A Brick Store for Cocoons
The Shinshu University Faculty of Textile Science and Technology Museum (信州大学繊維学部資料館, Shinshū Daigaku Sen'i Gakubu Shiryōkan), formerly the Ueda Sericultural College Cocoon Storehouse, is a two-storey brick store of the late Meiji period on Shinshu University's Ueda campus in Tokida, Ueda City, Nagano Prefecture, and was registered as a Registered Tangible Cultural Property on 21 June 2013.
It was built as the chokenko (貯繭庫), the cocoon store of Ueda Sericultural College. The university says it held cocoons from the day it was finished and was reopened as the faculty museum in 2010. It is the oldest building still standing on the Ueda campus.
Its date varies by a year depending on the source. The Agency for Cultural Affairs database gives 1910 (Meiji 43). The university's integrated report and its archives center give 1911 (Meiji 44), describing the store as one of the buildings put up when the college opened.
Why It Was Registered
The museum was registered on 21 June 2013, in the 75th round of registrations, as Nagano Prefecture's building number 20-0427, under the criterion for buildings that contribute to the historic landscape.
The Agency describes it as a structure that keeps the character of a purpose-built cocoon store in good condition. For a sericultural college, cocoons were the raw material of every lesson and experiment, and the fact that a dedicated brick store for them went up at almost the same moment as the school itself says a great deal about what Ueda Sericultural College was for.
Structure and Details
Pilasters and iron-shuttered windows
The Shinshu University Faculty of Textile Science and Technology Museum is built of brick to two storeys under a hipped roof of Sangawara-buki pantiles, with a building area of 67 square metres. Pilasters stand out from the walls, and each bay between them has a single window at its centre, closed by a pair of iron doors. The effect is that of a sealed warehouse with a calm, regular rhythm across its walls.
Two kinds of arch
Look above the windows and compare the two floors. According to the Agency, the openings on the ground floor are topped with segmental arches, shallow curves of brick, while those on the upper floor have flat arches, the bricks set level across the opening. Changing the arch from one storey to the next gives a small, plain building a surprisingly lively front.
Records of the early college
Inside, according to the faculty's open-campus leaflet, the two floors hold rare documents and materials from the first years of the college, which opened in 1910, and trace the history of silk research there. A building made to store cocoons now stores the memory of the school itself.
Visiting
As of October 2026 the university's public information gave no opening days or hours for the Ueda cocoon-store museum. The building is part of the tour route at the faculty's open campus.
The Agency places the museum a little north of the centre of the campus. The exterior can be seen from within the grounds, including the pilasters, the iron-shuttered windows and the change of arch between the floors. Directions to the campus are on the Shinshu University Faculty of Textile Science and Technology page.
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Q&A
- What was the Shinshu University Faculty of Textile Science and Technology Museum originally?
- It was built as the cocoon storehouse of Ueda Sericultural College and was reopened as the faculty museum in 2010.
- When was the old cocoon storehouse at Shinshu University's Ueda campus built?
- The Agency for Cultural Affairs dates it to 1910 and the university to 1911. It is the oldest building on the Ueda campus.
- What are the architectural features of the Shinshu University textiles faculty museum?
- It is a two-storey brick building with a hipped pantiled roof, pilasters on the walls and a window with double iron doors in each bay. The ground-floor windows have segmental arches and the upper-floor windows flat arches.
- What is on display in the Shinshu University Faculty of Textile Science and Technology Museum?
- According to the university, documents and materials from the early years of Ueda Sericultural College, which opened in 1910, tracing the history of silk research.
- Is the Shinshu University textiles museum in Ueda open to the public?
- No opening days or hours were published as of October 2026. It is included in open campus tours, and the exterior can be seen from the campus grounds.
Basic Information
| Name | Shinshu University Faculty of Textile Science and Technology Museum (Former Ueda Sericultural College Cocoon Storehouse) (信州大学繊維学部資料館) |
|---|---|
| Location | 3-480 Tokida, Ueda City, Nagano Prefecture, and other lots |
| Designation | Registered Tangible Cultural Property (Building) |
| Year Designated | Registered 2013/6/21 (Heisei 25) |
| Quantity | 1 building |
| Dimensions | Brick, 2 storeys, tiled roof, building area 67 square metres |
| Owner | Shinshu University, National University Corporation |
| Public Access | No published opening days (exterior visible from the campus; included in open campus tours) |
References
- Agency for Cultural Affairs, Database of National Cultural Properties: Shinshu University Faculty of Textile Science and Technology Museum (Japanese)
- https://kunishitei.bunka.go.jp/bsys/maindetails/101/00009596
- Shinshu University Integrated Report 2022: Cultural Facilities
- https://www.shinshu-u.ac.jp/guidance/publication/summary/2022/integrated_report2022/pdf/47.pdf
- Shinshu University Archives Center: A Historical Walk through Shinshu University (Japanese)
- https://www.shinshu-u.ac.jp/institution/library/archives/news/upload/s_historicalwalk_200303_s.pdf
- Shinshu University Faculty of Textile Science and Technology: Open Campus 2024 Leaflet (Japanese)
- https://www.shinshu-u.ac.jp/faculty/textiles/department/bs/ABK/images/2024.8_Leaflet.pdf
- Shinshu University Faculty of Textile Science and Technology: Campus Tour Course (Japanese)
- https://www.shinshu-u.ac.jp/faculty/textiles/guidance/special/step5.html
Last verified: 2026.10.08
