Kotabe Foundry North Storehouse: a warehouse built for freight
The Kotabe Foundry North Storehouse (小田部鋳造北土蔵, Kotabe Chūzō Kita-dozō) is an early Meiji-era mud-walled warehouse at Makabecho-da in Sakuragawa City, Ibaraki Prefecture, listed as a Registered Tangible Cultural Property on 28 August 2001. The Agency for Cultural Affairs classifies it under secondary industry. The main house and gate on the same compound are recorded as residential; only this building is filed as a place of work.
It measures 13 by 3 ken, the traditional bay unit, in a long range running north to south, roofed in the Kirizuma-zukuri gabled form with Sangawara-buki pantiles. The Dozo-zukuri structure is single-storey, with a 2nd storey over part of its length. Its building area of 169 square metres makes it the second largest of the four registered buildings here, after the main house.
The family who built it cast metal. The Kotabe hold the rank of chokkyo on-imonoji, granted to founders allowed to supply castings for the imperial court and other official use, and the present head is the 37th generation. Making temple bells, fire bells and bronze water basins takes copper and tin, plus sand and clay for the moulds. Raw material comes in and finished work goes out; the Kotabe Foundry North Storehouse was built to handle both.
Why the Kotabe Foundry North Storehouse was registered
Its number on the Registered Tangible Cultural Property roll is 08-0057, and the notice appeared on 14 September 2001. The criterion applied was contribution to the historic landscape of the country. Sakuragawa City counts roughly 100 registered properties in and around Makabecho-Makabe, about 17.6 hectares of which was selected in 2010 as a national Important Preservation District for Groups of Traditional Buildings. Makabecho-da, where the Kotabe Foundry North Storehouse stands, falls outside that selected zone.
Most surviving storehouses in central Makabe were put up by merchants for household goods and stock. This one had a different job. The official record divides the interior into a 3.5 ken storeroom at the north end and a 9.5 ken freight store to the south, with 2 doorways opening onto the west face of the freight store. Loading could run through either, which says something about the volume the workshop moved.
The Meiji era was when Makabe merchants raised warehouses and shop-storehouses in numbers. The casting family joined that wave, but the building they raised held metal and moulding sand rather than merchandise. The Kotabe Foundry North Storehouse survives as evidence that a market town's economy can be read off the shapes of its buildings.
What to look at
Length is the first thing to register. The gabled roof runs straight for the full 13 ken of the frontage, while the depth is only 3 ken. Seen end-on the building looks narrow and tall; seen from the side, the far corner is a long way off. The proportions have little in common with the near-square storehouses along the town's main streets.
Along the east flank, a bay one ken deep is treated as Geya, a lean-to roof sloping off the main wall to shelter tools and materials. On the west front, eaves one ken wide project to form what is called a kuramae, a working apron in front of the doors. Goods could be moved in and out without getting wet, which makes this as much a workplace as a store.
The Kotabe Foundry North Storehouse sits towards the east of the compound, behind the main house. From the road you catch the roof and the gable end over the top of the house, and the Shikkui plaster walls cannot be examined at close range. The unbroken 13 ken ridge reads better from further back.
Visiting the Kotabe Foundry North Storehouse
The Kotabe Foundry North Storehouse stands inside a working foundry, and the interior is not open to visitors. No factory tour is advertised. The compound is private, so plan on viewing from the public road rather than entering. Keep photography to the exterior from the road, and away from work in progress or the family's living space.
By car, allow about 20 minutes from the Sakuragawa-Chikusei interchange, or about 50 minutes from the Tsuchiura-kita interchange on the Joban Expressway via National Route 125 and Prefectural Route 41. Park at the Makabe Takajomachi car park (279-1 Makabecho-Makabe, Sakuragawa City), where 65 spaces for ordinary cars need no booking. Its 4 coach spaces are reserved through the Sakuragawa City urban development section.
By rail, the nearest station is Iwase on the JR Mito Line, about 20 minutes away by taxi according to the city. From Tsukuba Station a bus reaches Tsukubasanguchi in about 50 minutes, where you change to a Sakuragawa city bus towards the Iwase branch office for another 20 minutes. During the Makabe Hina Matsuri doll festival, held each year from early February until 3 March, walkers spread out as far as the Kotabe Foundry North Storehouse, though the centre is closed to traffic on some days. Confirm dates with the Sakuragawa Tourism Association. The travel details here were checked on 7 September 2026.
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Q&A
- Can you go inside the Kotabe Foundry North Storehouse?
- No. It stands within a working foundry and the interior is closed. The outside can be seen from the road beyond the compound.
- When was the Kotabe Foundry North Storehouse built and registered?
- The Agency for Cultural Affairs dates it to the early Meiji era, which began in 1868. It was listed as a Registered Tangible Cultural Property on 28 August 2001.
- How big is the Kotabe Foundry North Storehouse?
- It measures 13 by 3 ken with a building area of 169 square metres. The mud-walled structure is single-storey, with a 2nd storey over part of its length.
- How does the Kotabe Foundry North Storehouse differ from the south storehouse?
- This is the long freight store, 169 square metres in area. The south storehouse is a small 2-storey building of 55 square metres, said to have held documents, and is more finely finished.
- How do you reach the Kotabe Foundry North Storehouse?
- About 20 minutes by taxi from Iwase Station on the JR Mito Line, or about 20 minutes by car from the Sakuragawa-Chikusei interchange. Use the Makabe Takajomachi car park.
Basic Information
| Name | Kotabe Foundry North Storehouse |
|---|---|
| Location | 45 Makabecho-da, Sakuragawa City, Ibaraki Prefecture |
| Designation | Registered Tangible Cultural Property (building) |
| Year Designated | Registered on 28 August 2001 |
| Quantity | 1 building |
| Dimensions | Building area 169 square metres; 13 by 3 ken |
| Owner | Private. No owner name is listed in the Agency for Cultural Affairs database |
| Public Access | Not open to the public. The exterior is visible from the road outside the compound |
References
- Agency for Cultural Affairs, National Cultural Properties Database, Kotabe Chuzo Kita-dozo
- https://kunishitei.bunka.go.jp/heritage/detail/101/00002209
- Agency for Cultural Affairs, National Cultural Properties Database, Kotabe Chuzo Minami-dozo
- https://kunishitei.bunka.go.jp/heritage/detail/101/00002210
- Sakuragawa City, Makabe Important Preservation District for Groups of Traditional Buildings
- https://www.city.sakuragawa.lg.jp/education/bunkazai/city_bunkazai/kuni_bunkazai/page003423.html
- Sakuragawa City, The townscape of Makabe
- https://www.city.sakuragawa.lg.jp/tourism_guide/learn/page000455.html
- Kotabe Chuzo Co., Ltd., Company profile
- https://kotabe.sakuragawa.jp/company.html
Last verified: 2026.09.07