A Shop Building in Central Marugame
The Hogetsudo South Building (寳月堂南館) is a wooden shop building at Komeya-machi in central Marugame City, Kagawa Prefecture, built in 1918 and extended in 1931, and was registered as a Registered Tangible Cultural Property (structure) on March 27, 2018 (Agency for Cultural Affairs).
The Agency for Cultural Affairs records a wooden building of 2 storeys, partly 3, with a tiled roof and a building area of 216 square metres, altered in 1957 and 1966, registration number 37-431; the Kagawa Prefectural Board of Education lists a private owner.
Hogetsudo, a Marugame Confectioner
OnTrip JAL (2025) describes Hogetsudo as a Japanese confectioner at Komeya-machi in business for over a century. Its white shop on the street dates from the Meiji era, and the adjoining three-storey Western-style building is the registered property, linked to the shop inside.
The article mentions a Western room, a hall and a tea room in the Hogetsudo South Building. The Kagawa Prefectural Board of Education lists other registered properties in Marugame, including the Marugame High School Memorial Hall, the Horiya Watch Shop and the Shigemoto Fruit Shop.
Value as a Registered Cultural Property
The Hogetsudo South Building was registered as a structure that has become a model of design. The Agency for Cultural Affairs describes it as an early Showa shop building that weaves together many different elements.
What to Look For
According to the Agency for Cultural Affairs, the northern half of the Hogetsudo South Building is Western in style, with glazed tiles and Spanish roof tiles, while the southern half is a townhouse with black plaster walls and its entrance on the long side.
Inside are a Western room with a fireplace and wainscoting, a Japanese reception room and a tea room, giving a complex character (Agency for Cultural Affairs). The Western and townhouse halves side by side are the highlight.
Visiting
OnTrip JAL (2025) gives the shop's hours as 9:00 to 17:30 (to 17:00 on Wednesdays), closed at the New Year. No information on access to the interior of the South Building has been found, so please do not disturb the shop's business.
The address is 14-2 and others, Komeya-machi, Marugame City.
Q&A
- When was it built?
- In 1918, with an extension in 1931 (Agency for Cultural Affairs).
- What is distinctive about the exterior?
- The northern half is Western with glazed tiles and Spanish roof tiles, the southern half a black-plastered townhouse (Agency for Cultural Affairs).
- What is inside?
- A Western room with a fireplace, a Japanese reception room and a tea room (Agency for Cultural Affairs).
- Is it connected to the shop?
- Yes, it is linked inside to the Meiji-era shop on the street (OnTrip JAL).
- When was the Hogetsudo South Building registered?
- On March 27, 2018.
Basic Information
| Name | Hogetsudo South Building (寳月堂南館) |
|---|---|
| Location | 14-2 and others, Komeya-machi, Marugame City, Kagawa Prefecture |
| Designation | Registered Tangible Cultural Property (Structure) |
| Year Designated | Registered 2018/03/27 (Heisei 30) |
| Quantity | 1 building |
| Dimensions | Wooden, 2 storeys, partly 3, tiled roof, building area 216 square metres |
| Owner | Private owner |
| Public Access | Exterior only (in use as a shop) |
References
- Hogetsudo South Building (Database of National Cultural Properties, Agency for Cultural Affairs)
- https://kunishitei.bunka.go.jp/heritage/detail/101/00012249
- Registered Tangible Cultural Properties in Kagawa (Kagawa Prefectural Board of Education, in Japanese)
- https://www.pref.kagawa.lg.jp/kenkyoui/bunka/culturalassets_16.html
- Four favourite shops in Marugame (OnTrip JAL, 2025, in Japanese)
- https://ontrip.jal.co.jp/chugoku-shikoku/17779659
Last verified: 2026.10.14