What Is the Sendaiya Store and Main House?
The Sendaiya Store and Main House (仙臺屋店舗兼主屋, Sendaiya Tenpo-ken-shuoku) is an 1882 merchant townhouse on Chuo-dori in Tono, Iwate Prefecture, and was registered as a Registered Tangible Cultural Property of Japan on July 8, 2008.
It is a two-story timber building with a gabled roof sheathed in metal sheet and a building area of 357 m². It stands at the southern, street end of a long and narrow plot, and it has been through a renovation in 1960 and a relocation in 2006. Of the six registered buildings at Sendaiya it is the largest, and the only one registered as a model of architectural form.
One Facade, Two Buildings
The street front of the Sendaiya Store and Main House is 9.5 ken wide. A ken is a traditional measure of about 1.8 m, which makes the facade more than 17 m long, generous for a townhouse.
That frontage is really two structures. The western 5.5 ken form the core of the house, where the household lived and traded. The eastern 4 ken were once a ryokan, a Japanese inn. The Agency for Cultural Affairs counts the two together as a single building, so what reads as one continuous front hides a join between buildings with different histories. Walk its length slowly and try to spot where the inn begins.
Mise and Joi: The Plan of a Tono Townhouse
Behind the street range, the core of the house sends a second ridge back from the rear at a right angle, giving the building an L-shaped footprint in its core section.
Inside, the main rooms run in a single line. The mise is the shop room facing the street; the jōi is the family's everyday living room, a term used in houses across northeastern Japan. Trade at the front and domestic life behind are threaded together along one axis. The Agency considers this layout a surviving example of the traditional Machiya townhouse form of Tono.
Why the Sendaiya Store and Main House Was Registered
The Sendaiya Store and Main House was registered as a model of architectural form. Its value lies in how faithfully a Meiji building keeps the Tono pattern of a shop on the street with living rooms strung out behind it.
That plan survived both the 1960 renovation and the 2006 relocation. Published sources do not explain why the house was moved, how far, or what changed in the process, so those questions remain open.
Seeing the Sendaiya Store and Main House
The Sendaiya Store and Main House is privately owned, and no interior viewing was announced as of September 2026. What you can see is the street facade. At more than 17 m wide it is hard to take in from close up, so step across Chuo-dori to view the whole front at once. There is no official guidance on photography; please keep people coming and going from the shop and house out of your frame. Directions to the compound are on the Sendaiya page.
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- Find tours, activities & transport passes near Sendaiya Store and Main House
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Q&A
- When was the Sendaiya Store and Main House built?
- In 1882. It was renovated in 1960 and relocated in 2006.
- What kind of building is the Sendaiya Store and Main House?
- A two-story timber townhouse with a gabled, metal-sheet roof and a 9.5-ken frontage. The western 5.5 ken are the original core of the house, and the eastern 4 ken were once an inn; the two are treated as one building.
- What are the mise and joi in the Sendaiya Store and Main House?
- The mise is the shop room facing the street, and the jōi is the family's everyday living room. In the core of the house these rooms are arranged in a single line.
- When did the Sendaiya Store and Main House become a Registered Tangible Cultural Property?
- On July 8, 2008. It was registered as a model of architectural form.
- Can you go inside the Sendaiya Store and Main House?
- No interior viewing was announced as of September 2026, as the house is privately owned. The facade can be seen from the street.
Basic Information
| Name | Sendaiya Store and Main House |
|---|---|
| Location | 501-3 Chuo-dori, Tono City, Iwate Prefecture |
| Designation | Registered Tangible Cultural Property (Structure) |
| Year Designated | Registered in 2008 |
| Quantity | 1 building |
| Dimensions | Building area 357 m² (2-story timber) |
| Owner | Private |
| Public Access | Interior not open to the public (exterior visible from the street) |
References
- Agency for Cultural Affairs, Database of National Cultural Properties: 仙臺屋店舗兼主屋
- https://kunishitei.bunka.go.jp/bsys/maindetails/101/00007165
- Cultural Heritage Online: 仙臺屋店舗兼主屋
- https://online.bunka.go.jp/heritages/detail/120237
- Tono City: Protection of Cultural Properties (list of designated and registered properties)
- https://www.city.tono.iwate.jp/index.cfm/48,14077,303,html
Last verified: 2026.09.30
