An 1893 Townhouse on Murakami's Old Main Street
The Sosendo Confectionery Shop Main House (早撰堂菓子店主屋, Sōsendō Kashiten Shuoku) is a two-storey timber townhouse of 1893 in Omachi, Murakami City, Niigata Prefecture, registered as a Registered Tangible Cultural Property on 26 December 2005.
It faces east onto what was the main street of the castle town of Murakami. The building area is 95 square meters. The ridge runs north to south under a Kirizuma-zukuri gabled roof of Sangawara-buki pantiles, and the building measures 3 bays along the ridge by 10 bays deep: narrow to the street and long behind it, as townhouses usually are. The master carpenter is recorded as Masuda Torakichi.
Why It Was Registered
The Sosendo Confectionery Shop Main House carries registration number 15-0191 and was registered on the same day as the west and east storehouses, under the criterion of contributing to the historic landscape of the country. The Agency for Cultural Affairs counts it among the elements that give the street its historic character.
A Meiji-era townhouse with its shop at the front and living rooms running back behind it is still trading as a shop, and its frontage is part of what makes the street look the way it does.
What to Look For
Shop Room and Living Room
On the ground floor of the Sosendo Confectionery Shop Main House, the mise, the shop room facing the street, leads back to the chanoma, the family's everyday living room, and the rooms beyond it.
An Open Void Over the Living Room
Upstairs, the space above the chanoma is left open to the floor below, with rooms such as the mae-nikai, the front upper room, placed before and behind the void.
A Safe in the Stairs and a Taisho Front
The Murakami City Tourist Association points to the safe built into the box staircase. The street front was restored to a Taisho-era appearance in 2004, so the shopfront you see today dates from that work.
Visiting
The Sosendo Confectionery Shop Main House is a working sweet shop, and you can step into the shop room as a customer; wooden sweet moulds hang on display inside. No opening of the living rooms or the upper floor is announced, so ask the staff if you hope to see more than the shop. The same goes for photography indoors.
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Q&A
- Can you go inside the Sosendo Confectionery Shop Main House?
- Yes, as a customer of the working sweet shop you can enter the shop room. No opening of the rooms behind or upstairs is announced.
- When was the Sosendo Confectionery Shop Main House built and registered?
- It was built in 1893 and registered on 26 December 2005 as number 15-0191.
- How is the Sosendo Confectionery Shop Main House built?
- It is a two-storey timber townhouse with a tiled roof and a building area of 95 square meters, gabled and pantiled, 3 bays by 10 bays.
- What is the layout of the Sosendo Confectionery Shop Main House?
- The ground floor runs from the shop room at the street back through the living room and further rooms. Upstairs, the space over the living room is left open, with rooms before and behind it.
- Who built the Sosendo Confectionery Shop Main House?
- The master carpenter is recorded as Masuda Torakichi, who also built the west storehouse on the same plot.
Basic Information
| Name | Sosendo Confectionery Shop Main House (早撰堂菓子店主屋) |
|---|---|
| Location | 1510 Omachi, Murakami City, Niigata Prefecture |
| Designation | Registered Tangible Cultural Property (structure) |
| Year Designated | Registered 2005/12/26 (Heisei 17) |
| Quantity | 1 building |
| Dimensions | 2-storey timber structure, tiled roof, building area 95 square meters |
| Owner | Private individual |
| Public Access | Working sweet shop (shop room open during business hours) |
References
- National Cultural Properties Database, Sosendo Confectionery Shop Main House (Agency for Cultural Affairs)
- https://kunishitei.bunka.go.jp/heritage/detail/101/00005114
- Cultural Heritage Online, Sosendo Confectionery Shop Main House (Agency for Cultural Affairs)
- https://bunka.nii.ac.jp/heritages/detail/117994
- Sosendo (Murakami City Tourist Association)
- https://www.sake3.com/spot/301
Last verified: 2026.10.01
