A fireproof shop on the road, dated 1852
The Morita Family Residence Shop Storehouse (森田家住宅見世蔵, Morita-ke Jūtaku Misegura) is a two-storey earthen storehouse with a shop front, built in 1852 in Ogawa, Akiruno City, Tokyo, and listed as a Registered Tangible Cultural Property on 24 December 2013, registration number 13-0314.
The Morita Family Residence Shop Storehouse runs east to west along the southern side of the lot. It measures 9.1 metres by 5.5 metres, with lean-to roofs (Geya) on its north and south sides and a detached roof of sheet metal above. It is the only one of the family's nine listed structures with a firm construction date, and it serves as the reference point for dating the rest of the homestead.
Why it was listed
A Misegura keeps the fire-resistant walls of a Dozo-zukuri storehouse but opens one side to the street for trade. Here the west end of the ground floor is a boarded shop area, and the street side is closed with top-hung shutters that swing up and hook overhead, leaving the whole frontage open while business is on.
The Agency for Cultural Affairs sums it up as a storehouse equipped to work as a shop, and values it as part of the street front it forms with the gate. The Moritas farmed and brewed sake, and a shop on the road is a reminder that a rural household of this rank was a business as well.
What to look for
The lower walls of the Morita Family Residence Shop Storehouse are finished in Araidashi, plaster washed back to expose small pebbles. It is a hard, scuff-proof skin where rain splashes and carts brush past. Above it the walls are smooth, and the upper floor has a row of barred windows.
The roof is of the "placed roof" (okiyane) type: a separate roof set over the sealed earthen box with an air gap between. In a fire the outer roof could burn and fall away while the storehouse beneath survived.
Look at the west end wall and you will see the side wing of the gate fixed against it. The shop storehouse, the gate and the fence read as one continuous frontage, and that is the defining image of the Morita homestead from the road.
The family's own description gives the building area as 77 square metres, while the Agency for Cultural Affairs database gives 60 square metres. This article follows the Agency's figure.
Visiting
The Morita Family Residence Shop Storehouse is the easiest of the nine to enter: it is now Kanmi Sabō Misegura Hisamori, a café serving Japanese sweets. It opens noon until 5 p.m. and closes on Tuesdays (or the following day when Tuesday is a public holiday). Reservations are not taken; guests are seated in order of arrival, seating may stop early on busy days, and lunch is not served.
The shutters and the barred upper windows are clearly visible from Mutsumibashi-dori without going in. There is no posted rule on photography, but ask the staff before taking pictures inside. Directions and parking advice are on the Morita Family Residence page.
- 📍 Plan Your Visit to Tokyo
- Find tours, activities & transport passes near Morita Family Residence Shop Storehouse
- [ Tokyo Skytree Asakusa & teamLab Experiences ]
Q&A
- Can you go inside the Morita Family Residence Shop Storehouse?
- Yes. The Morita Family Residence Shop Storehouse operates as the café Kanmi Sabō Misegura Hisamori, open noon until 5 p.m. and closed on Tuesdays (the following day if Tuesday is a public holiday). No reservation is needed.
- When was the Morita Family Residence Shop Storehouse built?
- In 1852. It is the only one of the nine listed Morita structures with a known construction year.
- What is a misegura, as at the Morita Family Residence?
- A storehouse with fire-resistant earthen walls that also works as a shop. At the Morita shop storehouse the west end of the ground floor was the sales area, opened to the road with top-hung shutters.
- How large is the Morita Family Residence Shop Storehouse?
- It measures 9.1 metres by 5.5 metres on two storeys. The Agency for Cultural Affairs gives a building area of 60 square metres; the family's description gives 77 square metres.
- When was the Morita Family Residence Shop Storehouse registered?
- On 24 December 2013, as a Registered Tangible Cultural Property with registration number 13-0314.
Basic Information
| Name | Morita Family Residence Shop Storehouse (森田家住宅見世蔵) |
|---|---|
| Location | 633-1 Konaka, Ogawa, Akiruno City, Tokyo |
| Designation | Registered Tangible Cultural Property (building) |
| Year Designated | Registered 2013/12/24 (Heisei 25); registration no. 13-0314 |
| Quantity | 1 building |
| Dimensions | Earthen storehouse, 2 storeys; 9.1 metres by 5.5 metres; building area 60 square metres |
| Owner | Not published (not listed in the Agency for Cultural Affairs database) |
| Public Access | Open as a café (noon until 5 p.m., closed Tuesdays) |
References
- National Cultural Properties Database, Agency for Cultural Affairs: Morita Family Residence Shop Storehouse
- https://kunishitei.bunka.go.jp/heritage/detail/101/00009729
- Kanmi Sabō Misegura Hisamori: cultural properties
- https://www.hisamori.biz/pages/10/
- Kanmi Sabō Misegura Hisamori: shop information
- https://www.hisamori.biz/pages/2/
- Akiruno City: designated and registered cultural properties in Akiruno
- https://www.city.akiruno.tokyo.jp/kanko/0000001910.html
Last verified: 2026.09.25
