A Decorated Shopfront on Wakamiya-oji
The Yuasa Product Center (湯浅物産館) is a shopfront building in the kanban-kenchiku style of 1936 in Yukinoshita, Kamakura City, Kanagawa Prefecture, on Wakamiya-oji avenue, and was registered as a Registered Tangible Cultural Property (structure) on February 4, 2021 (Agency for Cultural Affairs).
The Agency records a two-storey timber building with a sheet-iron roof and a building area of 246 square metres; registration number 14-0286.
A Kanban-Kenchiku Front on the Avenue
The Yuasa Product Center faces east onto Wakamiya-oji, the avenue leading to Tsurugaoka Hachimangu, and is a two-storey shop in the kanban-kenchiku style (Agency for Cultural Affairs): a timber building whose flat street front is dressed in tile or metal to read like a Western-style signboard, typical of early Showa shops.
It is six bays wide and eleven and a half bays deep, with a modern touch at the back of the shop: a double-height space lit by a skylight (Agency for Cultural Affairs).
Why It Was Registered
The Yuasa Product Center was registered for its contribution to the historic townscape. The Agency notes how its carefully designed front adds colour to the street.
What to Look For
The front is faced in scratch tile, and the upper floor carries six semicircular arched windows in a row, each with a moulded frame (Agency for Cultural Affairs).
The Yuasa Product Center is easy to see from the pavement of Wakamiya-oji. Step across the avenue to take in the row of six arched windows and the tiled front as a whole.
Visiting
The Yuasa Product Center faces Wakamiya-oji, so its front can be seen from the street. It is in Yukinoshita 1-chome, Kamakura (Agency for Cultural Affairs). No official information on its business hours or interior access was found.
Q&A
- When was the Yuasa Product Center built?
- In 1936 (Agency for Cultural Affairs).
- What kind of building is the Yuasa Product Center?
- A two-storey kanban-kenchiku shop facing Wakamiya-oji, with a skylit double-height space at the back.
- What should I look for?
- The scratch-tile front and the six framed arched windows on the upper floor.
- Where is the Yuasa Product Center?
- In Yukinoshita 1-chome, Kamakura, on Wakamiya-oji leading to Tsurugaoka Hachimangu.
- When was the Yuasa Product Center registered?
- On February 4, 2021 (Agency for Cultural Affairs).
Basic Information
| Name | Yuasa Product Center (湯浅物産館) |
|---|---|
| Location | 272-2 Yukinoshita 1-chome and other lots, Kamakura City, Kanagawa Prefecture |
| Designation | Registered Tangible Cultural Property (Structure) |
| Year Designated | Registered 2021/02/04 (Reiwa 3) |
| Quantity | 1 building |
| Dimensions | Timber, two storeys, sheet-iron roof, building area 246 square metres |
| Owner | Unknown (not listed in the Agency database) |
| Public Access | Exterior visible from the street |
References
- Yuasa Product Center (Database of National Cultural Properties, Agency for Cultural Affairs)
- https://kunishitei.bunka.go.jp/heritage/detail/101/00013513
Last verified: 2026.10.14