About the Office Building
The Iijima Shoten Office Building (飯島商店事務所棟) is a three-storey timber former cocoon warehouse of around 1894 in Chuo, Ueda City, Nagano Prefecture, and was registered as a Registered Tangible Cultural Property (structure) on October 2, 2007 (Agency for Cultural Affairs).
The Agency records it among the 56th round of registrations, under the criterion of contributing to the historic landscape; registration number 20-0318.
One of the cocoon warehouses built by the Ueda Soko warehouse company when it was founded, it was bought by Iijima Shoten in 1970 and now serves as the firm's office.
A Warehouse on the Corner
According to the Agency, the Iijima Shoten Office Building stands west of the Store Building on a corner lot, its ridge running north to south. It measures 14 by 5 ken (bays) in plan and rises three storeys in timber, with a building area of 231 square metres. The roof is gabled and laid with pantiles, and the walls are okabe, with the posts hidden behind a continuous skin of lime plaster.
Inside, posts stand at intervals of 3 ken along the ridge line. The Agency also notes that part of the building has been cut back. The company describes both this building and the Workshop Building as earthen storehouses (dozo-zukuri).
Why It Was Registered
The Iijima Shoten Office Building was registered as a Registered Tangible Cultural Property in 2007 for its contribution to the historic landscape. Even in its shortened form, the Agency counts it among the facilities that mark the growth of Ueda as a silk town.
Cocoon warehouses once lined the station front, but they were pulled down as the silk industry faded after the war, and only the two bought by Iijima Shoten survive, the company says. The white plastered block on the corner is one of very few physical reminders that this district was once a collection point for cocoons.
What to Look For
The company publishes a photograph of the station front taken in January 1904, showing a line of cocoon warehouses, and says the one in the middle is today's Office Building. Its neighbours on either side were demolished in the mid-twentieth century.
Compare it with the Workshop Building next door. Both are cocoon warehouses 5 ken deep, with white plaster walls and tiled roofs, but the Office Building is 14 ken long against the Workshop Building's 20 (Agency for Cultural Affairs).
Visiting the Office Building
The Iijima Shoten Office Building is in use as the company's office. No public opening or visitor programme is announced, so it is a building to see from outside, and we found no official guidance on photography.
Q&A
- Can you visit the inside of the Iijima Shoten Office Building?
- It is in use as the company's office, and no public opening or visitor programme is announced (as of October 2026), so it is seen from outside.
- What was the Iijima Shoten Office Building originally?
- A cocoon warehouse built by the Ueda Soko warehouse company when it was founded (Agency for Cultural Affairs). The company dates it to 1894 and says Iijima Shoten bought it from Suwa Soko in 1970.
- How large is the Iijima Shoten Office Building?
- It is 14 by 5 ken in plan, three storeys of timber, with a building area of 231 square metres, under a gabled pantile roof with plastered okabe walls (Agency for Cultural Affairs).
- How does the Iijima Shoten Office Building differ from the Workshop Building?
- Both are former Ueda Soko cocoon warehouses. The Office Building runs north to south on the corner and is 14 ken long; the Workshop Building runs east to west, west of the store, and is 20 ken long (Agency for Cultural Affairs).
- When was the Iijima Shoten Office Building registered?
- On October 2, 2007 (Agency for Cultural Affairs).
Basic Information
| Name | Iijima Shoten Office Building (飯島商店事務所棟) |
|---|---|
| Location | 1-1-21 Chuo, Ueda City, Nagano Prefecture |
| Designation | Registered Tangible Cultural Property (Structure) |
| Year Designated | Registered 2007/10/2 (Heisei 19) |
| Quantity | 1 building |
| Dimensions | 14 by 5 ken (bays); building area 231 square metres |
| Owner | Iijima Shoten Co., Ltd. |
| Public Access | Interior not open; no visitor programme announced |
References
- Iijima Shoten Office Building, Database of National Cultural Properties (Agency for Cultural Affairs)
- https://kunishitei.bunka.go.jp/heritage/detail/101/00006432
- Iijima Shoten Workshop Building, Database of National Cultural Properties (Agency for Cultural Affairs)
- https://kunishitei.bunka.go.jp/heritage/detail/101/00006431
- List of Designated and Registered Cultural Properties in Ueda (Ueda City, Japanese)
- https://www.city.ueda.nagano.jp/uploaded/attachment/83335.pdf
- The Registered Tangible Cultural Properties of Iijima Shoten (Iijima Shoten, Japanese)
- https://misuzuame.com/column/436/
- Iijima Shoten (Ueda City Tourism Association, Japanese)
- https://ueda-kanko.or.jp/spot/iijimashoten/
Last verified: 2026.10.29
