tsukuba City, Ibaraki Prefecture, and registered as a Registered Tangible Cultural Property on 1 July 2003. It faces north onto the old high street of Hojo, the market town at the foot of Mount Tsukuba where the Tsukuba-michi pilgrim road begins.
The family who built it traded under the shop name Miyasei. Successive heads of the house took the name Seibei, and the business was soy sauce, brewed and sold here until the late 1960s. This building was the counting room and shop floor of that trade.
It is a 2-storey structure in Dozo-zukuri, the thick earth-walled method used for fireproof storehouses, with a building area of 77 square metres. The roof is Kirizuma-zukuri with Sangawara-buki tiles, and the street side is Hirairi, entered on the long eaves face. Lean-to Geya roofs run along the north and west, and a further storehouse adjoins to the east. The walls are finished in Shikkui plaster right up under the eaves, with one exception: the east face is boarded in Shitami-itabari. Hinged double shutters close over the upper window on the front.
Why it carries national registration
The Miyamoto Family Residence Shop Storehouse holds registration No. 08-0081, entered under the criterion for buildings that contribute to the historic landscape of the country. Its role is a civic one: it anchors the streetscape of Hojo.
The other buildings on the same plot were registered on the same day: the dwelling house, the annex, the kitchen, the gate, the charcoal and miso shed with its garage, the new storehouse and the large storehouse. That makes 8 in all, on a site of roughly 2,300 square metres, covering trade, family life, storage and daily work. Few merchant compounds in the region have kept so complete a set.
The national record singles out the condition of the fabric. Where most surviving shophouses have lost their original faces to remodelling, here the shop, the dwelling behind it, the gate and the wall have come through together, and that is what gives the group its weight.
What to look for
Start on the street and look up. The plaster carries over the eaves soffit and seals the timber away from flying embers, and the sheer thickness of it is visible from below. The shutters at the upper window are heavy leaves that swing shut against the wall; open or closed, they change the character of the whole front.
Walk round to the east side and the finish changes. Instead of plaster there is weatherboarding held by notched battens, which throws a fine ridged shadow across the wall in low sun. One face was worth the expense of a full plaster coat and the other was not, and the building says so plainly.
When the interior is open, watch for the sliding shopfront panels, which still run in their grooves. Inside are the lattice screen that shielded the accounts desk, the strongbox and the shop's crested work coats. They make the point that the Miyamoto Family Residence Shop Storehouse was a room for receiving customers, not simply a place to stack goods. The gate and plastered wall immediately to the east belong to the same composition and were designed to be read with it.
Visiting
The Miyamoto Family Residence Shop Storehouse is privately owned and part of a lived-in house, so the interior is not open on a daily basis. The exterior can be seen at any time from the public street, and the whole of the north front is easy to take in from the pavement opposite.
The inside is sometimes opened during the Tsukuba Sanroku Aki Matsuri, the autumn festival held around October and November, under the Hojo town-building association. Recent openings have been free of charge. Dates shift from year to year, so check with the association before making a special trip.
Photography of the exterior from the public road is fine. If you visit on an open day, follow the notices on site, since the compound remains a private home.
From Tsukuba Station on the Tsukuba Express, take the Tsuku-bus Oda Shuttle about 45 minutes to the Hojo Nakamachi stop, which is a few steps away. The Hokubu Shuttle is an alternative: about 30 minutes to Tsukuba Koryu Center, then about 10 minutes on foot. From Tsuchiura Station on the JR Joban Line, the Kantetsu Purple Bus takes about 40 minutes to the same Hojo Nakamachi stop. Drivers can use the free car parks in the Hojo shopping street.
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Q&A
- Can you go inside the Miyamoto Family Residence Shop Storehouse, and is there an admission fee?
- Not as a rule, because it forms part of a private home. The interior has been opened during the autumn festival in recent years, free of charge. The exterior is visible from the street at any time.
- How old is the Miyamoto Family Residence Shop Storehouse?
- It dates from the closing decades of the Edo period, between 1830 and 1867, when the Miyamoto family were brewing and selling soy sauce on the site.
- Why was the Miyamoto Family Residence Shop Storehouse given national registration?
- It was registered on 1 July 2003 under the criterion for buildings that contribute to the historic landscape of the country, as registration No. 08-0081.
- How do I reach the Miyamoto Family Residence Shop Storehouse by public transport?
- Take the Tsuku-bus Oda Shuttle from Tsukuba Station, about 45 minutes to Hojo Nakamachi. From Tsuchiura Station the Kantetsu Purple Bus takes about 40 minutes to the same stop.
- Is photography allowed at the Miyamoto Family Residence Shop Storehouse?
- Yes for the exterior from the public road. On open days, follow the instructions given on site.
Basic Information
| Name | Miyamoto Family Residence Shop 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 | Building area 77 square metres, 2-storey earth-walled construction |
| Owner | Private owner |
| Public Access | Exterior visible from the street; interior normally closed, opened occasionally for autumn events |
References
- Agency for Cultural Affairs, National Cultural Properties Database: Miyamotoke Jutaku Misegura
- https://kunishitei.bunka.go.jp/heritage/detail/101/00003359
- 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: Highlights
- https://tsukuba-hojo.jp/highlights/
- Tsukuba-michi Hojo Sanpo, Hojo Town Development Association: Access
- https://old.tsukuba-hojo.jp/access.html
Last verified: 2026.09.07