A Sendai Miso Maker's Shop and House
The Shojiya Soy Sauce Store and Residence (庄子屋醤油店店舗及び住宅) is a two-storey timber merchant building of 1936 in Hachiman-machi, Aoba Ward, Sendai City, Miyagi Prefecture, and was registered as a Registered Tangible Cultural Property (structure) on December 4, 2000. It is the shop and residence of a maker of Sendai miso (Agency for Cultural Affairs).
The Agency for Cultural Affairs records it as a two-storey timber building with a tiled roof and a building area of 111 square metres; registration number 04-0032, with no owner listed.
Why It Was Registered
The Shojiya Soy Sauce Store and Residence was registered as a building that has become a model of design. The Agency for Cultural Affairs values it as preserving the segai-zukuri merchant-house form once common in old Sendai.
In segai-zukuri, brackets project a beam beyond the wall to carry deep eaves; this early Showa shop keeps a form that was once widespread among Sendai merchants.
What to Look For
The Shojiya Soy Sauce Store and Residence faces south along National Route 48. The shop is gabled (Kirizuma-zukuri) with pantiles, entered on the long side, and five bays wide (Agency for Cultural Affairs). From the street, deep eaves project above the five-bay front.
Behind the shop, set to the west, is a single-storey living wing with a hipped (Yosemune-zukuri) pantile roof (Agency for Cultural Affairs): a two-storey shop on the street and a single-storey house behind, joined as one merchant dwelling.
Visiting the Shojiya Building
We found no official information on interior access to the Shojiya Soy Sauce Store and Residence. The exterior can be seen from National Route 48. The address is 4-222 Hachiman-machi, Aoba Ward, Sendai.
Q&A
- When was the Shojiya Soy Sauce Store and Residence built?
- In 1936 (Agency for Cultural Affairs).
- What is the Shojiya Soy Sauce Store and Residence?
- The shop and home of a Sendai miso maker, a two-storey shop with a single-storey house behind (Agency for Cultural Affairs).
- What is architecturally notable about the Shojiya Soy Sauce Store and Residence?
- It preserves the segai-zukuri merchant-house form common in old Sendai (Agency for Cultural Affairs).
- When was the Shojiya Soy Sauce Store and Residence registered?
- On December 4, 2000.
- Can you visit the Shojiya Soy Sauce Store and Residence?
- There is no official information on interior access; the exterior can be seen from Route 48.
Basic Information
| Name | Shojiya Soy Sauce Store and Residence (庄子屋醤油店店舗及び住宅) |
|---|---|
| Location | 4-222 Hachiman-machi, Aoba Ward, Sendai City, Miyagi Prefecture |
| Designation | Registered Tangible Cultural Property (Structure) |
| Year Designated | Registered 2000/12/4 (Heisei 12) |
| Quantity | 1 building |
| Dimensions | Timber, 2 storeys, tiled roof, building area 111 square metres |
| Owner | Not listed in the national record |
| Public Access | Exterior viewable from the street (no official information on interior access) |
References
- Shojiya Soy Sauce Store and Residence (Database of National Cultural Properties, Agency for Cultural Affairs)
- https://kunishitei.bunka.go.jp/heritage/detail/101/00001993
Last verified: 2026.10.07