The Unheated House, 1937
The Former Sericultural Experiment Station Shinjo Branch (Silkworm Rearing House No. 5) is a two-storey timber building of 1937 in Tokamachi, Shinjo City, Yamagata Prefecture, entered on the national register as a Registered Tangible Cultural Property on 29 March 2013.
It stands north of rearing house four, the northernmost of the four. The roof is gabled sheet metal with a ventilation tower on the ridge, and at 290 square metres the footprint is the smallest of the set.
Lapped boarding covers the ground floor and lime plaster the upper. A small gabled porch sits at the centre of the long south wall. The other rearing houses put their stairs and lean-tos at the ends; this one has a proper front door in the middle of its principal elevation.
This was the house for the summer crop, and it had no heating. Summer air in the Mogami basin is warm enough for silkworms without help. Standing alongside the heated houses two and four, it let the station run rearing under different seasonal regimes at the same time.
Why It Was Registered
The registration number is 06-0139, granted under the first criterion, covering structures that contribute to the historic character of the landscape.
The upper floor is where this building survives best. The ground floor has been refitted apart from the corridor, but above it much of the original state remains. Rearing was done chiefly on the upper floor, so it is there that the working space of the period can still be seen.
Within the set of four, this house represents the unheated case. An experiment station proves a technique by varying the conditions and comparing results, and putting up buildings of the same form with different equipment inside is precisely that method in physical shape. That is the argument for keeping the four together.
Seismic strengthening was carried out in May 2018 and the building reopened that December, the first of the four rearing houses to be treated.
What to Look For
Face the porch on the south wall. A small gabled projection at the exact centre of a long elevation, the same idea as the porch on the main office but plainer in scale and detail. It is a working entrance, and it looks like one.
For the whole set, stand at the north side of this building and look south. Ventilation towers run away from you on houses five, four and one, with the roof of the office beyond them. No other spot takes in the plan of the site so completely.
The lapped boarding of the ground floor is original. The north wall takes the wind and the drifting snow, and the timber has weathered differently there than on the south, so the same cladding ages at different rates on a single building.
The trees around the building count as part of it. Mulberries and others from the station years still stand and throw shade across the south wall in summer. Keeping the setting as well as the structures is what makes this site unusual.
Visiting This Building
Rearing House No. 5 now houses a farm produce outlet on its ground floor. You can go in during opening hours, but not to explore the building; the upper floor is closed to visitors.
The outlet opens 9:00 a.m. to 6:00 p.m. and does not take a regular closing day. The grounds as a whole, however, close on Tuesdays and from 29 December to 3 January, so plan around the site's opening days.
The exterior is freely visible at no charge. Outdoor photography is unrestricted; ask before photographing inside the shop.
For the exterior, work from the south, where the central porch and the ridge tower come into one frame. From the north you need to step back to the boundary of the grounds to fit the whole building in.
- 📍 Plan Your Visit to Yamagata
- Find tours, activities & transport passes near Former Sericultural Experiment Station Shinjo Branch (Silkworm Rearing House No. 5)
- [ Yamadera Temple & Zao Onsen Hot Springs ]
Q&A
- Can visitors go inside Rearing House No. 5 at the Former Sericultural Experiment Station Shinjo Branch?
- The ground floor holds a farm produce outlet and can be entered during its opening hours. The upper floor is closed and the building cannot be explored freely. The exterior is freely visible from the grounds.
- What are the opening hours of the shop inside?
- 9:00 a.m. to 6:00 p.m., with no regular closing day, but the grounds themselves close on Tuesdays and from 29 December to 3 January.
- Why did this rearing house have no heating?
- It was built for the summer crop, when outside air is already warm enough for silkworms. It works as the unheated counterpart to rearing houses two and four, which were warmed by boiler steam.
- What original fabric survives?
- The upper floor retains much of its original state. The ground floor has been refitted apart from the corridor, but rearing was carried out chiefly upstairs, so the working space of the period survives where it matters.
- How does it differ from the other rearing houses?
- It has a gabled porch at the centre of its south wall, it is the smallest of the four at 290 square metres, it stands furthest north, and it was the first of the four to be seismically strengthened.
Basic Information
| Name | Former Sericultural Experiment Station Shinjo Branch (Silkworm Rearing House No. 5) |
|---|---|
| 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 | Two-storey timber, sheet metal roof, footprint 290 square metres |
| Owner | Shinjo City |
| Public Access | Exterior freely viewable; ground floor accessible during shop hours, 9:00 a.m. to 6:00 p.m. |
References
- Agency for Cultural Affairs, National Cultural Properties Database: Rearing House No. 5
- https://kunishitei.bunka.go.jp/bsys/maindetails/101/00009419
- Shinjo City: On the Registered Tangible Cultural Properties
- https://www.city.shinjo.yamagata.jp/k001/020/010/030/030/9635.html
- Shinjo City: Mayu-no-Sato Farm Produce Outlet
- https://www.city.shinjo.yamagata.jp/k001/020/010/030/010/20211222164022.html
- Michi-no-Eki Shinjo Ecology Garden Gensan-no-Mori: Facility Guide
- https://michinoeki-eg.jp/facility/
Last verified: 2026.09.14
