Ogawa Matabei Shoten
Ogawa Matabei Shoten (小川又兵衛商店) is the former head shop of a liquor wholesaler in Kasasagicho, in the Naramachi old town of Nara City; its shop and main house, connecting corridor and inner storehouse, all built in 1926, were registered as Registered Tangible Cultural Properties on August 7, 2009 (Agency for Cultural Affairs). The name is read Ogawa Matabei Shōten.
The company traces its founding to the first years of the Meiji era. It began by selling shirozake, arare-zake, mirin and sake, and from the end of the Meiji era added Sakura Beer, Kirin Beer and Akadama Port Wine. The Kasasagicho premises were its head shop; the head office has since moved to Sanjo-Oji in Nara City.
The old head shop still trades as the company's Naramachi store, stocking sake from breweries across Nara Prefecture, so the three registered buildings remain a working merchant house.
All three were registered on the same day under consecutive numbers, 29-0131 to 29-0133 (Agency for Cultural Affairs), and Nara Prefecture lists them together as one entry of three buildings.
A Narrow Plot Facing Gangoji
The Agency describes Ogawa Matabei Shoten as standing on a long, narrow plot across the street to the east of Gangoji temple. The street frontage is 8.8 meters, and the plot runs back from it like a strip.
The three buildings line up one behind the other. At the street is the two-storey shop and main house with its projecting lattice front; from its east end a single-storey corridor runs back to the earthen-walled inner storehouse, which stands near the middle of the plot. North of the corridor is a small courtyard garden, overlooked by a veranda with a railing.
Both the shop and the corridor have an earth-floored passage along their south side, so a single path of beaten earth leads from the street all the way to the storehouse. According to the company, about 60 meters of rail for a goods trolley run through the store, and the trolley is still in use.
Each building is described in detail on its own page.
Visiting Ogawa Matabei Shoten
The Naramachi store of Ogawa Matabei Shoten is a working liquor shop. The company says it opens at 3 p.m. on weekdays and at about 10 a.m. on weekends and public holidays; no closing time is given, and the owners note that the hours are a little relaxed, so allow some flexibility.
At the front is a small sitting area the shop calls its "chokotto cafe", where wine, beer and Nara sake are served by the glass, with Gangoji in view across the street.
The front of the shop and main house can be seen from the street. The corridor and storehouse lie inside the plot behind the shop, and no information on visiting them was found. The official site says nothing about photography either, so ask the staff before taking pictures inside.
Ogawa Matabei Shoten lies about 850 meters south-southeast of Kintetsu Nara Station and about 1.2 km east-southeast of JR Nara Station, both straight-line distances. From either station the walk leads through the lanes of Naramachi; Gangoji is the easiest landmark.
References
- Ogawa Matabei Shoten Shop and Main House (Database of National Cultural Properties, Agency for Cultural Affairs)
- https://kunishitei.bunka.go.jp/bsys/maindetails/101/00007788
- Ogawa Matabei Shoten Connecting Corridor (Database of National Cultural Properties, Agency for Cultural Affairs)
- https://kunishitei.bunka.go.jp/bsys/maindetails/101/00007789
- Ogawa Matabei Shoten Inner Storehouse (Database of National Cultural Properties, Agency for Cultural Affairs)
- https://kunishitei.bunka.go.jp/bsys/maindetails/101/00007790
- Ogawa Matabei Shoten Shop and Main House (Cultural Heritage Online, Japanese)
- https://online.bunka.go.jp/heritages/detail/198779
- Ogawa Matabei Shoten Connecting Corridor (Cultural Heritage Online, Japanese)
- https://online.bunka.go.jp/heritages/detail/192510
- Ogawa Matabei Shoten Inner Storehouse (Cultural Heritage Online, Japanese)
- https://online.bunka.go.jp/heritages/detail/145051
- Ogawa Matabei Shoten official website (Naramachi shop, Japanese)
- https://matabei3.jimdofree.com/
- Ogawa Matabei Shoten official website (company profile, Japanese)
- https://matabei3.jimdofree.com/%E4%BC%9A%E7%A4%BE%E7%B4%B9%E4%BB%8B/
- Registered Tangible Cultural Properties in Nara Prefecture (Nara Prefecture, as of July 17, 2026, Japanese)
- https://www.pref.nara.lg.jp/documents/25010/20260707102839.pdf
Last verified: 2026.11.12
Basic Information
| Name | Ogawa Matabei Shoten |
|---|---|
| Location | 8-1 Kasasagicho, Nara City, Nara Prefecture |
| Designation | Registered Tangible Cultural Properties (3) |
| Coordinates | 34.67772, 135.83218 |
