The One Concrete Building on the Site
The Former Sericultural Experiment Station Shinjo Branch (Silkworm Egg Cold Storage and Egg Preservation Rooms) is a single-storey reinforced concrete building of 1934 in Tokamachi, Shinjo City, Yamagata Prefecture, entered on the national register as a Registered Tangible Cultural Property on 29 March 2013.
It stands east of the main office at the southern end of the grounds. The roof is gabled and tiled and the footprint is 284 square metres. Two parts of different character, the cold storage wing to the west and the preservation wing to the east, are joined by an entrance in the middle.
This is the only reinforced concrete structure among the ten registrations at the station. Everything else here is timber. Concrete was chosen because the rooms had to hold a steady internal temperature and carry the weight of insulation and chilling machinery.
Inside the cold storage wing, corridors run along the north and south sides with two rows of five chambers between them, ten in all, and a machine room at the west end. Chilling controls when silkworm eggs hatch, so dividing the wing finely let the station hold batches under different regimes at the same time.
Why It Was Registered
The registration number is 06-0141, granted under the first criterion, covering structures that contribute to the historic character of the landscape.
The building records how a Japanese government institution of the 1930s chose its materials. Offices and rearing houses in timber; anything needing temperature control in reinforced concrete. And yet the roof is laid with ordinary clay tiles over a timber truss. A new structural material was adopted where it was needed, while the visible surfaces were kept in line with the neighbours.
That is why the elevation looks so like the office and the egg inspection building on the far side of it. The southern frontage of the Former Sericultural Experiment Station Shinjo Branch reads as one composition even though one of its three parts is built quite differently from the others.
The interior of the preservation wing was converted to general storage in later years and its original fittings are gone. The compartments in the cold storage wing survive, so how much remains varies from one end of the building to the other.
What to Look For
Begin with the surface of the walls. Set against the mortar render of the office and the egg inspection building, this one sits harder on its concrete backing, and joint lines and pour marks sometimes show through. Look along the wall from an oblique angle and the difference comes out.
The roof is gabled where its two neighbours are hipped. A gable stops at a wall at each end; a hip slopes away on all four sides. Once you have the two shapes in your eye you can sort the buildings at this end of the site by roof alone.
The central entrance links two halves that were never meant to match. Window sizes and spacing differ to east and west of it, so the elevation is deliberately asymmetrical. Compare it with the strict symmetry of the office and the point becomes clear: here the use decided the shape.
The timber truss over the concrete walls is not visible from outside. Knowing it is there is enough to place the building where it belongs, in the years when Japanese builders were putting new structures under old roofs.
Visiting This Building
The Silkworm Egg Cold Storage and Egg Preservation Rooms are not normally open. Neither the chambers nor the machine room can be seen, and visiting means viewing from outside.
The exterior is freely visible from anywhere on the grounds, at no charge. Walking the path east of the office brings the whole south elevation into view, and outdoor photography is unrestricted.
Afternoon suits this building best. Morning sun reaches the east face, and light moves across the south elevation from midday onwards. If you want to read the texture of the concrete, choose an hour when the light strikes at a low angle.
No date has been set for opening the interior. Check the Shinjo City or facility website for any special opening.
- 📍 Plan Your Visit to Yamagata
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Q&A
- Can visitors go inside the Silkworm Egg Cold Storage and Egg Preservation Rooms at the Former Sericultural Experiment Station Shinjo Branch?
- No. The building is not normally open and the interior cannot be seen. The exterior is freely visible from the grounds at no charge.
- Why is this the only concrete building at the station?
- The rooms had to hold a steady temperature and carry the weight of insulation and chilling machinery. Of the ten registered structures here, this is the only one in reinforced concrete; the rest are timber.
- How was the cold storage wing arranged?
- Corridors ran along the north and south sides with two rows of five chambers between them, ten in all, and a machine room at the west end, so batches of eggs could be held under different regimes at once.
- What kind of roof does the building have?
- A gabled roof laid with clay pantiles over a timber truss, despite the reinforced concrete walls below. The gable distinguishes it from the hipped roofs of the office and the egg inspection building.
- What survives of the original interior?
- The compartments in the cold storage wing. The preservation wing at the east end was converted to general storage in later years, so survival differs between the two halves of the same building.
Basic Information
| Name | Former Sericultural Experiment Station Shinjo Branch (Silkworm Egg Cold Storage and Egg Preservation Rooms) |
|---|---|
| Location | 6000-1 Toumeki, Tokamachi, Shinjo City, Yamagata Prefecture |
| Designation | Registered Tangible Cultural Property (structure) |
| Year Designated | Registered 29 March 2013 |
| Quantity | 1 building |
| Dimensions | Single-storey reinforced concrete, pantile roof, footprint 284 square metres |
| Owner | Shinjo City |
| Public Access | Interior not normally open; exterior viewable free of charge |
References
- Agency for Cultural Affairs, National Cultural Properties Database: Egg Cold Storage and Preservation Rooms
- https://kunishitei.bunka.go.jp/bsys/maindetails/101/00009421
- Shinjo City: On the Registered Tangible Cultural Properties
- https://www.city.shinjo.yamagata.jp/k001/020/010/030/030/9635.html
- Shinjo City: Shinjo City Ecology Garden, Gensan-no-Mori
- https://www.city.shinjo.yamagata.jp/g/kanko/020/010/010/
- Michi-no-Eki Shinjo Ecology Garden Gensan-no-Mori: Facility Guide
- https://michinoeki-eg.jp/facility/
Last verified: 2026.09.14
