A Storehouse That Climbs to Three Storeys
South of the Miharaya shop, showing its east face to Uchiwaya-koji, stands the Middle Storehouse, or Nakagura. It is unusual among the group for its height. A two-storey earthen-walled body of about five by four ken carries a third storey above it: a smaller hipped-roof (yosemune) section of roughly three and a half by two ken, set east to west. The result is a warehouse that steps up to three levels where its neighbours hold at two.
The building dates from around 1877, a few years after the shop and North Storehouse. Its registration number is 20-0123, and its building area is about 67 square metres. On its south side it connects directly to the East Storehouse, so the two read as a single mass from parts of the lane.
The Wall Along the Fan-Makers’ Alley
The Middle Storehouse continues the namako-kabe that wraps the rear of the shop, its east face carrying the same black-tile-and-white-plaster lattice down the lane. This is the wall that gives Uchiwaya-koji much of its texture: a long, cool run of patterned plaster broken by heavy shutters and small openings.
Standing in the alley and looking up, the third storey lifts the eye and gives the row a rhythm it would otherwise lack. The Middle Storehouse is, in the plainest sense, the piece the townscape cannot spare.
A Keystone of the Registered Landscape
When the six Miharaya buildings were registered in 2003, the criterion applied was contribution to the historic character of the land. The Middle Storehouse earns that description almost literally: it is the vertical accent that anchors the alley view and knits the shop’s rear to the working storehouses behind.
Its interior is not a public gallery; the value lies in the wall you meet from the lane and in the way the roofs stack behind it. Seen from Uchiwaya-koji, the Middle Storehouse explains at a glance why this small quarter was thought worth keeping.
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Questions & Answers
- What makes the Middle Storehouse different from the others?
- Its height. A two-storey earthen body carries a smaller hipped-roof third storey, so it rises to three levels where the neighbouring storehouses stop at two.
- Where is it?
- South of the shop, with its east face turned to Uchiwaya-koji (the fan-makers’ alley). It joins the East Storehouse along its south side.
- When was it built?
- Around 1877, a few years after the shop and North Storehouse.
- Why is its east wall important?
- It carries the namako-kabe lattice that runs along Uchiwaya-koji, giving the alley much of its historic texture.
- Can I go inside?
- No; it is a private working storehouse. It is best seen from the lane, where its wall and stacked roofs are the point.
Basic Information
| Name | Miharaya Shoten Nakagura (Middle Storehouse) |
|---|---|
| Location | 879-1 Sakuraeda-cho, Nagano City, Nagano Prefecture |
| Designation | Registered Tangible Cultural Property (registration no. 20-0123) |
| Registered | 18 March 2003 (gazetted 8 April 2003) |
| Count | 1 building |
| Structure | Earthen-walled, three storeys, tiled roof; building area approx. 67 m2 |
| Date | Around 1877 (early Meiji era) |
| Owner | Miharaya Co., Ltd. |
References
- Agency for Cultural Affairs, National Cultural Properties Database — Miharaya Shoten Middle Storehouse
- https://kunishitei.bunka.go.jp/heritage/detail/101/00003236
- Nagano City — List of Registered Tangible Cultural Properties
- https://www.city.nagano.nagano.jp/n151100/contents/p002914.html
- Miharaya Co., Ltd. — official site
- https://miharaya.co.jp/
Last verified: 2026.07.05