Reinforced Concrete of 1932, Registered in 2011
The Former Iinan Post Office Building (旧飯南郵便局局舎, Kyu Iinan Yubinkyoku Kyokusha) is a two-storey reinforced concrete building of 1932 at 212-3 Tonogaito, Yokono, Iinan-cho, Matsusaka City, Mie Prefecture, entered on the national register of tangible cultural properties on 26 January 2011. It carries a roof turret and has a footprint of 80 square metres. It is privately owned.
Matsusaka City records it as a nationally registered tangible cultural property of 1932 at Yokono in Iinan-cho, privately owned, of reinforced concrete, two storeys with a roof turret, 80 square metres in area, registered on 26 January 2011.
Registration is a separate mechanism from designation: it works by notification and leaves the owner wide freedom to keep using the building. A building still in private hands can be registered under that framework.
It Was Built as the Kakino Post Office
The registered name and the name it was built under do not agree. In 1932 this was the Kakino Post Office.
The change followed from local government reorganisation. In 1956 the towns of Kakino and Kayumi in Iinan district merged to form the town of Iinan, and the post office took the new name. In 2005 Iinan was in turn absorbed into Matsusaka City.
The registered name puts former in front of the later name. A building's name follows the name it carried when it closed, not the one it was built under, and records of 1932 will show it as the Kakino Post Office.
After its use as a post office ended the building remained standing, and it is now in private ownership.
Reinforced Concrete in a Mountain Village
What places this building is its structure.
Reinforced concrete was not common in mountain farming districts in the early Showa years. In a setting where timber was the obvious choice, a public facility such as a post office was built in concrete. The choice of structure is itself evidence that modern technique had reached the district by then.
The building has two storeys and a turret on the roof. Roof turrets appear on post offices and public buildings of the early Showa period and give the outline a vertical accent. At 80 square metres the footprint is small, so the character of a public building is carried by structure and treatment rather than by size.
That the building still stands after more than ninety years also speaks to the durability of reinforced concrete.
Facing the Wakayama Kaido
The Former Iinan Post Office Building fronts the Wakayama Kaido.
The Wakayama Kaido crosses the Kii Peninsula roughly from east to west, linking Matsusaka with Wakayama. In the Edo period it served as a highway of the Kishu domain for the alternate attendance journeys, as a route for pilgrims to Ise, Kumano and Yoshino, and as a trade road carrying seafood inland to Yamato.
Between Yokono in Iinan-cho and Rorogi-cho in Matsusaka it runs together with the Ise Hon-kaido. A work of early Showa modern building standing on an old highway is what that position means.
The criterion applied at registration is that the building contributes to the historic landscape of the country, the widest in application of the three criteria. It values the part a building plays in its surroundings rather than distinction of design on its own, and the highway frontage answers to that.
Visiting
The building is privately owned and the interior is not open. Only the exterior can be seen.
It fronts the Wakayama Kaido, Route 166, so the exterior is visible from the road. Houses stand around it, so take care of the neighbours when looking or photographing. The grounds cannot be entered.
Yokono in Iinan-cho is a mountain settlement, and public transport nearby is limited.
From Matsusaka Station on the JR Kisei Main Line and the Kintetsu Yamada Line it is about 40 minutes by car, or about 35 minutes from the Matsusaka interchange on the Ise Expressway.
- 📍 Plan Your Visit to Mie
- Find tours, activities & transport passes near Former Iinan Post Office Building
- [ Ise Grand Shrine & Shima Bay Cruise Tours ]
Q&A
- When was the Former Iinan Post Office Building built and registered?
- It was built in 1932 and entered on the national register of tangible cultural properties on 26 January 2011. It is of reinforced concrete, two storeys with a roof turret, with a footprint of 80 square metres, and is privately owned.
- Why does the registered name differ from the name it was built under?
- It was built in 1932 as the Kakino Post Office. In 1956 the towns of Kakino and Kayumi merged to form Iinan, and the post office took the new name; in 2005 Iinan became part of Matsusaka City. The registered name puts former in front of the later name, so records of 1932 show the Kakino Post Office.
- What is valued in this building?
- That reinforced concrete was uncommon in mountain farming districts in the early Showa years, and that a public facility such as a post office was built in it. The choice of structure is itself evidence that modern technique had reached the district. The criterion applied is contribution to the historic landscape of the country.
- What is the Wakayama Kaido?
- A highway crossing the Kii Peninsula roughly east to west, linking Matsusaka with Wakayama. In the Edo period it served the alternate attendance journeys of the Kishu domain, carried pilgrims to Ise, Kumano and Yoshino, and brought seafood inland to Yamato. It runs together with the Ise Hon-kaido between Yokono and Rorogi-cho.
- Can the building be visited?
- It is privately owned and the interior is not open. The exterior is visible from Route 166, the Wakayama Kaido, but the grounds cannot be entered. Houses stand around it, so take care of the neighbours.
Basic Information
| Name | Former Iinan Post Office Building (旧飯南郵便局局舎, Kyu Iinan Yubinkyoku Kyokusha); built as the Kakino Post Office |
|---|---|
| Location | 212-3 Tonogaito, Yokono, Iinan-cho, Matsusaka City, Mie Prefecture |
| Designation | Registered Tangible Cultural Property (structure); criterion: contributing to the historic landscape of the country |
| Year Designated | 2011 (26 January), registered |
| Quantity | 1 building |
| Dimensions | Reinforced concrete, 2 storeys, roof turret, footprint 80 square metres. Fronting the Wakayama Kaido. Built 1932 |
| Owner | Private |
| Public Access | Interior not open. Exterior visible from the road only; the grounds cannot be entered |
References
- Matsusaka City: the Former Iinan Post Office Building
- https://www.city.matsusaka.mie.jp/site/culture-info/kyuiinanyubinkyokukyokusya.html
- Matsusaka City: cultural properties of Matsusaka
- https://www.city.matsusaka.mie.jp/site/culture-info/matsusakashi-bunkazai.html
- Mie Prefecture: historic roads, the Wakayama Kaido
- https://www.bunka.pref.mie.lg.jp/kaidou/rekisi/rekisi8/index.htm
- Agency for Cultural Affairs: the registration system for tangible cultural properties
- https://www.bunka.go.jp/seisaku/bunkazai/shokai/yukei_kenzobutsu/
Last verified: 2026.09.03