A Storehouse Dated to 1886
Naganuma General Partnership Company New Storehouse (長沼合名会社新蔵, shingura) is a two-storey earthen storehouse built in 1886 in Tokamachi, Nagai City, Yamagata Prefecture, and 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 62 square metres.
It stands north of the inner storehouse, its ridge running north to south. The Agency for Cultural Affairs reads the name as shingura, the new storehouse, following the late Edo inner storehouse, and does not record what it originally held.
The One Storehouse with an Exact Date
It was registered for its contribution to the historic landscape. Of the five Naganuma storehouses, the Naganuma General Partnership Company New Storehouse is the only one dated to a single year; the others are given as the late Edo period or the Taishō era.
1886 is 30 years before the family began brewing in 1916. The storehouse belongs to the merchant decades of cloth and silkworms, and together with the inner storehouse it shows the compound growing northward between the end of Edo and the Meiji era.
Plaster, Wainscot and Paired Shutters
The building measures 11 metres by 5.6 metres under a gable roof built as an oki-yane, a separate roof frame resting on the earthen body, clad in metal sheet. The walls are finished in white Shikkui lime plaster with timber wainscot along the base, protection against rain splash and snow, a real concern in snowy Nagai.
The entrance is at the south end of the east wall. Inside, the floor is boarded and the walls are lined with planks, keeping stored goods off the earthen walls and, it seems, away from damp.
The south wall carries a small eave and two windows on each floor, each window with its own pair of shutters. Seen from the south, the four shuttered openings in two rows are the best feature of the Naganuma General Partnership Company New Storehouse.
Seeing the New Storehouse
The storehouse stands inside the compound, north of the inner storehouse, and cannot be seen in full from the street. No public access to the interior is announced.
There is no published photography policy. Directions are on the Naganuma General Partnership Company group page. Information checked on 26 September 2026.
- 📍 Plan Your Visit to Yamagata
- Find tours, activities & transport passes near Naganuma General Partnership Company New Storehouse
- [ Yamadera Temple & Zao Onsen Hot Springs ]
Q&A
- Can I visit the Naganuma General Partnership Company New Storehouse?
- It stands inside the compound and cannot be seen in full from the street. No public access to the interior is announced.
- When was the Naganuma General Partnership Company New Storehouse built?
- In 1886. It was registered as a Registered Tangible Cultural Property on 18 April 2008.
- How do you pronounce the Japanese name of the Naganuma General Partnership Company New Storehouse?
- The Agency for Cultural Affairs gives Naganuma gōmei-gaisha shingura. Shingura means new storehouse.
- How big is the Naganuma General Partnership Company New Storehouse?
- It measures 11 metres by 5.6 metres, two storeys, with a footprint of 62 square metres.
- What does the Naganuma General Partnership Company New Storehouse look like?
- White lime-plastered walls with timber wainscot at the base, and on the south side a small eave over four windows, two per floor, each closed by a pair of shutters.
Basic Information
| Name | Naganuma General Partnership Company New 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 | 11 metres by 5.6 metres, building area 62 square metres |
| Owner | Not listed in the Agency for Cultural Affairs records |
| Public Access | Not fully visible from the street. No public interior access is announced |
References
- Agency for Cultural Affairs, Database of National Cultural Properties: Naganuma General Partnership Company New Storehouse
- https://kunishitei.bunka.go.jp/bsys/maindetails/101/00006983
- Naganuma Gomei Kaisha: About the Brewery (Japanese)
- https://soumura.com/about.html
Last verified: 2026.09.26
