What Is the Former Katsuta County Office Building?
The Former Katsuta County Office Building is a two-storey timber government office completed in 1912 in Katsumada, Shoo Town, Okayama Prefecture, and it was registered as a Registered Tangible Cultural Property of Japan on November 29, 2016.
In Japanese it is 旧勝田郡役所庁舎 (Kyū Katsuta Gun'yakusho Chōsha). Built to run Katsuta County, it went on to serve as a prefectural district office, the Shoo town hall and a local art museum. After conservation work it reopened as the Shoo Furusato Museum, the town's history museum.
The Agency for Cultural Affairs records it as a two-storey timber building with a tiled roof and a building area of 413 square meters, built in 1912, extended in 1943 and 1954, and renovated in 1982.
Why the Former Katsuta County Office Building Was Registered
The Former Katsuta County Office Building is registered under number 33-0274, for its contribution to the historic landscape of the country. The agency sees in it the modernization of local government buildings in provincial Japan.
Okayama Prefecture adds a sharper point: this is the only county office building left anywhere in the prefecture. County offices were a Meiji-era layer of administration between the prefecture and its towns and villages, and in Okayama they were wound up in the 1920s once the county system was abolished. The office here closed in 1926, after only fourteen years of its original job.
The Okayama tourism board attributes the design to Egawa Saburohachi, a prefectural architect, and describes it as a Giyōfū building in his so-called Egawa style. The official descriptions from the Agency for Cultural Affairs and the prefecture do not name a designer.
What to See at the Katsuta County Office Building
The tower over the entrance
From the old Izumo road, the first thing you notice is the small tower rising above the central entrance. According to the prefecture, at the time of registration its roof was covered in colored stainless-steel sheet, but it was originally clad in natural slate. The Okayama tourism board calls it the town's symbol, the "red pointed roof." The rest of the building wears a hipped roof of Sangawara-buki tiles, and at the eaves a Chidori-hafu gable is set like a classical pediment, a Western gesture made with Japanese roofing.
Two kinds of boarding
The walls of the Former Katsuta County Office Building are horizontal Shitami-itabari clapboard, except at the base of each storey, where the boards switch to vertical paneling. Up close the change of grain is easy to read, and it draws two horizontal bands around the timber facade. This is the detail the agency singles out as an accent.
A second floor on one side only
Only part of the building rises to two storeys: the section behind the tower and toward the west. Upstairs is the assembly hall, where the county council met, under a wide-coffered Gō-tenjō ceiling that the prefecture says survives in good condition. On the ground floor is the county chief's office, and the tourism board highlights the turning staircase to the upper floor as unusual for its time.
Visiting the Former Katsuta County Office Building
The interior of the Former Katsuta County Office Building is open as the Shoo Furusato Museum, free of charge on opening days. You can walk through the county chief's office and history displays downstairs and the former assembly hall upstairs. The museum closes on Mondays and Wednesdays, so check the day before you go. The town gives no guidance on photography indoors; ask at the front desk.
For the exterior, stand on the old Izumo road and step a little to one side: from an angle you can read the whole arrangement of tower, single-storey wings and the two-storey block behind to the west. The storehouse left from the earlier post-town inn stands on the same plot. Directions and full opening hours are on the Shoo Furusato Museum page.
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Q&A
- Can you go inside the Former Katsuta County Office Building, and is there a fee?
- Yes. It is open as the Shoo Furusato Museum, and admission is free (special exhibitions may charge). Hours are 10:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m., and it closes on Mondays and Wednesdays.
- When was the Former Katsuta County Office Building built?
- It was completed in April 1912, extended in 1943 and 1954, and renovated in 1982. Conservation work ran from 2022 to 2025.
- Which rooms can you see in the Katsuta County Office Building?
- The county chief's office on the ground floor and the former assembly hall upstairs, which keeps its wide coffered ceiling. There are also galleries on local history.
- Why is the Former Katsuta County Office Building significant?
- Okayama Prefecture identifies it as the only surviving county office building in the prefecture, and the Agency for Cultural Affairs values it as evidence of how local government buildings modernized.
- When did the Former Katsuta County Office Building become a Registered Tangible Cultural Property?
- It was registered on November 29, 2016, under number 33-0274. The Kimura family storehouse on the same plot was registered the same day.
Basic Information
| Name | Former Katsuta County Office Building (旧勝田郡役所庁舎) |
|---|---|
| Location | 635 Kaminomachi, Katsumada, Shoo-cho, Katsuta-gun, Okayama Prefecture |
| Designation | Registered Tangible Cultural Property (Building) |
| Year Designated | Registered November 29, 2016 |
| Quantity | 1 building |
| Dimensions | Two-storey timber building, tiled roof, building area 413 square meters |
| Owner | Shoo Town |
| Public Access | Open (interior viewable as the Shoo Furusato Museum; free) |
References
- Database of National Cultural Properties (Agency for Cultural Affairs): Former Katsuta County Office Building
- https://kunishitei.bunka.go.jp/bsys/maindetails/101/00011402
- Cultural Heritage Online (Agency for Cultural Affairs): Former Katsuta County Office Building
- https://online.bunka.go.jp/heritages/detail/299249
- Okayama Prefecture: Former Katsuta County Office Building (PDF, Japanese)
- https://www.pref.okayama.jp/uploaded/attachment/261022.pdf
- Shoo Town: About the Shoo Furusato Museum (Japanese)
- https://www.town.shoo.lg.jp/site/kyoiku/5737.html
- Okayama Kanko Web: Shoo Furusato Museum (Japanese)
- https://www.okayama-kanko.jp/spot/detail_101578.html
- Okayama Kanko Web: Shoo Furusato Museum (Former Katsuta County Office Building) (Japanese)
- https://www.okayama-kanko.jp/spot/detail_11785.html
- Okayama Kanko Web: A spring walk through historic Katsumada (Japanese)
- https://www.okayama-kanko.jp/okatabi/1010/page
Last verified: 2026.10.02
