A working building, now a gallery
Exhibition Room 2 at Nagatani-en faces Exhibition Room 1 across a short distance, set on an east-west axis. It is a single-story timber building, gabled on its east face and hip-and-gabled on its west, roofed in pantile, with vertical boarding on the outer walls. Inside is a single room with an earthen floor, and the roof above is framed as a Japanese-style truss. The building dates to the Meiji period, between 1868 and 1912, and covers about 59 square meters.
The plainness is the point. This was never a room built to impress. It is said to have started as a stable, and a part of the interior still keeps traces of floorboards from a later arrangement. The building carries the ordinary working life of a kiln works rather than its formal face.
Why it was registered
The building was registered as a Tangible Cultural Property in March 2015, under the criterion for structures that contribute to the historic character of the landscape, as one of a group on the Nagatani-en grounds. Where the villa and the guest wing speak of hospitality, this building speaks of work, and that is part of why the group as a whole is worth recording.
A pottery works is more than its kiln and its showrooms. It needs sheds, stores, and space for the animals and materials that kept production moving. A modest building that has held several uses across its life, from stable to gallery, shows a side of the compound that grander structures leave out.
What to look for
Look up. The Japanese-style roof truss is exposed inside, and the plain timber framing is the character of the room. The earthen floor and the vertical boarding outside tell you this was a working building; the surviving floorboard traces are a quiet record of how its use shifted over the years.
Now used as one of the exhibition rooms, the building is part of the Nagatani-en main-store and strolling area in Marubashira, open to visitors. Reading it beside the more finished buildings nearby brings out the range of a real working estate.
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Q&A
- What was Exhibition Room 2 originally?
- It is said to have begun as a stable, later adapted, and it is now used as one of the exhibition rooms on the grounds.
- What is worth seeing inside?
- The exposed Japanese-style roof truss, the earthen-floor interior, and traces of former floorboards that record its changing use.
- When was it built?
- In the Meiji period, between 1868 and 1912. It was repaired in 1974 and again around 2003.
- Why register such a plain building?
- It shows the ordinary working side of a pottery estate, which balances the more formal buildings and completes the picture of the compound.
- Can visitors see it?
- Yes. It is one of the exhibition rooms in the Nagatani-en strolling area, which is open to visitors.
Basic Information
| Name | Nagatani-en Exhibition Room 2 |
|---|---|
| Location | 568-4 Marubashira, Iga City, Mie Prefecture |
| Category | Registered Tangible Cultural Property (structure / industrial, secondary) |
| Registered | 26 March 2015 (register no. 24-0196) |
| Count | 1 building |
| Period | Meiji period (1868-1912); repaired 1974 and c. 2003 |
| Structure | Timber, single story, tiled roof; building area approx. 59 sq m |
| Access | Within the Nagatani-en strolling area; open to visitors |
References
- 国指定文化財等データベース — Cultural Heritage Online (Agency for Cultural Affairs)
- https://kunishitei.bunka.go.jp/heritage/detail/101/00010470
- 伊賀焼窯元 長谷園 公式サイト — 長谷園について
- https://igamono.co.jp/at-first/
- 観光三重 — 伊賀焼窯元 長谷園
- https://www.kankomie.or.jp/spot/33
Last verified: 2026.07.11