A Silkworm Shed That Became a Tea Factory
The Tea Factory of the Former Wada Residence (旧和田家住宅（クロスケの家）製茶工場, Kyū Wada-ke Jūtaku Seicha Kōjō, part of the compound known as Kurosuke no Ie) is a single-storey timber workshop in the Mikajima district of Tokorozawa City, Saitama Prefecture, put up in the autumn of 1902 and entered on the national register of Tangible Cultural Properties on 21 June 2013.
It was not built for tea. The original structure was a sanshitsu, a rearing room for silkworms, raised on the western side of the family plot in the same year that mulberry was planted around it. Silk was then the household's growth business. Half a century later the calculation had changed, and in 1951 the building was extended and reworked into a factory for processing Sayama tea leaf.
The result is a building with two distinct halves, and the seam between them is visible. Seven ken along the ridge by three ken across, roughly 12.7 by 5.5 metres, at the north-western end is the original silkworm room. Everything else is the 1950s addition. Registered building area is 169 square metres. The workshop runs east to west immediately west of the main house, with lean-to roofs on the east and south faces.
Why the Agency for Cultural Affairs Took an Interest
Registered Tangible Cultural Properties differ from designated ones. National Treasures and Important Cultural Properties are chosen by the state for outstanding value and tightly controlled; registration, introduced in 1996, covers buildings of roughly fifty years or more, works through notification rather than permission, and is intended to keep structures in use. The tea factory was registered under the criterion of contributing to the historic landscape of the country, registration number 11-0128, in the 75th round.
The Agency's assessment rests on conversion. Most rural buildings that change purpose lose the evidence of what they were. This one kept it. The roof space over the old silkworm section still carries two tiers of sunoko slatted flooring, the racking on which trays of silkworms once sat. Below, the same volume was pressed into service for a completely different trade.
Mechanised tea processing created a problem that a rearing shed had never needed to solve. Power in the early 1950s came from a line shaft threaded through the beams, driving individual machines by belt. Belt drive needs headroom, and a traditional farm building did not have it. The solution here was blunt and effective: stones were inserted beneath the sills of the old silkworm section to lift the whole structure and win the clearance. That packing is still there to be seen, and it is the clearest single piece of evidence in the compound for how a farm household improvised its way into industry.
There is a second reason the building matters. Tea processing divides into a primary stage and a secondary, finishing stage. Through the prewar period farmers generally handled the first and sold on to trading houses and wholesalers, who did the second. Carrying out both under one timber roof, as the Wada family did in the 1950s, was uncommon, and surviving examples are few.
The Propeller, and Other Things Worth Standing Still For
Look up at the gable end above the entrance. A large wooden propeller is mounted high in the wall. Steaming is the first operation applied to picked leaf, and it fills a closed workshop with wet heat; the fan went in around 1955 to move that air out. Tea factories generally did not have one. The foundation that now owns the building describes it as without known parallel, and it reads less like equipment than like a solution someone worked out on the spot.
The floors record the process too. The old silkworm section was left as packed earth, while the 1950s extension has boards. Plain as that division looks, it follows the sequence of the work, wet and dirty operations on one surface and drier handling on the other.
Overhead, a koshiyane roof monitor sits on the ridge, the raised ventilator that let heat and moisture escape and daylight in. It served the silkworms first and the tea afterwards, which is a fair summary of the whole building.
Reinforcement and repair were carried out with the registration in view, and the factory opened to visitors in April 2011. It is used now for teaching sessions and workshops rather than kept as a static exhibit.
Access is by advance reservation only, through the operator's booking calendar. The compound opens on Tuesdays, Wednesdays and Saturdays, with a morning session from 10:00 to 12:00 and an afternoon session from 13:00 to 15:00; last entry is 11:30 and 14:30 respectively. Admission is 500 yen for elementary school age and above, cash only, limited to 40 people per session. A guided special opening runs about once a month, lasting roughly an hour and a half at 1,000 yen for 15 people, and this is the format that gives the fullest account of the machinery and the conversion. Groups of ten or more apply at least a week ahead. Photography for personal use is fine, commercial use of the images is not, and organised tours are not accepted. Closures fall on public holidays, over Obon and at New Year, with occasional unscheduled ones.
