A Facade Building near Marugame Station
The Horike Watch Shop (堀家時計店) is a wooden "signboard" building of the early Showa era (from 1926) at Nishihirayama-machi, north-east of Marugame Station in Marugame City, Kagawa Prefecture, and was registered as a Registered Tangible Cultural Property (structure) on November 10, 2005 (Agency for Cultural Affairs).
The Agency for Cultural Affairs records a two-storey wooden building with a tiled roof and a building area of 125 square metres, registration number 37-0282; the Kagawa Prefectural Board of Education lists a private owner.
A Former Clinic
According to the Agency for Cultural Affairs, the Horike Watch Shop was built as a medical clinic and faces the road to the north. Its front is rendered in mortar and dressed with Western-style details, in the manner of a signboard building (kanban kenchiku).
The Kagawa Prefectural Board of Education lists other registered properties in Marugame, such as the Marugame High School Memorial Hall, the Shigemoto Fruit Shop and the Hogetsudo South Building, modern commercial buildings near the city centre.
Value as a Registered Cultural Property
The Horike Watch Shop was registered as a structure that has become a model of design. The Agency for Cultural Affairs points to its pilasters, central entrance and gable-like ornament above the eaves.
What to Look For
According to the Agency for Cultural Affairs, the Horike Watch Shop is a two-storey wooden building with a hipped pantiled roof, its mortar front showing pilasters at the corners and other key points.
The central entrance projects slightly from the wall between two columns, and gable-like ornament rises above the central eaves (Agency for Cultural Affairs). The symmetrical front is the highlight.
Visiting
No information on public access to the interior of the Horike Watch Shop has been found. The exterior can be seen from the road; as it is privately owned, please do not enter the property.
The address is 98 Nishihirayama-machi, Marugame City.
Q&A
- When was it built?
- In the early Showa era (Agency for Cultural Affairs).
- What was it originally?
- A medical clinic (Agency for Cultural Affairs).
- What kind of building is it?
- A two-storey wooden signboard building with a mortar-rendered front (Agency for Cultural Affairs).
- What is distinctive about the front?
- Pilasters, a projecting central entrance between columns and gable-like ornament above the eaves (Agency for Cultural Affairs).
- When was the Horike Watch Shop registered?
- On November 10, 2005.
Basic Information
| Name | Horike Watch Shop (堀家時計店) |
|---|---|
| Location | 98 Nishihirayama-machi, Marugame City, Kagawa Prefecture |
| Designation | Registered Tangible Cultural Property (Structure) |
| Year Designated | Registered 2005/11/10 (Heisei 17) |
| Quantity | 1 building |
| Dimensions | Wooden, 2 storeys, tiled roof, building area 125 square metres |
| Owner | Private owner |
| Public Access | Exterior only (no information on interior access) |
References
- Horike Watch Shop (Database of National Cultural Properties, Agency for Cultural Affairs)
- https://kunishitei.bunka.go.jp/heritage/detail/101/00005036
- Registered Tangible Cultural Properties in Kagawa (Kagawa Prefectural Board of Education, in Japanese)
- https://www.pref.kagawa.lg.jp/kenkyoui/bunka/culturalassets_16.html
Last verified: 2026.10.14