Kitakata (Fukushima Prefecture): A town of storehouses with over 4,000 surviving storehouses

When you think of Kitakata City in Fukushima Prefecture, ramen immediately comes to mind. Along with Sapporo ramen and Hakata ramen, it is said to be one of the three great ramen in Japan

Its history is long, and it is said that it originated when a young man from China came to Kitakata at the end of the Taisho period and started selling Chinese noodles from a food cart. After the end of World War II, the number of ramen shops increased as repatriates from China returned to Kitakata

In the 1980s, local governments began to develop old townscapes, and a boom in strolling through old townscapes began

Kitakata City is one of them, and the scenery lined with storehouses has been featured in photo books and on TV as "Kitakata, the town of storehouses," attracting many tourists. At the time, ramen was booming nationwide, and Kitakata ramen, which uses local noodles and a soy sauce-based soup made from the famous water that originates from Mount Nicchu Iimori (1,595m above sea level), which towers on the border with Yamagata Prefecture, was a big hit with tourists

The name of Kitakata ramen gradually spread, mainly in Tokyo, through word of mouth that "Kitakata ramen was delicious."

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Kitakata, the rice-producing region of the Aizu domain

Kitakata was called "Kitakata" because it was located north of Aizuwakamatsu, the center of Aizu, and was a farming and mountain village with several villages

Aizu was given as a territory by Minamoto no Yoritomo to Sawara Juro Yoshitsura, who achieved military success during Yoritomo's Oshu Conquest (1189, a battle to subjugate the Oshu Fujiwara clan, who had great influence in the Tohoku region). After that, the Shingu clan came to rule the whole of Aizu, and in the Muromachi period, the Ashina clan came to rule the whole of Aizu. The Ashina clan developed villages in the north and opened cities in some of them, which led to their development

During the Edo period, Gamo Ujisato, the lord of Aizu, encouraged the development of new rice fields in the north as well as the development of the castle town. As the north became a rice-producing region, rice production increased and, thanks to the availability of high-quality water, sake brewing became popular, and miso and soy sauce production also began. It was around this time that storehouses began to be built to brew sake, miso, and soy sauce

During the Edo period, after Gamō Ujisato, the feudal lord changed rapidly among Uesugi Kagekatsu, Gamō Hideyuki, Kato Yoshiaki, and Kato Akinari, but the political situation stabilized when Hoshina Masayuki became the feudal lord in 1643. However, at the end of the Edo period, the Boshin War (1868-1869) broke out between the Aizu clan, which sided with the Edo shogunate, and the new government forces, and many houses and storehouses in the northern region were burned down

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The storehouse survived the great fire of the Meiji era, and its importance was recognized

In 1875 (Meiji 8), five villages to the north, including Koarai, Odazuki, and Tsukahara, merged to form the town of Kitakata. Kitakata gradually recovered through the brewing, lacquerware, and sericulture industries, and many storehouses were built, but in 1880 (Meiji 13), a major fire broke out, destroying over 170 houses in the town center. Many houses were destroyed, but storehouses survived, and their importance was recognized

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The Kano Copper Mine made Kitakata prosperous

In the latter half of the Meiji period, a copper mine (Kano Copper Mine) was discovered nearby and began full-scale operation. At the time, Kano Copper Mine was the third largest producer in the country, so many workers gathered there, and with the opening of the railway, Kitakata town became very prosperous. Many storehouses were also built during this period

Many storehouses remain that can be visited in the old Koarai Village and Odatsuki Village areas in the center of Kitakata City, where the city has stood since ancient times, but it is said that there are still over 4,000 storehouses remaining in Kitakata City as a whole, including those that are not open to the public. The streets of the Odatsuki area have been designated as a national preservation district for traditional buildings

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Kitakata's storehouses have a variety of architectural styles and uses

Kitakata's storehouses are not only found in merchant houses in urban areas, but also in rural areas. This is because the need for storehouses was felt after the great fire, and in the Edo period, farmers had to get permission from the magistrate's office when building a storehouse, but from the Meiji period onwards, anyone was free to build a storehouse, so people competed to build storehouses

The most common architectural style for storehouses is the white-walled earthen storehouse, but in Kitakata they have a variety of walls, including black plaster walls, earthen walls, and brick construction. What is particularly unusual is that brick construction, which is common in factories, is also prevalent in ordinary farms

Kitakata Kura no Sato, where nine storehouses have been relocated

Kitakata Kura no Sato, located within the Kitano-Sato Roadside Station, is a storehouse theme park created with the aim of passing on the culture of storehouse building to future generations by relocating and exhibiting various types of disused storehouses from Kitakata. The nine relocated storehouses are the "Former Inoue Family Grain Storehouse," "Former Karahashi Family Miso Brewery," "Zashiki Storehouse," "Katte Storehouse," "Inomata Family Grain Storehouse," "Gogashira Residence, Former Toshima Family Residence (Designated an Important Cultural Property of Fukushima Prefecture)," "Former Kabuki Family Storehouse," "Former Tokairin Family Sake Brewery," and "Kimoiri Residence, Former Teshirogi Family Residence (Designated an Important Cultural Property of Fukushima Prefecture)." These buildings clearly show just how important storehouses were in Kitakata

