The Station's Storehouse
The Former Saitama Prefectural Textile Industry Testing Station Chichibu Branch Warehouse (旧埼玉県繊維工業試験場秩父支場倉庫) is a timber storehouse of 1930 in Kumaki-cho, Chichibu City, Saitama Prefecture, and was registered as a Registered Tangible Cultural Property (structure) on October 12, 2001 (Agency for Cultural Affairs).
The Agency records a single-storey timber building roofed in cement tiles, with connecting corridors and a building area of 194 square metres; registration number 11-0034.
A Store Wrapped in Corridors
The warehouse adjoins the factory building on its south side: a single-storey timber building under a gabled roof of cement tiles (Agency for Cultural Affairs). On the south, east and west it is wrapped by the open covered corridor, roofed in sheet iron, that runs from the main building, and on the east side there is a toilet block 2 ken square.
A raised ventilation roof runs along the ridge, and because the corridor roof carries on around the building like a skirt of eaves, a plain store ends up with a surprisingly lively outline.
Saitama Prefecture dates it to 1930, the same year as the main building. The factory building it now adjoins followed in 1934, 4 years later.
Why It Was Registered
The Agency registered the warehouse as a model of design: a modest building given variety by its ventilation roof and the corridor eaves that run around it.
Because the covered corridor from the main building wraps this store on its way to the factory, the warehouse also preserves the route that tied the station's buildings together.
What to Look For
Look up for the raised ventilation roof along the ridge, then follow the corridor roof as it wraps three sides of the building. The corridor has no walls, so it runs openly along the warehouse wall.
The small toilet block on the east side, 2 ken square, hints at how staff moved between buildings, and the cement tiles read differently in colour and texture from the pantiles on the main building and the factory.
Visiting
The warehouse stands within the grounds of Chichibu Meisenkan, and during opening hours its exterior can be seen from around the corridors. Official information does not say whether the interior is open.
Q&A
- When was the Former Saitama Prefectural Textile Industry Testing Station Chichibu Branch Warehouse built?
- In 1930 (Agency for Cultural Affairs), the same year as the main building and 4 years before the factory building of 1934.
- What is distinctive about the Chichibu Meisenkan warehouse?
- Its raised ventilation roof and the open covered corridor whose roof wraps the south, east and west sides.
- Where is the warehouse at Chichibu Meisenkan?
- Within the museum grounds, joined to the south side of the factory building.
- Can I see the warehouse at Chichibu Meisenkan?
- The exterior can be seen during museum hours (Chichibu City); whether the interior is open is not stated officially.
- When was the Former Saitama Prefectural Textile Industry Testing Station Chichibu Branch Warehouse registered?
- On October 12, 2001 (Agency for Cultural Affairs).
Basic Information
| Name | Former Saitama Prefectural Textile Industry Testing Station Chichibu Branch Warehouse (旧埼玉県繊維工業試験場秩父支場倉庫) |
|---|---|
| Location | 500-1 Kumaki-cho and other lots, Chichibu City, Saitama Prefecture |
| Designation | Registered Tangible Cultural Property (Structure) |
| Year Designated | Registered 2001/10/12 (Heisei 13) |
| Quantity | 1 building |
| Dimensions | Timber, single-storey, cement-tile roof, 194 m², with connecting corridors |
| Owner | Chichibu City |
| Public Access | Exterior viewable at Chichibu Meisenkan; interior access unconfirmed |
References
- Former Saitama Prefectural Textile Industry Testing Station Chichibu Branch Warehouse (Database of National Cultural Properties, Agency for Cultural Affairs)
- https://kunishitei.bunka.go.jp/heritage/detail/101/00002361
- Registered Tangible Cultural Properties: Structures (Saitama Prefecture, Japanese)
- https://www.pref.saitama.lg.jp/documents/27121/02_r7torokuyukebunkazai.pdf
- Chichibu Meisenkan (Chichibu City, Japanese)
- https://www.city.chichibu.lg.jp/2255.html
Last verified: 2026.10.20
