What the Ise Kawasaki Merchant Museum North Storehouse 2 Is
The Ise Kawasaki Merchant Museum North Storehouse 2 is an earthen-walled storehouse of the middle Meiji period in the Kawasaki district of Ise City, Mie Prefecture, listed as a Registered Tangible Cultural Property on 28 August 2001. At 102 square metres it is the largest of the seven storehouses on the site, and it stands on the north side of the plot, pressed against the west flank of North Storehouse 1.
The sources disagree about what it held. The Agency for Cultural Affairs calls it a sake store; the Ise City cultural property page says it was used for rice. Either way it served the wholesaling business. The same Agency entry opens by describing Ogawa Shoten as a long-established sake wholesaler said to have been founded in the Genroku era, between 1688 and 1704.
Why It Was Listed
The criterion is value as a model of design. The Ise Kawasaki Merchant Museum North Storehouse 2 pairs a single-storey front room with a two-storey rear room, and the Agency for Cultural Affairs singles out the unusually generous depth given to that front room. The roof is a Kirizuma-zukuri gable under Hongawarabuki tiles. North Storehouse 1 uses the same front and rear arrangement but proportions it differently.
Two storehouses stand side by side here with the same scheme and different arithmetic. What a building held determined how much clear floor it needed, and that requirement shows up in the plan. The deep front room of North Storehouse 2 records how much space the handling of goods actually took.
What to Look For
The building now works as the Kawasaki Machinami-kan, a gallery. Ise City records displays on the history and culture of Ise and Kawasaki, with a dedicated case on the upper floor for Yamada Hagaki, regarded as the oldest paper money in Japan.
Ise City dates Yamada Hagaki to around 1610, issued by the townspeople of Yamada in Ise and circulating in the surrounding area for about 250 years until the Meiji period. The decades in which Kawasaki worked as a wholesale quarter and the decades in which this currency changed hands are largely the same. Seeing the notes inside the storehouse puts building and money into one economy.
Visiting
Admission covers the interior of the Ise Kawasaki Merchant Museum North Storehouse 2. The ground floor takes temporary exhibitions and the upper floor the permanent display, so the Yamada Hagaki case means climbing the stairs. The ground floor may be closed while an exhibition is being changed.
For the exterior, take the north side of the plot, where the roofs of the two north storehouses run on from one another. Photography rules differ item by item among the displays, so ask at reception first.
- 📍 Plan Your Visit to Mie
- Find tours, activities & transport passes near Ise Kawasaki Merchant Museum North Storehouse 2
- [ Ise Grand Shrine & Shima Bay Cruise Tours ]
Q&A
- What did the Ise Kawasaki Merchant Museum North Storehouse 2 hold?
- The sources differ. The Agency for Cultural Affairs records it as a sake store; Ise City describes it as a rice store. Both agree it served the wholesaling business of Ogawa Shoten.
- How large is the Ise Kawasaki Merchant Museum North Storehouse 2?
- Its building area is 102 square metres, the largest of the seven storehouses at the site. A single-storey front room joins a two-storey rear room.
- What can visitors see inside?
- It serves as the Kawasaki Machinami-kan gallery, with displays on the history and culture of Ise and Kawasaki, and a case for Yamada Hagaki on the upper floor.
- What is Yamada Hagaki?
- According to Ise City, paper money issued around 1610 by the townspeople of Yamada in Ise, which circulated locally for roughly 250 years until the Meiji period. Originals are displayed here.
- When was the building registered?
- On 28 August 2001, under registration number 24-0034, on the criterion of value as a model of design.
Basic Information
| Name | Ise Kawasaki Merchant Museum North Storehouse 2 |
|---|---|
| Location | 2-25-32 Kawasaki, Ise City, Mie Prefecture |
| Designation | Registered Tangible Cultural Property (Building) |
| Year Designated | Registered on 28 August 2001 (Heisei 13) |
| Quantity | 1 building |
| Dimensions | Dozo-zukuri earthen-walled construction; building area 102 square metres |
| Owner | Ise City |
| Public Access | Open within the Ise Kawasaki Merchant Museum (adult admission 350 yen; closed Tuesdays) |
References
- Agency for Cultural Affairs, National Cultural Properties Database: 伊勢河崎商人館北蔵二
- https://kunishitei.bunka.go.jp/bsys/maindetails/101/00002265
- Ise City cultural property page: 伊勢河崎商人館北蔵二
- https://www.city.ise.mie.jp/cul_spo_edu/culture/bunkazai_shiseki/bunkazai/yukei/1005920.html
- Ise City: Ise Kawasaki Merchant Museum, outline and management
- https://www.city.ise.mie.jp/cul_spo_edu/culture/shisetsu/syouninkan/1005012.html
- Ise City: Ise Kawasaki Merchant Museum facility guide
- https://www.city.ise.mie.jp/cul_spo_edu/culture/shisetsu/syouninkan/index.html
- Ise City: the Yamada Hagaki display at the Ise Kawasaki Merchant Museum
- https://www.city.ise.mie.jp/cul_spo_edu/culture/shisetsu/syouninkan/1002120.html
Last verified: 2026.09.14