Kitakata Kura no Sato <Information>

• Facility name: Kitakata Kura no Sato
• Address: 109 Oshikiri, Kitakata City, Fukushima Prefecture, 966-0094
• Phone number: 0241-22-6592
• Opening hours: 9:00-17:00
• Admission fee: Adults and university students 400 yen, elementary, junior high and high school students 200 yen, free for children under elementary school age
• Closed: December 29th to January 1st
• Official URL: Roadside Station Kitanosato

Google Maps

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Higashimachi Kurayashiki Kaiyokan, which is now a tourist information center

Higashimachi Kurayashiki Kaiyokan is a storehouse that was used as the residence of the former Igarashi family, who led Kitakata's industry in raw silk production and silk reeling. It has now been donated to Kitakata City and renovated, and is used as the Odatsuki Tourist Information Center and a free space. It was built in the late Edo period

Higashimachi Kurayashiki Kaiyokan ＜Information＞

• Facility name: Higashimachi Kurayashiki Kaiyokan (Kurayashiki Odatsuki Tourist Information Center)
• Address: 4088-1 Higashimachi, Kitakata City, Fukushima Prefecture, 966-0051
• Phone number: 0241-22-6592
• Opening hours: 10:00-17:00
• Admission fee: Free
• Closed: Late March to November
• Official URL: Higashimachi Kurayashiki Kaiyokan

Google Maps

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Yamatogawa Sake Brewery Kitakata Fudokan Museum: A row of breweries from the Edo, Taisho, and Showa eras

The Yamatogawa Sake Brewery Kitakata Fuudokan Museum displays three generations of now-disused storehouses, the Edo Storehouse, the Taisho Storehouse, and the Showa Storehouse, of the Yamatogawa Sake Brewery, which was founded in the mid-Edo period

The "Edo-gura" is a sake brewery that was built during the Edo period. The "Taisho-gura" originally had rows of tanks for storing and aging the finished sake. The "Showa-gura" was built in 1929 (Showa 4) and is currently used as a concert hall and space for various events

Yamatogawa Sake Brewery Northern Culture Museum <Information>

• Facility name: Yamatogawa Sake Brewery Northern Culture Museum
• Address: 4761 Teramachi, Kitakata City, Fukushima Prefecture, 966-0861
• Phone number: 0241-22-2233
• Opening hours: 9:00-16:30
• Admission fee: Free
• Closed: Open daily
• Official URL: Yamatogawa Sake Brewery

Google Maps

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The living space was also built in a storehouse to protect it from fire: "Wakaki Shoten's Striped Persimmon Storehouse"

Wakaki Shoten is a miso and soy sauce manufacturing and sales store founded in the Edo period, and many buildings built between the Meiji period and the early Showa period remain, including the storehouse and brick warehouse

The Shimagaki Storehouse is a room in a storehouse with a brick exterior and a Japanese-style interior, furnished entirely with persimmon trees. You cannot enter the storehouse, but you can view it from the outside. The storehouse, work storehouse, brewery, and other facilities are all registered as tangible cultural properties by the country

Wakaki Shoten Striped Persimmon Storehouse ＜Information＞

• Facility name: Wakaki Shoten Striped Persimmon Storehouse
• Address: 4786, Kitakata City, Fukushima Prefecture, 966-0817
• Phone number: 0241-22-0010
• Opening hours: 9:00-17:00
• Admission fee: Free
• Closed: January 1st
• Official URL: Wakaki Shoten Striped Persimmon Store

Google Maps

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lastly

Kitakata City is also home to many other storehouses that have been designated as national tangible cultural properties, including Sasa Masamune Sake Brewery, Matsumotoya, Inoue Partnership, Yabe Residence, Former Yamatoki Kimono Store, Former Shimashin Shoten, Kanbuki Shoten, Wakana Residence, Ueno Residence, and Shima Keien, all of which feature a variety of architectural styles

Why not take a leisurely stroll through Kitakata, the town of storehouses, where you'll feel like you've traveled back in time? Kitakata ramen is delicious, and there are plenty of sake breweries

*The Former Kai Family Storehouse, a representative storehouse of Kitakata and a nationally registered tangible cultural property, will undergo major renovations starting in April 2023. The construction is expected to take several years, and the storehouse will not be open to the public during this time

Kitakata Tourism and Products Association <Information>

• Facility name: Kitakata Tourism and Products Association
• Address: 7244-2 Oshimizu Higashi, Kitakata City, Fukushima Prefecture, 966-0814
• Phone number: 0241-24-5200
• Official URL: Kitakata Tourism and Products Association

Google Maps

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