Kotabe Foundry South Storehouse: registered for its craftsmanship
The Kotabe Foundry South Storehouse (小田部鋳造南土蔵, Kotabe Chūzō Minami-dozō) is an early Meiji-era mud-walled storehouse at Makabecho-da in Sakuragawa City, Ibaraki Prefecture, listed as a Registered Tangible Cultural Property on 28 August 2001. The Agency for Cultural Affairs recorded it under the criterion of being a model of design. The main house, north storehouse and gate registered on the same day were all entered under a different criterion, contribution to the historic landscape. Only this building was cited for its making.
It stands east of the main house and south of the north storehouse. The range runs north to south, 4.5 by 2.5 ken in the traditional bay unit, built in the Kirizuma-zukuri gabled form with Sangawara-buki pantiles and entered on the long side in the Hirairi manner. It has 2 storeys and a building area of 55 square metres, the smallest of the four registered buildings on the compound.
Small does not mean rough. The official record describes it as more carefully built than the north storehouse and notes a tradition that it began as a bunko-gura, a store for ledgers, deeds and household records. Paper had to be kept from damp and fire. For a house casting temple bells, the order books and the written dimensions of moulds were the trade itself.
The okiyane roof
What sets the Kotabe Foundry South Storehouse apart is how its roof is carried. The Agency for Cultural Affairs record calls the method okiyane. A box is raised in thick earthen walls in the Dozo-zukuri technique, and a separately framed roof structure is then set on top of it, so that the weight of the roof and the shedding of rain are kept clear of the wall itself.
There is reason behind this. Earthen walls take years to dry out, and even then they take up and release moisture. A roof fixed straight into such a wall transmits that movement to the rafters and the tiles work loose. A roof merely set on top lets the walls move and can be re-tiled on its own schedule. The method costs labour and buys longevity.
Eaves of about 4 shaku, roughly 1.2 metres, project on the west and south faces, and the doorway opens at the middle of the west side. The eaves narrow the wall area exposed to rain and shade anyone handling goods at the door. Carrying eaves around 2 faces of so small a building is itself a mark of the care taken.
What to look at
Look at the gable end. Where a roof rests on the wall rather than being tied into it, the junction between the top of the wall and the eaves reads differently, and the roof appears to float. Set beside the north storehouse, the contrast is plain: a 13 ken range built to move freight, and a 4.5 ken box built to keep paper dry.
The full 2 storeys matter too. The north storehouse is single-storey with an upper floor over part of its length, while the Kotabe Foundry South Storehouse rises 2 storeys throughout, making up in height what it lacks in floor area. For a document store, shelving upward beats stacking on the ground.
The compound is still a working foundry. Two Meiji storehouses stand among factory sheds and modern stores, each type used for what it suits. That division of labour is why the old buildings are here at all: they went on being useful long before anyone thought to register them.
Visiting the Kotabe Foundry South Storehouse
The Kotabe Foundry South Storehouse sits inside private property and the interior is closed. No factory tour is offered. From the public road the main house and factory sheds stand in front of it, so the storehouse shows itself only from certain angles. Do not enter the compound, and keep any photographs to what can be seen from the road.
On public transport, the nearest station is Iwase on the JR Mito Line, about 20 minutes away by taxi according to Sakuragawa City. Starting from Tsukuba Station on the Tsukuba Express, a Tsukuba city bus runs to Tsukubasanguchi in about 50 minutes, where you change to a Sakuragawa city bus towards the Iwase branch office for about 20 minutes. By car, allow about 20 minutes from the Sakuragawa-Chikusei interchange, or about 50 minutes from the Tsuchiura-kita interchange via National Route 125 and Prefectural Route 41.
The Makabe Takajomachi car park (279-1 Makabecho-Makabe, Sakuragawa City) is the convenient place to leave a car: 65 spaces for ordinary vehicles without booking, and 4 coach spaces by reservation. The walk from there to the neighbourhood of the Kotabe Foundry South Storehouse is short. The Makabe Hina Matsuri doll festival fills the streets each year from early February until 3 March, when more people are out walking, though the centre is closed to traffic on some days. Check the dates with the Sakuragawa Tourism Association. Travel details here were verified on 7 September 2026.
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Q&A
- Can you visit the Kotabe Foundry South Storehouse?
- The interior is closed. It stands within a working foundry, with the main house and factory sheds in front of it, so even the view from the road is limited to certain angles.
- What is the okiyane roof of the Kotabe Foundry South Storehouse?
- A separately framed roof set on top of a box of thick earthen walls. Keeping the roof off the wall structure stops the movement of drying earth from loosening the tiles and allows the roof to be renewed on its own.
- When was the Kotabe Foundry South Storehouse built and registered?
- The Agency for Cultural Affairs dates it to the early Meiji era, which began in 1868. It became a Registered Tangible Cultural Property on 28 August 2001.
- How large is the Kotabe Foundry South Storehouse?
- It measures 4.5 by 2.5 ken with a building area of 55 square metres over 2 storeys. Eaves of about 4 shaku, roughly 1.2 metres, run along the west and south faces.
- How do you reach the Kotabe Foundry South 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. Park at the Makabe Takajomachi car park.
Basic Information
| Name | Kotabe Foundry South 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 55 square metres; 4.5 by 2.5 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 Minami-dozo
- https://kunishitei.bunka.go.jp/heritage/detail/101/00002210
- Agency for Cultural Affairs, National Cultural Properties Database, Kotabe Chuzo Kita-dozo
- https://kunishitei.bunka.go.jp/heritage/detail/101/00002209
- Sakuragawa City, The townscape of Makabe
- https://www.city.sakuragawa.lg.jp/tourism_guide/learn/page000455.html
- 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
- Kotabe Chuzo Co., Ltd., Company profile
- https://kotabe.sakuragawa.jp/company.html
Last verified: 2026.09.07