A Storehouse of 1903 on the Bank of the Uzuma
The Tsukada History and Legend Museum Exhibition Hall (塚田歴史伝説館展示館, Tsukada Rekishi Densetsukan Tenjikan) is a plaster-walled storehouse built in 1903 at Yamato-cho 2-16 in Tochigi City, Tochigi Prefecture, and it was entered on the national register of Tangible Cultural Properties on 18 October 2000. Its registration number is 09-0049.
The building stands along the southern edge of the former main house, on a property that runs beside the Uzuma River (巴波川, Uzuma-gawa). The Tsukada family began trading and shipping timber here during the Koka era (1844 to 1848). Rafts of logs were floated down the Uzuma, transferred to the Tone River, and taken on to the timber yards of Fukagawa in Edo. The outbound run is said to have taken a night and a day; the return, poled and hauled upstream, three nights.
Of the eight registered buildings on the site, this one is the oldest storehouse. It is compact by the standards of the compound, with a footprint of roughly 50 square metres, two storeys, earthen-walled construction, and a tiled roof. The ridge runs north to south, the gables face north and south, and the roof is covered in sangawara pantiles.
The family opened the grounds to the public in 1979, using the storehouses as galleries. Visitors have been walking past this wall ever since.
Why the Registration Cites the Landscape
Japan's registration system for Tangible Cultural Properties, created in 1996, works through three criteria: a building may contribute to the historical character of the national landscape, be difficult to recreate, or serve as a model of its type. The Exhibition Hall was registered under the first of these. The other two Tsukada buildings registered on the same day were cited under the second criterion, which makes this one the odd member of the group and says something precise about what the assessors were looking at.
They were looking at the river. The west elevation, the side that faces the Uzuma, carries five barred windows across the upper storey, set at even intervals with iron grilles across the openings. Below the white plaster runs the black board fence that continues for about 120 metres along the water. That combination, white wall above and dark fence below, doubled in the surface of the river, is the image Tochigi City uses to describe itself.
The east side is handled differently. A lean-to eave projects there without walls beneath it, open to the yard, the kind of working shelter that would have kept goods dry during loading. The two faces of the same small building were designed for two different audiences: the town on one side, the household on the other.
The registration was announced in the official gazette on 6 November 2000, and the owner of record is the Tsukada History and Legend Museum Foundation.
What to Look for on a Visit
The museum is open from 9:30 to 16:00, with the last admission at 15:30, and closes on Mondays. When a national holiday falls on a Monday the closure shifts to the following day, and the museum also closes over the New Year period. Admission is 700 yen for adults and 350 yen for children, with group rates from ten people. Since opening times at small private museums do change, a phone call ahead is sensible.
Reach the site on foot in about ten minutes from Tochigi Station, served by the JR Ryomo Line and the Tobu Nikko Line. There is parking on site for around fifteen cars and two coaches, and the Kura-no-machi No. 1 car park is a five-minute walk away.
The most rewarding view of this particular building is from outside the property, on the far bank of the Uzuma, where the five windows read as a rhythm rather than as separate openings. Carp gather in the shallow water below. Inside, the storehouse holds part of the family collection, and the thickness of the earthen walls is easiest to judge at the doorway, where the depth of the reveal is exposed.
Two other attractions on the grounds run on a schedule rather than continuously: a robot puppet play retelling a local legend of the Uzuma, staged for audiences of two or more, and a shamisen-playing storyteller figure near the entrance. Ask at reception about photography before taking pictures indoors, since the policy covers the collection as well as the buildings.
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Q&A
- Can visitors go inside the Tsukada History and Legend Museum Exhibition Hall?
- Yes. The building is one of the storehouses used as galleries by the museum, and it is included in the general admission route. The Tsukada family has opened the grounds to visitors since 1979.
- What are the opening hours and admission fees at the Tsukada History and Legend Museum?
- Hours are 9:30 to 16:00 with last admission at 15:30, closed Mondays, the day after a Monday holiday, and the New Year period. Adults pay 700 yen and children 350 yen, with reductions for groups of ten or more.
- How old is the Exhibition Hall compared with the other Tsukada buildings?
- It is the oldest storehouse on the property, dated to 1903. The neighbouring cargo storehouse went up in 1909 and the office and shop range in 1916, all three registered together in 2000.
- How do I get to the Tsukada History and Legend Museum from Tochigi Station?
- It is roughly a ten-minute walk. Tochigi Station is on the JR Ryomo Line and the Tobu Nikko Line, which connects to Asakusa in Tokyo. Parking for about fifteen cars is available on site.
- Why does the Tsukada History and Legend Museum Exhibition Hall have iron grilles on its river-facing windows?
- Barred openings were standard security for a dozo storehouse holding goods and valuables. At this building the five grilled windows are spaced evenly across the second storey of the west wall, and the arrangement is one reason the property was registered for its contribution to the historic townscape.
Basic Information
| Name | Tsukada History and Legend Museum Exhibition Hall (塚田歴史伝説館展示館) |
|---|---|
| Location | 2-16 Yamato-cho, Tochigi City, Tochigi Prefecture |
| Designation | Registered Tangible Cultural Property (Structure), registration no. 09-0049 |
| Year Designated | Registered 18 October 2000; gazetted 6 November 2000 |
| Quantity | 1 building |
| Dimensions | Two-storey earthen-wall construction, tiled roof, building area approx. 50 m²; built 1903 |
| Owner | Tsukada History and Legend Museum Foundation |
| Public Access | Open as part of the museum. 9:30 to 16:00, last admission 15:30; closed Mondays and the New Year period. Adults 700 yen, children 350 yen |
References
- National Cultural Properties Database, Agency for Cultural Affairs - Tsukada Rekishi Densetsukan Tenjikan
- https://kunishitei.bunka.go.jp/heritage/detail/101/00001895
- Cultural Heritage Online - Tsukada Rekishi Densetsukan Tenjikan
- https://online.bunka.go.jp/heritages/detail/148505
- Tochigi Prefecture Cultural Properties Database - Tsukada Rekishi Densetsukan Tenjikan
- https://bunkazai.pref.tochigi.lg.jp/cultural/【塚田歴史伝説館展示館】/
- Tochigi City Tourist Association - Tsukada History and Legend Museum
- https://www.tochigi-kankou.or.jp/spot/tsukadarekishikan
Last verified: 2026.08.05