The Bikan Historical Area preserves the townscape of the Edo period.
Located almost in the center of the Kurashiki Riverbank area, the central part of the Bikan Historical Area, the Kurashiki Archaeological Museum is housed in a building converted from a rice storehouse dating to the end of the Edo period. In fact, it was expanded during the Showa period.
The building, where wood and reinforced concrete blend in harmony, was neither newly built like the Ohara Museum of Art nor, to put it in modern terms, a renovated old house. It has a distinctive atmosphere.
This article introduces the Kurashiki Archaeological Museum as an architectural work.
The information presented here is current as of when this article was published in July 2021. Please note that it may differ from current information.
About the Kurashiki Archaeological Museum
The Kurashiki Archaeological Museum opened in November 1950.
It exhibits many artifacts excavated from sites in the Kibi region, which extended from Okayama Prefecture into eastern Hiroshima Prefecture, and surrounding areas.
It is located almost in the center of the Kurashiki Riverbank area in the Bikan Historical Area, with Nakabashi Bridge directly in front and Kurashikikan across the bridge.
The Kurashiki Archaeological Museum has historical value not only for its exhibits but also for the building itself.
The building of the Kurashiki Archaeological Museum was converted by Tonemura Kichinosuke from a storehouse (rice storehouse) belonging to the Koyama family of Hamadaya, a wealthy merchant active during the Edo period.
It is a historic building constructed during the Edo period.
What is especially striking is that it has namako walls from top to bottom, making it a popular photo spot.
The north building was expanded during the Showa period
In fact, to improve its function as a museum, the Kurashiki Archaeological Museum was expanded in 1957.
The architect was Kurashiki-born architect “Urabe Shizutaro”.
Alongside Ohara Soichiro, he supported Kurashiki’s urban development through architecture, and continued to produce many works even after Ohara Soichiro’s death.
Left: main building; right: extension
The main building on the left has namako walls with recessed joints.
The extension is to the right of the building in the center.
Can you see how clearly the extension stands out, with its shallow-jointed namako walls and whitish walls?
Although it was technically possible to reproduce the same namako walls as the main building, the old and new sections were deliberately distinguished so they could be told apart. Urabe Shizutaro reportedly explained the reason at the time as “harmony between old and new.”
The extension has a separate roof
Look at the building with the whitish walls (on the right side of the image).
You can make out the triangular “roof.”
▼Seen from inside, it forms an arch like this (this is called an “arch structure”).
The shape seen from outside differs from the shape inside, doesn’t it? In fact, the roof of the extension uses a construction method called a “separate roof.”
A “separate roof” is simply placed on top of a storehouse covered with earthen walls, and has advantages such as providing insulation and helping prevent the underlying structure from deteriorating.
Incidentally, the concrete is said to be thinner at the “top of the arch.”
However, it is said to be strong, so the “separate roof” was probably not adopted to increase strength.
The “separate roof” is thought to have been designed with harmony with the Bikan Historical Area in mind.
Many people cite “roofs” as a key feature of the view of the Bikan Historical Area, and architect Urabe Shizutaro likely considered “roofs” important to the area even at the time.
Inside the extension
Next, let’s go inside the Kurashiki Archaeological Museum and take a look at the extension.
The southern building, converted from a rice storehouse, is a wooden structure with impressive beams.
From the outside, the extension appears at first glance to be a white-walled building, but it is clear that it is made of reinforced concrete (RC construction).
A stone coffin with a box-shaped structure in the courtyard
Looking into the courtyard through a window in the extension, I spotted something intriguing.
Visitors are not usually allowed in, but on this special occasion, we were shown a “cist.”
We asked, “Why is it placed in such a hard-to-find spot?”
“The stone coffin on display in the courtyard used to be easy to see as you climbed the stairs. But during renovation work in 2014, a wall was installed, so now you can only see it by peering through a window.”
he told me.
The wall in the extension was installed in 2014
In fact, the “wall” in the extension was built in 2014, and before then, the outdoor stairs were exposed to the rain.
From the courtyard, the wall certainly looks new.
When we asked why it had been installed, we were told it was for safety reasons and because of changes in weather conditions.
In particular, when sudden heavy downpours—known in recent years as “guerrilla rainstorms”—occur, rain blows in and causes serious problems.
From the Writer
Even buildings we usually pass by without a second thought can reveal their history when we stop and take a closer look.
What left the strongest impression on me during this reporting was “the foundation of the extension.”
This construction looked familiar.
It’s the wall of the Ohara Museum of Art (Annex). The scale is different, but the way “stone” is mixed in looks similar, doesn’t it?
Four years after the extension work at the Kurashiki Archaeological Museum was completed, the “Ohara Museum of Art (Annex)” opened in 1961.
Perhaps this design was already in Urabe Chintaro’s mind at the time.
The extension work at the Kurashiki Archaeological Museum aimed for “harmony between old and new” through the use of wood and reinforced concrete, but it apparently sparked debate when completed (there seems to have been more criticism than praise).
However, more than 50 years later, in the Reiwa era, it has become part of the town.
The “Showa-era buildings” in the Bikan Historical Area have their own charm today, and thinking about why they were built in these forms may make a stroll around town even more enjoyable.
- Article reviewed by: Urabe Sekkei Co., Ltd.
- Exterior photography: Toshiyuki Sasaki
Kurashiki Architecture Travelogue Archive
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