A Mansard-Roofed Shop among the Storehouses of Tochigi
Koko Ichibankan (Former Adachi Kimono Store) (好古壱番館（旧安達呉服店店舗）) is the Western-style shop of a kimono merchant of 1923 in Yorozucho, Tochigi City, Tochigi Prefecture, and was registered as a Registered Tangible Cultural Property (structure) on October 18, 2000 (Agency for Cultural Affairs).
The Agency records a two-storey timber building with a sheet-metal roof and a building area of 56 square metres; registration number 09-0033.
A Taisho Shop Finished to Look Like Stone
Koko Ichibankan is one of the Western-style buildings scattered among the storehouse streets of Tochigi, built in 1923 as the shop of a kimono merchant (Agency for Cultural Affairs). The two-storey timber building has a porch-like projection on the ground-floor front and a hipped mansard roof in copper with dormer windows. Its pilasters and flat arches are faced in stone to look like masonry.
According to Tochigi City's register of buildings that form the historic townscape, the long, narrow plot on the main street holds the Western-style building, a timber house and six storehouses, none of them demolished. A false front added in later alterations was removed from the Western building in a townscape project.
Why It Was Registered
The Agency notes it as a Western-style shop that expresses Taisho-period design well, and registered it as a model of design.
What to Look For
Look for the copper mansard roof with its dormers and the stone-faced pilasters and flat arches (Agency for Cultural Affairs).
Visiting
The Agency database does not list the owner. No official information on public access was found.
Q&A
- When was Koko Ichibankan built?
- In 1923 (Agency for Cultural Affairs).
- What kind of shop was it?
- A kimono merchant's shop.
- What is its roof?
- A hipped copper mansard roof with dormers.
- What else is on the plot?
- A timber house and six storehouses (Tochigi City).
- When was Koko Ichibankan (Former Adachi Kimono Store) registered?
- On October 18, 2000 (Agency for Cultural Affairs).
Basic Information
| Name | Koko Ichibankan (Former Adachi Kimono Store) (好古壱番館（旧安達呉服店店舗）) |
|---|---|
| Location | 4-2 Yorozucho, Tochigi City, Tochigi Prefecture |
| Designation | Registered Tangible Cultural Property (Structure) |
| Year Designated | Registered 2000/10/18 (Heisei 12) |
| Quantity | 1 building |
| Dimensions | Two-storey timber, sheet-metal roof, 56 m² |
| Owner | Not listed in the Agency database |
| Public Access | No official information on access |
References
- Koko Ichibankan (Former Adachi Kimono Store) (Database of National Cultural Properties, Agency for Cultural Affairs)
- https://kunishitei.bunka.go.jp/heritage/detail/101/00001879
- Register of Historic Townscape Buildings (Tochigi City)
- https://www.city.tochigi.lg.jp/uploaded/attachment/34559.pdf
Last verified: 2026.10.23