The Storehouse That Held the Family Trade
The Yokoyama Kyodokan Hemp Storehouse (横山郷土館麻蔵, Yokoyama Kyōdokan Asagura) is a two-storey stone warehouse at 2-16 Irifune-cho, Tochigi City, Tochigi Prefecture, built in 1909 and registered as a Tangible Cultural Property on 2 September 1998. It stands on the north side of the main shop building, the wing that faces the visitor's right when approaching from the street.
Hemp was the commodity this building existed for. Tochigi produced geta clogs in quantity, and the thongs of those clogs consumed bast fibre by the bale; the Yokoyama family bought, stored and shipped it. Barges on the Uzuma River carried the bundles downstream toward the Watarase and Tone, and eventually to Edo. The whole district grew rich on that traffic, which is why storehouses still cluster along these streets in numbers that surprise first-time visitors.
Among them this one is conspicuous. The Agency for Cultural Affairs entry singles it out as a comparatively large stone warehouse, and the scale is easy to verify by eye: a frontage of four ken, about 7.2 metres, and a depth of five ken, about 9 metres, giving a registered building area of 66 square metres over two floors under a tiled roof.
Stone, Brick and a Foreign Hand
The walls are Fukaiwa-ishi, a tuff quarried at Kanuma within Tochigi Prefecture. Tuff is soft enough to saw into large regular blocks and hard enough to resist fire, which is exactly what a merchant wanted around several tonnes of dry fibre. Local accounts add that the base course uses Iwafune-ishi, another Tochigi stone, and that red brick was worked in around the eaves. Fire was the reason for all of it.
The registration file draws attention to something else. The window detailing and the roof trusses show the influence of Western building practice, which had reached provincial Japanese carpenters by the late Meiji period through pattern books, technical schools and the example of government construction. A king-post truss over a stone box is not a traditional Japanese solution; it is a borrowed one, adopted here by builders working for a client who could afford to try it.
The property was accepted under the criterion for structures contributing to the historic landscape of the country, registration number 09-0008, with the gazette notice on 25 September 1998. Registration, introduced in 1996, is a lighter instrument than designation, requiring notification rather than permission for alterations, and it exists precisely so that buildings like this one can go on being used.
Seeing It in Context
The Hemp Storehouse is best understood alongside its twin. Across the wooden shop block, in mirror position, sits the Document Storehouse of 1910, and the two together give the complex the profile that local guides call ryosode-kirizuma-zukuri, a gabled centre with a stone sleeve on each side. Compare the two wings and the differences emerge: the Document Storehouse received extra attention at the eaves and a change of stone colour between floors, while this one keeps its surfaces plainer and reads as the working building it was.
Inside, the museum uses the storehouses for exhibits drawn from the Yokoyama collection and from the household. Displays have included raw hemp of considerable age, which is worth seeking out: the fibre is paler than most people expect. Access to individual storehouses can be suspended during repair work, so ask at the reception desk on arrival if a particular building matters to you.
Admission to the whole complex is 300 yen for visitors of high school age and above, free for junior high school students and younger, and 200 yen a head for parties of twenty or more. Opening hours run from 9:00 to 17:00 with last entry at 16:30, and the museum closes on Mondays, shifting to Tuesday when the Monday is a public holiday, as well as over the new year. The walk from Tochigi Station on the JR Ryomo and Tobu Nikko lines takes about eighteen minutes. Staff at reception can advise on photography, and the western storehouse is among the spaces that can be booked in advance for tourism events.
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Q&A
- What was the Yokoyama Kyodokan Hemp Storehouse used for?
- It stored the hemp and ramie fibre that the Yokoyama family traded as wholesalers. The fibre went largely into thongs for geta clogs, a major product of the Tochigi area, and moved by barge along the Uzuma River.
- What stone was the Yokoyama Kyodokan Hemp Storehouse built from?
- Fukaiwa-ishi, a tuff quarried at Kanuma in Tochigi Prefecture. Local sources record Iwafune-ishi at the base of the walls and red brick around the eaves, a combination chosen for fire resistance.
- How big is the Yokoyama Kyodokan Hemp Storehouse?
- Two storeys under a tiled roof, with a registered building area of 66 square metres. Local measurements give a frontage of about 7.2 metres and a depth of about 9 metres.
- How does the Yokoyama Kyodokan Hemp Storehouse differ from the Document Storehouse?
- They are near twins in size and material, but the Hemp Storehouse dates from 1909 and the Document Storehouse from 1910, and the later building carries brickwork at the eaves and a deliberate change of stone colour between its two floors.
- Can visitors enter the Yokoyama Kyodokan Hemp Storehouse?
- The storehouses are used as exhibition space and are normally included in the museum visit, though individual buildings may close for repairs. Admission to the complex is 300 yen for high school students and above.
Basic Information
| Name | Yokoyama Kyodokan Hemp Storehouse (横山郷土館麻蔵) |
|---|---|
| Location | 2-16 Irifune-cho, Tochigi City, Tochigi Prefecture |
| Designation | Registered Tangible Cultural Property (Structure), registration no. 09-0008 |
| Year Designated | Registered 2 September 1998; gazetted 25 September 1998 |
| Quantity | 1 building |
| Dimensions | Two-storey stone construction, tiled roof, building area 66 m²; built 1909 (Meiji 42) |
| Owner | Tochigi Prefecture per the Agency for Cultural Affairs database; operated as a museum by Tochigi City |
| Public Access | Open 9:00 to 17:00 (last entry 16:30); closed Mondays, or the following day when Monday is a public holiday, and over the new year. Admission 300 yen (high school and above), free for junior high and younger. Tel 0282-22-0159 |
References
- National Cultural Properties Database, Agency for Cultural Affairs: Yokoyama Kyodokan Hemp Storehouse
- https://kunishitei.bunka.go.jp/heritage/detail/101/00000750
- Cultural Heritage Online: Yokoyama Kyodokan Hemp Storehouse
- https://online.bunka.go.jp/heritages/detail/185480
- Tochigi City Tourist Association: Yokoyama Kyodokan
- https://www.tochigi-kankou.or.jp/spot/yokoyama-kyoudokan
- Tochigi City: Yokoyama Kyodokan
- https://www.city.tochigi.lg.jp/site/tourism/16848.html
- Tochigi Tabi Net (Tochigi Prefecture Tourism Association): Yokoyama Kyodokan
- https://www.tochigiji.or.jp/spot/s3378/
Last verified: 2026.08.04