A small storehouse built for paper
The Miyamoto Family Residence New Storehouse (宮本家住宅新蔵, Miyamotoke Jūtaku Shingura) is a late 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 stands near the middle of the eastern side of the compound and now holds documents.
Its floor area is 20 square metres, the smallest footprint among the 8 registered buildings of the Miyamoto compound. Nothing about its construction is reduced to match: it is a 2-storey structure in Dozo-zukuri, walls rendered in Shikkui plaster, roof laid in Sangawara-buki pantiles.
The ridge runs east to west and the entrance is on the west, so the building is Tsumairi, presenting its gable triangle to the approach under a Kirizuma-zukuri roof. It shares a pentice with the large storehouse immediately south, and from a distance the two look like one range under a continuous eave.
Registered for the quality of its design
The Miyamoto Family Residence New Storehouse carries registration No. 08-0087, entered under the criterion for buildings that serve as a model of design. Only 3 of the 8 buildings on the plot were listed under that heading: this one, the large storehouse and the annex.
Above the upper window on the gable front, which has its own small hood, sits a circular plaster medallion. A building for storing paperwork needs no such thing. The decision to put it there, and to have a plasterer form it by hand, is exactly the sort of judgement the criterion is meant to capture, and the national record cites the care taken over the workmanship.
For a household that brewed and sold soy sauce, contracts and ledgers were the basis of the business. Paper burns, so it went behind thick earthen walls, and the walls went deep inside the plot rather than out on the street. Where the Miyamoto Family Residence New Storehouse sits, and how small it is, tell you what the family least wanted to lose.
What to look for
Find the plaster medallion above the upper window. It is a white disc worked with a trowel, easy to miss from a distance, and it holds the centre line of the gable front.
The orientation is worth noticing too. The large storehouse next door runs its ridge the other way and is entered on the long side, so it shows a broad flank where this building shows a peak. Two neighbours, two entirely different profiles.
The shared pentice between them is the clearest thing to read from outside. Two separate buildings, one strip of roof solving the junction where rain would otherwise fall between them. The Miyamoto Family Residence New Storehouse holds its own registration, yet as construction it cannot be pulled apart from the storehouse beside it.
Visiting
The Miyamoto Family Residence New Storehouse is privately owned and the interior is closed. It stands towards the rear of the plot on the eastern side, so the street gives no clear view of the whole building.
In some years part of the compound is opened during autumn events, which can bring the row of storehouses into view. What is opened, and when, varies from year to year, so ask the Hojo town-building association; hours and any charge depend on the individual event.
Keep photography to what is visible from the public road, and do not enter the grounds. This is a storehouse still in use.
Buses leave from Tsukuba Center, outside Tsukuba Station on the Tsukuba Express. The Oda Shuttle runs about 45 minutes and sets you down at Hojo Nakamachi. The Hokubu Shuttle reaches Tsukuba Koryu Center in about 30 minutes, leaving about 10 minutes on foot. Tsuchiura Station is about 40 minutes away on the Kantetsu Purple Bus.
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Q&A
- Can you go inside the Miyamoto Family Residence New Storehouse?
- No. It is closed to visitors, and its position at the back of the plot means even the exterior is hard to see from the road.
- How big is the Miyamoto Family Residence New Storehouse?
- It covers 20 square metres, the smallest of the 8 registered buildings on the site, and rises 2 storeys in earth-walled construction.
- What is kept in the Miyamoto Family Residence New Storehouse?
- Documents and similar records. Thick earthen walls were the standard way of protecting paper from fire.
- When was the Miyamoto Family Residence New Storehouse registered?
- On 1 July 2003, as No. 08-0087, under the criterion for buildings that serve as a model of design.
- How do I reach the Miyamoto Family Residence New Storehouse?
- Hojo Nakamachi is the nearest stop: about 45 minutes on the Oda Shuttle from Tsukuba Station, or about 40 minutes on the Kantetsu Purple Bus from Tsuchiura Station.
Basic Information
| Name | Miyamoto Family Residence New 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 20 square metres, 2-storey earth-walled construction |
| Owner | Private owner |
| Public Access | Interior closed; stands at the rear of the plot with limited visibility from the street |
References
- Agency for Cultural Affairs, National Cultural Properties Database: Miyamotoke Jutaku Shingura
- https://kunishitei.bunka.go.jp/heritage/detail/101/00003365
- 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