What the Former Aikawa Tax Office Archives Is
The Former Aikawa Tax Office Archives (旧相川税務署書庫, Kyū Aikawa Zeimusho Shoko) is a two-story timber record store built around 1931 behind the tax office main building on Nagasaka in Aikawa, Sado City, Niigata Prefecture, and registered as a Registered Tangible Cultural Property in 2009. A corridor links it to the back of the main building.
It is small: 6.4 meters by 4.6 meters, for a footprint of 29 square meters, under a gabled (Kirizuma-zukuri) pantile roof. The main building was where business was done; this was where the office's paperwork was kept.
Why the Archives Was Registered
The Former Aikawa Tax Office Archives matters because it survives as a pair with the office it served. The Agency for Cultural Affairs notes that, together with the main building, it preserves the character of an early-Showa tax office, and it was registered as a structure contributing to the historic landscape.
Across Japan, plenty of old government offices outlived their storehouses. Here the record store is still attached, so the way the office divided its work, office work at the front and records secured at the back, can be read straight from the plan.
Details of the Former Aikawa Tax Office Archives
The outside is rendered in mortar, and the doorway and windows are fitted with iron shutters. Compare that with the board-clad walls of the main building next door: on the same plot, the two buildings take opposite approaches to their skins. The obvious reading is fire protection for paper records.
Inside, the floor is boarded and the walls are lined with timber. The roof is carried on a King post truss, a Western triangulated frame that spans the room without interior posts. Using it on a storeroom this size shows the archive belongs to the same building culture as the Western-style office in front.
Seeing the Former Aikawa Tax Office Archives
Because the Former Aikawa Tax Office Archives stands behind the main building, it is largely hidden from the front on Nagasaka. Sado City gives no information on interior openings, so viewing is limited to what can be seen from the lane. Walking a little way up the slope and looking past the side of the main building is the best chance to glimpse it without entering the grounds.
Q&A
- What was the Former Aikawa Tax Office Archives used for?
- It stored the tax office's records. It is joined to the back of the main building by a corridor.
- How big is the Former Aikawa Tax Office Archives?
- It is a two-story timber building measuring 6.4 by 4.6 meters, with a footprint of 29 square meters.
- Why does the Former Aikawa Tax Office Archives look different from the main building?
- Its walls are mortar-rendered and its openings have iron shutters, most likely to protect paper records from fire, whereas the main building is clad in timber boards.
- When was the Former Aikawa Tax Office Archives registered as a cultural property?
- It was registered as a Registered Tangible Cultural Property on August 7, 2009, under number 15-0320.
- Can you see the Former Aikawa Tax Office Archives from the street?
- Only partly. It sits behind the main building and no interior opening is announced, so views are limited to glimpses past the main building from Nagasaka.
Basic Information
| Name | Former Aikawa Tax Office Archives |
|---|---|
| Location | 16 Aikawa Nagasaka-machi, Sado City, Niigata Prefecture |
| Designation | Registered Tangible Cultural Property (Structure) |
| Year Designated | Registered August 7, 2009 |
| Quantity | 1 building |
| Dimensions | Two-story timber building, 6.4 m by 4.6 m, footprint 29 square meters |
| Owner | Sado City |
| Public Access | Exterior only (no interior opening announced) |
References
- Agency for Cultural Affairs, Database of National Cultural Properties: Former Aikawa Tax Office Archives
- https://kunishitei.bunka.go.jp/bsys/maindetails/101/00007744
- Cultural Heritage Online: Former Aikawa Tax Office Archives (in Japanese)
- https://online.bunka.go.jp/heritages/detail/154345
- Sado City: Former Aikawa Tax Office (Registered Tangible Cultural Property, in Japanese)
- https://www.city.sado.niigata.jp/site/bunkazai/4966.html
Last verified: 2026.09.28
