Shojuken Nagasaki Confectionery Store

A Clay-Walled Shop on the Fujikawa Highway

The Shojuken Nagasaki Confectionery Store (松寿軒長崎) is the clay-walled shop of a Japanese confectioner on the Fujikawa Highway (Route 52) at Barasawa, Minami-Alps City, Yamanashi Prefecture, built in 1926, and was registered as a Registered Tangible Cultural Property (structure) on January 16, 1998 (Agency for Cultural Affairs, Minami-Alps City).

The Agency for Cultural Affairs records two storeys of clay-walled construction with a tiled roof and a building area of 102 square metres, registration number 19-0024. Minami-Alps City notes that it is privately owned.

Barasawa Post Town and an Old Confectioner

According to Minami-Alps City, Shojuken Nagasaki is a long-established maker of Japanese sweets founded in 1891. Barasawa was a post town on the Sunshin Okan road between Suruga and Shinano, and when river transport on the Fuji River from Kajikazawa flourished, the town bustled with goods and travellers.

The Agency for Cultural Affairs notes that the Shojuken Nagasaki Confectionery Store stands where Route 52, the Fujikawa Highway, turns at a right angle, and is widely loved as an old shop at a key point on the road.

Value as a Registered Cultural Property

The Shojuken Nagasaki Confectionery Store was registered as a structure contributing to the historic landscape of the country. Minami-Alps City notes that although parts were rebuilt as it aged, it keeps almost all of its original exterior.

What to Look For

The Agency for Cultural Affairs describes a hipped-roof, side-entrance townhouse in clay-walled kura style, its eaves stepped out in three tiers on brackets for a solid, dignified look.

Minami-Alps City likens the Shojuken Nagasaki Confectionery Store to clay-walled shops seen in Osaka, with a hipped roof and white plaster walls. Standing on the corner where the road bends, it catches the eye from far along the street (Agency for Cultural Affairs).

Visiting

The Shojuken Nagasaki Confectionery Store is a privately owned building at 319 Barasawa, Minami-Alps City. Its current business status has not been confirmed, so view the exterior from the road and be considerate of neighbours.

Enquiries go to the Cultural Properties Division of the Minami-Alps City Board of Education (055-282-7269).