About the store
The Hamada Family Residence Store is a late Meiji-period shop building on the corner of a three-way junction in the center of Otsu 1564-3, Nahari-cho, Aki District, Kochi Prefecture, registered as a Tangible Cultural Property on January 31, 2003.
In Japanese it is 濱田家住宅店舗 (Hamada-ke Jūtaku tenpo). It is registration No. 39-0071, registered on the same day as the brick storehouse attached to its north side (No. 39-0072), under the criterion of contributing to the historic landscape of the country. At the time of registration, the Agency for Cultural Affairs noted, the building was in use as a kimono and fabric shop (gofukuten).
Why it was registered
The store occupies the northwest corner of the junction. The main southern block, five ken by five ken (a ken is a traditional bay of roughly 1.8 meters), runs east to west under a Kirizuma-zukuri gabled roof and has a low Tsushi-nikai upper floor. A single-story wing three and a half ken long runs north from it, so the two blocks meet in an L, and the fabric shop used both as one continuous store.
The Agency describes the Hamada Family Residence store, together with "the former sake-brewing section", as the centerpiece of the Nahari streetscape. That wording places the store among the same household's business buildings as the Masudaya brewery.
What to look for: a low upper floor and two faces
A tsushi-nikai is a low attic story under the roof, used for storage or servants' rooms. From the street it shows as a short second floor squeezed under a low roofline above the ground-floor shop.
Because it stands on a corner, the Hamada Family Residence store shows a face to two streets. The east-west ridge presents its long eaves to one street and the triangle of its gable to the other. Walk around the corner to take in the single-story north wing as well.
Note that the structure field in the Agency database reads "single-story timber building, tiled roof, building area 151 square meters", which conflicts with the description of a tsushi-nikai upper floor. The entry may be describing the single-story wing, but we could not confirm this.
Visiting
The Hamada Family Residence Store is a private shop building, and we found no notice of the building itself being opened to visitors. It was a fabric shop when registered, but we could not confirm whether it is still trading or its hours.
You can see both faces of the store from the corner of the junction. When taking photos, watch for traffic at the intersection and keep the shop entrance clear.
- 📍 Plan Your Visit to Kochi
- Find tours, activities & transport passes near Hamada Family Residence Store
- [ Katsurahama Beach & Kochi Castle Ryoma Tour ]
Q&A
- When was the Hamada Family Residence Store built and registered?
- It dates from the late Meiji period and was registered on January 31, 2003.
- What does the Hamada Family Residence Store look like?
- A gabled east-west block of five by five ken with a low attic floor, plus a single-story wing of three and a half ken running north. At registration both parts formed one fabric shop.
- How is the Hamada Family Residence Store related to Masudaya?
- The Agency describes the store as anchoring the streetscape together with "the former sake-brewing section", linking it to the same Hamada household as the Masudaya brewery buildings.
- How many stories does the Hamada Family Residence Store have?
- The Agency database lists it as single-story with a building area of 151 square meters, but the description gives the main block a low tsushi-nikai upper floor. The two entries conflict.
- Is the Hamada Family Residence Store still open as a shop?
- It was a fabric shop at registration, but we could not confirm its current status. The exterior can be seen from the corner of the junction.
Basic Information
| Name | Hamada Family Residence Store |
|---|---|
| Location | 1564-3 Otsu, Nahari-cho, Aki District, Kochi Prefecture |
| Designation | Registered Tangible Cultural Property (Building) |
| Year Designated | Registered January 31, 2003 |
| Quantity | 1 building |
| Dimensions | Single-story timber structure (described as having a tsushi-nikai upper floor), tiled roof, building area 151 square meters |
| Owner | Not listed (blank in the Agency for Cultural Affairs database) |
| Public Access | Not open to the public (exterior visible from the street; current shop status unconfirmed) |
References
- Hamada Family Residence Store (Agency for Cultural Affairs database, Japanese)
- https://kunishitei.bunka.go.jp/bsys/maindetails/101/00003167
- Hamada Family Residence Store (Cultural Heritage Online, Japanese)
- https://online.bunka.go.jp/heritages/detail/116247
- Registered Tangible Cultural Properties (Buildings) in Kochi Prefecture (Kochi Prefecture, Japanese)
- https://www.pref.kochi.lg.jp/doc/2023062200186/
Last verified: 2026.10.16
