A Brewer's Shop on the Shimabara Road
The Miyazaki Shoten Store (宮崎商店店舗) is a brewer's shop building of 1906 in Kaminomachi, Shimabara City, Nagasaki Prefecture, and was registered as a Registered Tangible Cultural Property (structure) on July 1, 2003 (Agency for Cultural Affairs).
The Agency records a 2-storey timber building with a tiled roof and a building area of 70 square metres, enlarged and altered in 1931; registration number 42-0026.
An L of Shop and Tatami Rooms
The Miyazaki Shoten Store stands on the west side of the old Shimabara Road, on a corner plot with a lane running south toward Shimabara Castle (Agency for Cultural Affairs). It is made up of a shop wing and a wing of tatami rooms. The shop wing runs north to south along the street, about 4 and a half bays long (see Ketayuki), under a gabled roof of pantiles, entered on its long side (Hirairi).
North of it, a taller Zashiki wing runs east to west under an hip-and-gable roof, so that the two wings form an L in plan (Agency for Cultural Affairs). The master carpenter of the shop wing is recorded as 荒木輝美雄 (Araki), who also built the storehouse at the back of the plot.
Why It Was Registered
The Agency registered the Miyazaki Shoten Store for its contribution to the historic landscape: it keeps the front of a Meiji-era brewery on the Shimabara Road. On its corner plot, the low shop wing and the taller tatami-room wing present a merchant house's face to both the main road and the side lane.
What to Look For
Look at the contrast between the low eaves of the shop wing and the hip-and-gable roof of the tatami-room wing rising behind it (Agency for Cultural Affairs). The side lane to the south gives the clearest view of how the two wings lock together. The store was enlarged and altered in 1931, but the Agency dates it to 1906.
Visiting
The Miyazaki Shoten Store is privately owned by the Miyazaki Shoten Limited Partnership, and no official information on interior visits was found as of October 2026. The exterior can be seen from the Shimabara Road and the lane to the south.
Q&A
- When was the Miyazaki Shoten Store built?
- In 1906, with enlargement and alterations in 1931 (Agency for Cultural Affairs).
- What kind of building is the Miyazaki Shoten Store?
- A brewer's shop: a gabled shop wing on the street and a hip-and-gable wing of tatami rooms to the north, forming an L.
- Who built the Miyazaki Shoten Store?
- A master carpenter recorded as 荒木輝美雄 (Araki), who also built the shochu storehouse on the same plot.
- Can I go inside the Miyazaki Shoten Store?
- No official information on interior visits was found; the exterior can be seen from the street.
- When was the Miyazaki Shoten Store registered?
- On July 1, 2003 (Agency for Cultural Affairs).
Basic Information
| Name | Miyazaki Shoten Store (宮崎商店店舗) |
|---|---|
| Location | 897 Kaminomachi, Shimabara City, Nagasaki Prefecture |
| Designation | Registered Tangible Cultural Property (Structure) |
| Year Designated | Registered 2003/07/01 (Heisei 15) |
| Quantity | 1 building |
| Dimensions | 2-storey timber, tiled roof, 70 m² |
| Owner | Miyazaki Shoten Limited Partnership |
| Public Access | Exterior visible from the street (no information on interior access) |
References
- Miyazaki Shoten Store (Database of National Cultural Properties, Agency for Cultural Affairs)
- https://kunishitei.bunka.go.jp/heritage/detail/101/00003485
Last verified: 2026.10.28