Getting there: Kotesashi Station on the Seibu Ikebukuro Line, then a bus for Waseda University or Miyaderanishi, alighting at Dainichido, about five minutes on foot. There is no car park and the nearby coin parking is small. The workshop has no heating or cooling, so dress for the season and carry insect repellent in summer.
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Q&A
- Can the Tea Factory of the Former Wada Residence (Kurosuke no Ie) be visited?
- Yes. It has been open to visitors since April 2011 as part of the Kurosuke no Ie compound, on Tuesdays, Wednesdays and Saturdays by advance reservation only, in a 10:00 to 12:00 or 13:00 to 15:00 session. Admission is 500 yen for elementary school age and above, cash only.
- Was the Tea Factory of the Former Wada Residence originally built for making tea?
- No. It went up in the autumn of 1902 as a silkworm rearing room, when the household's business was silk. It was extended and converted for tea processing in 1951, and the roof space above the original section still holds two tiers of slatted flooring from its sericulture days.
- What is the large propeller at the Tea Factory of the Former Wada Residence for?
- It ventilated the workshop. Steaming freshly picked leaf fills the interior with heat and moisture, so the fan was fitted in the gable end above the entrance around 1955 to clear the air. Such a device was not standard equipment in tea factories, and the present owner regards it as without known parallel.
- Why was the Tea Factory of the Former Wada Residence raised on stones?
- To gain headroom for machinery. Tea processing in the early 1950s was driven by a line shaft running through the beams with belts to each machine, and the old silkworm shed was too low to accommodate it. Stones were packed beneath the sills of that section to lift the building, and the alteration remains visible.
- What makes the Tea Factory of the Former Wada Residence significant enough to register?
- It preserves the physical record of a household shifting from silk to tea, including the changes in power source and heat source that the shift required. It also housed both the primary and the finishing stages of tea processing under one timber roof in the 1950s, an arrangement that was uncommon at the time and rarely survives.
- How do I get to the Tea Factory of the Former Wada Residence, and is there parking?
- Take the Seibu Ikebukuro Line to Kotesashi Station, then a bus bound for Waseda University or Miyaderanishi and alight at Dainichido, about five minutes on foot. There is no visitor car park, and the coin parking nearby has few spaces, so public transport is recommended.
Basic Information
| Name | Tea Factory of the Former Wada Residence (Kurosuke no Ie) / 旧和田家住宅（クロスケの家）製茶工場 |
|---|---|
| Location | 3-1166-2 Mikajima, Tokorozawa City, Saitama Prefecture |
| Designation | Registered Tangible Cultural Property (Structure); registration number 11-0128; criterion: contributing to the historic landscape of the country |
| Year Designated | Registered 21 June 2013 (75th round of registration) |
| Quantity | 1 building |
| Dimensions | Timber frame, single storey, metal sheet roof; building area 169 m². Built 1902; extended 1951. Original silkworm section 7 by 3 ken, roughly 12.7 by 5.5 m |
| Owner | Totoro Furusato Foundation (public interest incorporated foundation) |
| Public Access | Open to visitors since April 2011. Tuesday, Wednesday and Saturday, 10:00–12:00 and 13:00–15:00, by advance reservation only. Admission 500 yen, cash only. Closed on public holidays, Obon and New Year. No car park. |
References
- Agency for Cultural Affairs, National Cultural Properties Database: Tea Factory of the Former Wada Residence (Kurosuke no Ie)
- https://kunishitei.bunka.go.jp/heritage/detail/101/00009582
- Totoro Furusato Foundation: The Tea Factory
- https://www.totoro.or.jp/kurosuke/facilities/chakouba/index.html
- Totoro Furusato Foundation: Kurosuke no Ie
- https://www.totoro.or.jp/kurosuke/
- Tokorozawa City: Former Wada Residence (Kurosuke no Ie) Main House, Tea Factory and Storehouse
- https://www.city.tokorozawa.saitama.jp/iitokoro/enjoy/bunkakyoyo/bunkazai/kunitourokubunkazai/kurosukenoie.html
- Totoro Furusato Foundation: Access
- https://www.totoro.or.jp/kurosuke/access.html
Last verified: 2026.08.10