The Long Storehouse on Tokamachi Street
Naganuma General Partnership Company Front Storehouse (長沼合名会社前蔵, maegura) is a single-storey earthen storehouse dating from the early Taishō era (1912 to 1925) in Tokamachi, Nagai City, Yamagata Prefecture, registered as a Registered Tangible Cultural Property on 18 April 2008. It is built in Dozo-zukuri style with a metal-clad roof and covers 110 square metres.
It stands in front of the store and main house and turns its gable end to Tokamachi Street. Long and narrow, running north to south, the Naganuma General Partnership Company Front Storehouse is the first building you notice walking along the street.
Three Storehouses Made into One
According to the Agency for Cultural Affairs, the front storehouse was created by joining three earthen storehouses, built between the end of Edo and the Meiji era, into one building for brewing. It was used for polishing rice and storing the polished grain. The family began brewing in 1916, which falls within the early Taishō years the agency gives for the building.
It was registered for its contribution to the historic landscape. It gives the compound its face on the street, and it holds, in a single structure, the conversion of merchant storehouses into brewery plant. No other Naganuma building shows the change from cloth trade to sake as clearly from outside.
Sources disagree on the date. The Nagai tourism bureau describes it as three storehouses in a row, about 16 ken long (1 ken is roughly 1.8 metres), built in 1871. The agency dates the joined building to the early Taishō era, and 1871 may refer to one of the original storehouses. This article follows the agency.
A Floating Roof and a Missing Upper Floor
The gable roof is an oki-yane, a separate frame resting on the earthen body, clad in metal sheet. It is now a single storey, but it once had an upper floor. When that floor was removed is not recorded; the open interior would have suited rice-polishing machinery and the movement of heavy sacks.
From outside, look at the length of the ridge. Joining three storehouses end to end produced a building that stretches far back from the street. There is one gable on Tokamachi Street, and three storehouses' worth of building behind it.
Seeing the Front Storehouse
Of the six buildings, the Naganuma General Partnership Company Front Storehouse is the easiest to see. Stand on Tokamachi Street and the gable faces you, with the long flank running back from it.
No public access to the interior is announced. There is no published photography policy, but pictures of the exterior from the public street should be fine. Directions are on the Naganuma General Partnership Company group page. Information checked on 26 September 2026.
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Q&A
- Can I visit the Naganuma General Partnership Company Front Storehouse?
- Its gable faces Tokamachi Street, so you can see the exterior from the street. No public access to the interior is announced.
- When was the Naganuma General Partnership Company Front Storehouse built?
- The Agency for Cultural Affairs dates it to the early Taishō era (1912 to 1925), when three earlier storehouses from the end of Edo to the Meiji era were joined for brewing. It was registered on 18 April 2008.
- What was the Naganuma General Partnership Company Front Storehouse used for?
- Polishing rice and storing the polished rice for brewing.
- How big is the Naganuma General Partnership Company Front Storehouse?
- It is a single-storey earthen storehouse with a footprint of 110 square metres. The agency's records do not give its length and width.
- Is there another date for the Naganuma General Partnership Company Front Storehouse?
- The Nagai tourism bureau gives 1871. The Agency for Cultural Affairs dates the joined building to the early Taishō era, and this article follows the agency.
Basic Information
| Name | Naganuma General Partnership Company Front Storehouse |
|---|---|
| Location | 1-652-1 Tokamachi, Nagai City, Yamagata Prefecture, and other lots |
| Designation | Registered Tangible Cultural Property (Building) |
| Year Designated | Registered 2008/4/18 (Heisei 20) |
| Quantity | 1 building |
| Dimensions | Building area 110 square metres (length and width not given in the Agency for Cultural Affairs records) |
| Owner | Not listed in the Agency for Cultural Affairs records |
| Public Access | Exterior visible from Tokamachi Street. No public interior access is announced |
References
- Agency for Cultural Affairs, Database of National Cultural Properties: Naganuma General Partnership Company Front Storehouse
- https://kunishitei.bunka.go.jp/bsys/maindetails/101/00006984
- Yamagata Tourism: Naganuma Gomei Kaisha, Nagai Tourism Bureau entry (Japanese)
- https://yamagatakanko.com/attractions/detail_11263.html
- Naganuma Gomei Kaisha: About the Brewery (Japanese)
- https://soumura.com/about.html
Last verified: 2026.09.26
