A Shop and Home Built in 1919
The Kojima Sohonten Shop and Main House (小嶋総本店店舗兼主屋) is a modern Japanese-style merchant building of 1919 at the north end of the Kojima Sohonten sake brewery in Honmachi, Yonezawa, Yamagata Prefecture, registered as a Registered Tangible Cultural Property on 6 March 2024. It holds registration number 06-0210, the first of the brewery's twelve entries.
The timber building is mostly single-storey, with a partial upper floor, a tiled roof and a building area of 343 square metres. It went up just after the Great Fire of Yonezawa that same year, gained an extension in the early Showa period and was renovated in 1973. When the listing was announced, the brewery noted that the house still serves as its shop.
If the storehouses to the south are where the sake is made, this is where it was sold, where customers were received and where the family lived, all under one long roof.
A Very Long Front and a Four-Square Suite
The Agency for Cultural Affairs registered the Kojima Sohonten Shop and Main House for its contribution to the historic townscape. Its official summary singles out the frontage, which is unusually wide, and the gabled entrance set at the centre of a Tsushi-nikai facade, the low half-storey typical of merchant houses.
Inside, the plan divides north from south. The northern half has raised timber floors, and next to the earthen-floored Doma sits an 18-mat reception room with a lofty ceiling and clerestory windows. A room for receiving customers was made tall and bright on purpose.
Beyond it to the north, four 8-mat Zashiki rooms are arranged in a square of four, the classic ta-no-ji layout, with carefully worked Ranma transoms. The house grows more formal the further you go from the street, a gradient any Japanese merchant family would have recognised.
The listing also values the house as part of a set. The gate and board fence in front of it and the north board fence behind it date from the same years, and together they give the brewery its public face.
What to Look For
Stand at the northeast corner of the block and the proportions become clear: the roof runs out to either side of the central gable, and the low eaves of the half-storey keep the whole mass pressed close to the street.
In front, to the east, the copper-roofed gate and board fence enclose the small front garden. Compare their copper with the tiles of the main roof. The reception room and the formal suite are hidden inside.
Visiting
The Kojima Sohonten Shop and Main House is a working building that also houses the company office, and its interior is not open to the public. View and photograph it from the public road without entering the grounds.
The brewery opens its working floor once a year during the 360° Yonezawa Open Factory. The published programme describes a tour of the brewing areas, so check each year's notice to see whether the house itself is included.
- 📍 Plan Your Visit to Yamagata
- Find tours, activities & transport passes near Kojima Sohonten Shop and Main House
- [ Yamadera Temple & Zao Onsen Hot Springs ]
Q&A
- Can you go inside the Kojima Sohonten Shop and Main House?
- No. The interior is closed to the public. The exterior can be seen from the public road, and the brewery opens its brewing areas once a year during the 360° Yonezawa Open Factory; check that year's notice for whether the house is included.
- When was the Kojima Sohonten Shop and Main House built?
- In 1919, just after the Great Fire of Yonezawa. It was extended in the early Showa period and renovated in 1973.
- Why is the Kojima Sohonten Shop and Main House a Registered Tangible Cultural Property?
- It was registered on 6 March 2024 for its contribution to the historic townscape: a long-fronted modern Japanese-style shop and residence that, with its contemporary gate and fences, shapes the streetscape of the old castle town.
- What is the layout of the Kojima Sohonten Shop and Main House?
- The northern half has raised floors, with a high-ceilinged 18-mat reception room beside the earthen-floored doma. North of that, four 8-mat rooms form a square of four with decorated transoms.
- Where is the best spot to photograph the Kojima Sohonten Shop and Main House?
- From the northeast corner of the block, on the public road, where the long frontage and central gabled entrance fit into one frame.
Basic Information
| Name | Kojima Sohonten Shop and Main House (小嶋総本店店舗兼主屋) |
|---|---|
| Location | 752 Honmachi 2-chome, Yonezawa, Yamagata Prefecture (and adjoining lots) |
| Designation | Registered Tangible Cultural Property (building) |
| Year Designated | Registered 2024/03/06 (Reiwa 6) |
| Quantity | 1 building |
| Dimensions | Timber, single-storey with partial upper floor, tiled roof, building area 343 square metres |
| Owner | Kojima Sohonten Co., Ltd. |
| Public Access | Interior closed; exterior visible from the public road (brewery open one day a year) |
References
- Agency for Cultural Affairs, Database of National Cultural Properties — 小嶋総本店店舗兼主屋
- https://kunishitei.bunka.go.jp/bsys/maindetails/101/00014716
- Agency for Cultural Affairs press release — Council for Cultural Affairs report on registered buildings, 24 November 2023
- https://www.bunka.go.jp/koho_hodo_oshirase/hodohappyo/93969901.html
- Agency for Cultural Affairs — List of buildings recommended for registration, 24 November 2023 (PDF)
- https://www.bunka.go.jp/koho_hodo_oshirase/hodohappyo/pdf/93969901_03.pdf
- Toko / Kojima Sohonten — Notice of registration of 12 buildings (29 November 2023)
- https://www.sake-toko.co.jp/news/2586/
- Toko / Kojima Sohonten — Access
- https://www.sake-toko.co.jp/access/
- Toko / Kojima Sohonten — 360° Yonezawa Open Factory notice
- https://www.sake-toko.co.jp/news/4592/
Last verified: 2026.09.25
