A Black-Plastered Storehouse at the Back of the Plot
Surugaya Miyata Bookstore Storehouse (駿河屋宮田書店土蔵, Surugaya Miyata Shoten Dozo) is a storehouse in Uchihori-cho, Hitachiota City, Ibaraki Prefecture, built around 1908 and entered on the national list of Registered Tangible Cultural Property on October 7, 2014. It occupies the south-west corner of the Miyata family property, a merchant house trading under the name Surugaya, with its ridge running north to south.
The property meets the old highway on its east side, where the store and main house of 1810 stands. The storehouse followed about 100 years later and took the furthest corner of the lot. Shop at the street, storehouse at the back: this is how merchant families on the Kujiragaoka ridge organised their ground.
Surugaya Miyata Bookstore Storehouse is built Dozo-zukuri, 2 storeys, covering 69 square meters, with a Geya lean-to along the east side. The walls rest on posts set at intervals of 3 shaku, about 90 centimeters, with earth built up in layers over them.
Why the Storehouse Was Listed
Surugaya Miyata Bookstore Storehouse was registered on October 7, 2014, under number 08-0258. The store and main house facing the highway, number 08-0257, joined the Registered Tangible Cultural Property list on the same day. The criterion in both cases is contribution to the historic landscape of the country.
The Agency for Cultural Affairs closes its account of the building with a single judgement: it shows how a merchant household in this district laid out its premises. The storehouse was valued as one part of a whole, alongside the shop, the main house, the wing of formal rooms and the detached quarters, all fitted onto one plot. Its size also says something about the standing of the Miyata family in the late Meiji era, when they could afford to put up a store of this scale behind the shop.
The base is noted as well. Granite blocks finished by the Edokiri method are laid in 2 courses to form the plinth, their faces dressed flat so that the heavy earthen walls come down square onto the stone.
What to Look For
The east front is the face turned to the road, and it carries the best of the work. The ground-floor wall is finished in black Shikkui, which takes on a low sheen depending on the angle of the light. Black lime plaster has to be built up and then burnished, so the skill of the plasterer shows in the surface itself.
At the centre of that front, the opening is framed by a torii shape modelled in black plaster. Posts and a lintel are raised in the thickness of the render rather than cut in timber, giving the doorway of Surugaya Miyata Bookstore Storehouse a frame that reads clearly from across the street.
The roof is copper sheet. It was tiled originally; after damage in the 2011 Tohoku earthquake, the repair carried out in 2012 replaced the tiles with copper. New copper starts bright and dulls over the years, so the roof looks different depending on when you come. The pairing of black walls with a metal roof is the practical answer that many buildings in Hitachiota arrived at after the earthquake.
Visiting Surugaya Miyata Bookstore Storehouse
Surugaya Miyata Bookstore Storehouse is part of a private home and business, and the interior is not open. Viewing means looking at the exterior from the road. The plot itself is closed to visitors, so the practical approach is to look through the gate on the south side of the shop frontage and pick out the storehouse standing at the rear.
During Shuchu Bakuryo, the autumn airing event run by the Hitachiota Board of Education, the store and main house is opened to the public. In 2026 the event falls on October 17 and 18, with the shop building open on the 17th only, from 10:00 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. The storehouse is not among the buildings shown. Photographs taken from outside the property are fine, though this is somebody's home and worth treating as such.
The nearest station is Hitachiota on the JR Suigun Line, about 15 minutes on foot to the north. Umezu Kaikan, the local history museum used as the event information centre, is about 300 meters away. There is no dedicated car park. What opens and when changes from year to year, so check the city website before setting out.
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Q&A
- Can you go inside Surugaya Miyata Bookstore Storehouse?
- No. The interior is closed, and the storehouse is not among the buildings opened for the city's Shuchu Bakuryo airing event. You can see the exterior from the road.
- When was Surugaya Miyata Bookstore Storehouse built?
- Around 1908, roughly 100 years after the store and main house on the street front, which dates from 1810.
- Why does Surugaya Miyata Bookstore Storehouse have a copper roof?
- The roof was tiled until the 2011 Tohoku earthquake caused damage. During repairs completed in 2012 the tiles were replaced with copper sheet.
- What is the torii frame on Surugaya Miyata Bookstore Storehouse?
- It is a decorative surround at the central opening on the ground floor of the east front, with the outline of a torii gate raised in black lime plaster. It frames the doorway and shows off the plasterer's control of the material.
- How do you get to Surugaya Miyata Bookstore Storehouse?
- Walk about 15 minutes north from Hitachiota Station on the JR Suigun Line, onto the Kujiragaoka ridge. It is about 300 meters from Umezu Kaikan. There is no dedicated parking.
Basic Information
| Name | Surugaya Miyata Bookstore Storehouse (駿河屋宮田書店土蔵) |
|---|---|
| Location | 2357 Uchihori-nishi, Uchihori-cho, Hitachiota City, Ibaraki Prefecture |
| Designation | Registered Tangible Cultural Property (building) |
| Year Designated | Registered in 2014 (Heisei 26) |
| Quantity | 1 building |
| Dimensions | Dozo-zukuri, 2 storeys, copper-sheet roof, building area 69 square meters |
| Owner | Private owner |
| Public Access | Interior closed; exterior can be viewed from the road |
References
- Agency for Cultural Affairs, National Cultural Properties Database: Surugaya Miyata Bookstore Storehouse
- https://kunishitei.bunka.go.jp/heritage/detail/101/00010095
- Agency for Cultural Affairs, National Cultural Properties Database: Surugaya Miyata Bookstore Store and Main House
- https://kunishitei.bunka.go.jp/heritage/detail/101/00010094
- Ibaraki Prefectural Board of Education, Cultural Properties of Ibaraki: Surugaya Miyata Bookstore Store and Main House and one other building
- https://kyoiku.pref.ibaraki.jp/bunkazai/bunkazai-registered-5988/
- Hitachiota City: Cultural Properties of Kujiragaoka, Shuchu Bakuryo
- https://www.city.hitachiota.ibaraki.jp/kyoiku-bunka-sports/kyoiku-iinkai/bunka-geijutsu/shuju-bakuryo/page009084.html
- Hitachiota City: Shuchu Bakuryo 2026 programme
- https://www.city.hitachiota.ibaraki.jp/kyoiku-bunka-sports/kyoiku-iinkai/bunka-geijutsu/shuju-bakuryo/page003787.html
Last verified: 2026.09.07