What Is the Ome Textile Industry Cooperative Main Building?
The Ome Textile Industry Cooperative Main Building (青梅織物工業協同組合本館, Honkan) is a two-story wooden office building in Nishiwakecho, Ome City, Tokyo, built around 1940 and registered as a Registered Tangible Cultural Property of Japan on November 29, 2016.
It was built as the office of the textile guild that preceded the present cooperative, and the cooperative still runs its business from it. Of the four registered buildings on the grounds, the Main Building is the only one still doing the job it was built for. The Agency for Cultural Affairs describes it as standing near the middle of central Ome.
Why the Main Building Was Registered
The Ome Textile Industry Cooperative Main Building was registered as a Registered Tangible Cultural Property in 2016, number 13-0369, for contributing to the historic landscape of the nation. The agency's description presents it as a building that carries the history of a town that prospered on weaving.
It was never only an office. Ome City's newsletter notes that the building served as a venue for the textile fair, the juried show of local cloth that the cooperative organized with the Tokyo government. A reception room was added to the east side in 1963.
The building covers 280 square meters. Apart from the 1963 addition, the upper floor is a single open room with no partitions, a room large enough for gatherings such as the textile fair. The cooperative now lists the Main Building as its office plus a multipurpose hall for up to 100 people.
What to Look for at the Main Building
The hipped roof and the south porch
The roof is a Yosemune-zukuri hipped roof covered in slate, and an entrance porch projects from the south front. Start on the south side, where the porch steps forward and the four slopes of the roof meet in ridges above it.
The 1963 reception room
At the north end of the east side, the reception room added in 1963 juts out from the original block. Walk around to the east and the step in the wall marks where the building of around 1940 ends and the postwar addition begins.
Two floors, two purposes
Downstairs the Ome Textile Industry Cooperative Main Building is divided into offices and smaller rooms; upstairs is one big hall. The contrast between the floors sums up a building that had to handle both paperwork and public events.
Visiting the Ome Textile Industry Cooperative Main Building
The Main Building is the cooperative's working office and is not open to visitors as a matter of course. The office is staffed on weekdays from 9:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m., and the upstairs hall is used for events and rentals. The exterior can be seen from the paths on the grounds (checked October 1, 2026).
In 2017 Ome City reported a room in the building with displays on the local textile industry. Whether it can still be visited has not been confirmed, so contact the cooperative in advance if you hope to see it. Directions to the grounds are on the Ome Textile Industry Cooperative page.
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Q&A
- When was the Ome Textile Industry Cooperative Main Building built?
- Around 1940, according to the Agency for Cultural Affairs. The reception room on the east side was added in 1963.
- Can I go inside the Ome Textile Industry Cooperative Main Building?
- It is a working office and not regularly open. The office is staffed on weekdays from 9:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m.; ask the cooperative in advance about the exhibition room.
- What is on the upper floor of the Ome Textile Industry Cooperative Main Building?
- A single open hall. It once hosted events such as the textile fair and is now offered as a multipurpose hall for up to 100 people.
- Why is the Ome Textile Industry Cooperative Main Building a registered cultural property?
- It was registered in 2016 for contributing to the historic landscape of the nation, as a building that records Ome's history as a weaving town.
- What kind of roof does the Ome Textile Industry Cooperative Main Building have?
- A hipped roof covered in slate, with an entrance porch on the south and the 1963 reception room projecting on the east.
Basic Information
| Name | Ome Textile Industry Cooperative Main Building |
|---|---|
| Location | 123 Nishiwakecho 3-chome, Ome City, Tokyo, and other locations |
| Designation | Registered Tangible Cultural Property (Building) |
| Year Designated | Registered 2016 |
| Quantity | 1 building |
| Dimensions | Building area 280 square meters, wooden, 2 stories |
| Owner | Ome Textile Industry Cooperative |
| Public Access | Interior not regularly open (cooperative office); exterior visible from the grounds |
References
- Agency for Cultural Affairs Database: Ome Textile Industry Cooperative Main Building (in Japanese)
- https://kunishitei.bunka.go.jp/bsys/maindetails/101/00011271
- Cultural Heritage Online: Ome Textile Industry Cooperative Main Building (in Japanese)
- https://bunka.nii.ac.jp/heritages/detail/221197
- Koho Ome, January 15, 2017: The Ome Textile Industry Cooperative Buildings (in Japanese)
- https://www.city.ome.tokyo.jp/uploaded/attachment/6820.pdf
- Ome Textile Industry Cooperative official site (in Japanese)
- https://omeorimonokougyoukyoudoukumi.jimdosite.com/
Last verified: 2026.10.01
