A Storehouse with Guest Rooms Upstairs
Fubokaku Zashiki Storehouse (不忘閣座敷蔵, Fubōkaku Zashikigura) 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 around 1896 and registered as a Registered Tangible Cultural Property on 19 December 2014.
It stands in the middle of the three-storehouse row on the northern side of the site, between the Archive Storehouse to the south and the Grain Storehouse to the north, all three under one detached roof. It measures 11 metres by 5.5 metres, with a footprint of 59 square metres, the largest of the three. The roof is sheet iron.
The name tells the story. A Zashiki is a tatami reception room, and the upper floor of this storehouse was once exactly that, used to lodge long-staying guests. The Agency for Cultural Affairs records this history, and it is what sets the Fubokaku Zashiki Storehouse apart from its neighbours.
Half Store, Half Guest Room
Two doorways open on the east side. The walls are Shikkui lime plaster with a hachimaki band around the top, and Namako-kabe tilework covers the lower ground-floor walls and the lower part of the upper floor on the east face. Of the three storehouses, only this one carries the tilework up to the second storey.
Putting guests upstairs in a storehouse made sense for a spa inn: the building resisted fire, and cure guests stayed for weeks. Goods below, people above; one building did both jobs.
Miyagi Prefecture's registration notes record a tradition that the novelist Kawabata Yasunari stayed and wrote on the upper floor. The inn's own website, meanwhile, says a storehouse where Akutagawa Ryunosuke stayed survives in the grounds. Whether the two stories refer to the same building cannot be settled from the sources available.
It was registered under the criterion of contribution to the historic landscape. According to Miyagi Prefecture, the Fubokaku Zashiki Storehouse is now used for storage.
What to Look For
Stand in front of the east face and find the two doorways and the tilework rising to the upper floor. The grid of flat tiles with raised plaster joints steps up from the ground-floor base to the second storey on this side only.
The Zashiki Storehouse is a size larger than its neighbours. Because a single roof covers all three, the row seen from the east shows the middle building as the longest of the three.
Visiting the Zashiki Storehouse
The storehouse is used for storage and its interior is not open. 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 Zashiki Storehouse
- [ Matsushima Bay Cruise & Sendai Food Tours ]
Q&A
- When was the Fubokaku Zashiki Storehouse built?
- Around 1896. It is the middle building of the three storehouses lined up on the north side of the site.
- Why is it called the Fubokaku Zashiki Storehouse?
- Because its upper floor was originally a zashiki, a tatami reception room, used to lodge long-staying guests.
- Did Kawabata Yasunari stay in the Fubokaku Zashiki Storehouse?
- Miyagi Prefecture records a tradition that he stayed and wrote on the upper floor. The inn says a storehouse where Akutagawa Ryunosuke stayed survives on the site; whether both stories refer to the same building is unconfirmed.
- Can visitors go inside the Fubokaku Zashiki Storehouse?
- No. It is now used for storage and the interior is not open. Overnight guests can see the exterior from within the grounds.
- When was the Fubokaku Zashiki Storehouse registered as a cultural property?
- On 19 December 2014, as a Registered Tangible Cultural Property with registration number 04-0101.
Basic Information
| Name | Fubokaku Zashiki Storehouse (不忘閣座敷蔵) |
|---|---|
| Location | 1-1 Aone Onsen, Kawasaki Town, Shibata District, Miyagi Prefecture |
| Designation | Registered Tangible Cultural Property (building), registration no. 04-0101 |
| Year Designated | Registered 2014/12/19 (Heisei 26) |
| Quantity | 1 building |
| Dimensions | Earthen storehouse, 2 storeys, sheet-iron roof, building area 59 square metres; 11 metres by 5.5 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; used for storage, interior not open |
References
- National Cultural Properties Database, Agency for Cultural Affairs: Fubokaku Zashiki Storehouse
- https://kunishitei.bunka.go.jp/bsys/maindetails/101/00010251
- Cultural Heritage Online: Fubokaku Zashiki Storehouse
- https://online.bunka.go.jp/heritages/detail/244645
- Miyagi Prefecture: registration of Registered Tangible Cultural Properties, 19 December 2014 (Japanese)
- https://www.pref.miyagi.jp/soshiki/bunkazai/touroku-toushin.html
- Yumoto Fubokaku official website: history (Japanese)
- https://www.fubokaku.com/history.html
Last verified: 2026.09.25
