Itoki Shoten Muryoshian Well

What Is the Itoki Shoten Muryoshian Well?

The Itoki Shoten Muryoshian Well (伊藤喜商店無量子庵井戸, Itōki Shōten Muryōshi-an ido) is a stone well with a small roofed shelter, built around 1926 at Muryoshian, the private retreat behind the Itoki Shoten shop on Matsubara-dori in Higashiyama Ward, Kyoto, and registered as a Registered Tangible Cultural Property on July 8, 2008. Its registered area is 0.81 square meters.

The well lies south of the Muryoshian Main House toward the east, northeast of the storehouse. It sits between the house and the storehouse, on the path of everyday chores.

It is registered as a structure rather than a building, and the well curb, washing area, and shelter count together as one.

Why It Was Registered

The Itoki Shoten Muryoshian Well was registered for its contribution to the historic landscape. Like the storehouse, it was valued as one of the pieces that make Muryoshian a complete household.

Many Kyoto families kept their wells long after piped water arrived, using them for the garden and for washing. A well was a utility and also part of the garden view. Because the Muryoshian well keeps its original stone curb and shelter, it shows plainly how a Kyoto home of the mid-1920s organized its water.

What to Look For

A granite curb joined by halving

The curb of the Itoki Shoten well is a square 0.9 meters on a side. It is made of four granite slabs whose ends are cut away by half their depth and interlocked, a joint called aigaki, or halving. At each corner, the stones lock into one another.

A mortar washing floor

Around the curb is a washing area finished in mortar. Water was drawn, used, and drained right here, which tells you the well served the kitchen and the laundry.

A shelter missing one post

The shelter has a single-pitch copper roof, and its posts stand on granite bases. Look for what is not there: the northwest corner post, on the side facing the house, has been left out. The Agency for Cultural Affairs explains that it would have blocked the way through. The builders gave up a post so that the walk between house and well stayed clear.

How to Visit

The Itoki Shoten Muryoshian Well lies within Muryoshian, which is let as a private home, and is not open to the public (checked September 27, 2026). It is south of the house and cannot be seen from Matsubara-dori.

The national database has photographs, which are the best way to see how the granite slabs interlock and where the missing post would have been.