An 1896 Storehouse That Outlived the Fire
Fubokaku Archive Storehouse (不忘閣文庫蔵, Fubōkaku Bunkogura) is a two-storey earthen Dozo-zukuri storehouse in the grounds of the Yumoto Fubokaku inn at Aone Onsen in Kawasaki Town, Miyagi Prefecture, built in 1896 and registered as a Registered Tangible Cultural Property on 19 December 2014.
Three storehouses stand in a north-south row on the northern side of the site. The Fubokaku Archive Storehouse is the southernmost, and it shares a single detached roof, an okiyane, with the Zashiki Storehouse next to it and the Grain Storehouse beyond. It measures 8.3 metres by 4.5 metres, with a footprint of 38 square metres, the smallest of the three. The roof is sheet iron.
According to Miyagi Prefecture, its date is confirmed by a ridge tablet, which names the master carpenter as Yoshimura Kamesue. Of the seven registered buildings, this is the one whose date the prefecture cites from a ridge tablet.
Spared by the Great Fire
Miyagi Prefecture records that a great fire in 1906 damaged many buildings in Aone Onsen. The Agency for Cultural Affairs describes the Fubokaku Archive Storehouse as a historically valuable storehouse that escaped the Meiji-era fire. The Main Building is said to date from 1907, the year after; this storehouse is older than the disaster.
An earthen storehouse exists to protect its contents from fire behind thick clay walls, and bunko, the first part of the name, means a collection of books and documents. The Japanese Association to Protect Secluded Hot Springs says the inn's storehouses hold heirlooms associated with the Date family.
It was registered under the criterion of contribution to the historic landscape. Three storehouses in a line, white-walled under a single roof, are part of what makes the inn read as the compound of an old spa household.
What to Look For
Stand on the east side, where the door is, and the layers of the wall finish come into focus. The walls are Shikkui lime plaster with a thick band called a hachimaki around the top, and the lower walls are Namako-kabe, flat tiles set with raised plaster joints that protect the clay base from splashing rain.
Then look up. An okiyane is a timber roof set on its own frame above the earthen body of the storehouse, sheltering it from rain and sun. At the Fubokaku Archive Storehouse that roof carries on without a break over the Zashiki and Grain storehouses; look north from the southern end of the row to see how long it runs.
Visiting the Archive Storehouse
The storehouse stands within the grounds of a working inn, and no public access to its interior is advertised. Overnight guests can see the exterior of the storehouse row on the north side of the site.
Follow the inn's guidance on photography and keep other guests out of frame. If you are not staying, please keep off the grounds.
- 📍 Plan Your Visit to Miyagi
- Find tours, activities & transport passes near Fubokaku Archive Storehouse
- [ Matsushima Bay Cruise & Sendai Food Tours ]
Q&A
- When was the Fubokaku Archive Storehouse built?
- In 1896, a date confirmed by its ridge tablet, which names the master carpenter Yoshimura Kamesue.
- Did the Fubokaku Archive Storehouse survive the great fire at Aone Onsen?
- Yes. The Agency for Cultural Affairs describes it as having escaped the Meiji-era fire, which Miyagi Prefecture dates to 1906.
- How big is the Fubokaku Archive Storehouse?
- It measures 8.3 metres by 4.5 metres, with a footprint of 38 square metres, the smallest of the three storehouses in the row.
- Can visitors go inside the Fubokaku Archive Storehouse?
- No public access to the interior is advertised. Overnight guests can see the exterior from within the grounds.
- When was the Fubokaku Archive Storehouse registered as a cultural property?
- On 19 December 2014, as a Registered Tangible Cultural Property with registration number 04-0100.
Basic Information
| Name | Fubokaku Archive Storehouse (不忘閣文庫蔵) |
|---|---|
| Location | 1-1 Aone Onsen, Kawasaki Town, Shibata District, Miyagi Prefecture |
| Designation | Registered Tangible Cultural Property (building), registration no. 04-0100 |
| Year Designated | Registered 2014/12/19 (Heisei 26) |
| Quantity | 1 building |
| Dimensions | Earthen storehouse, 2 storeys, sheet-iron roof, building area 38 square metres; 8.3 metres by 4.5 metres |
| Owner | Not listed in the Agency for Cultural Affairs database (part of the Yumoto Fubokaku inn) |
| Public Access | Within the grounds of a working inn; no public access to the interior advertised |
References
- National Cultural Properties Database, Agency for Cultural Affairs: Fubokaku Archive Storehouse
- https://kunishitei.bunka.go.jp/bsys/maindetails/101/00010250
- Cultural Heritage Online: Fubokaku Archive Storehouse
- https://online.bunka.go.jp/heritages/detail/210914
- Miyagi Prefecture: registration of Registered Tangible Cultural Properties, 19 December 2014 (Japanese)
- https://www.pref.miyagi.jp/soshiki/bunkazai/touroku-toushin.html
- Japanese Association to Protect Secluded Hot Springs: Yumoto Fubokaku (Japanese)
- https://nihon-hitou.org/member/1404
Last verified: 2026.09.25
