About Tarokichigura Tarokichigura, situated near Takikawa station, is one of those special, old buildings, dating from the historical period when Takikawa flourished as a prosperous commercial hub. Takenobu’s grandfather, Tarokichi Igarashi* (1879-1937), was a sake brewer who built this warehouse in 1926 to store rice for sake. From here, he brought to market the famous brands of sake “Takinohomare” (Honor of Takikawa) and ”Takinotomo” (Friend of Takikawa). This 170 square meters storehouse is built of the soft stone of Biei, and rests on a wooden framework. After the World War II, Tarokichi closed the sake brewery and the building was used as a warehouse for the Igarashi grocery wholesale store until 1970. It was even a good playground for Takenobu Igarashi and his friends when they were very young. While many historical buildings have been pulled down, we are renovating this warehouse for the Igarashi Art Program and many other interesting art events. We hope this building will be known as a rental hall for everyone.

Photo by Koji Sakai
There are many heritage sites here and there throughout Takikawa. They are not so extraordinary, but, rather, the ordinary things once used in our daily life. The surrounding nature is beautiful, but not necessarily picture postcard perfect. However, we believe that a peaceful, ordinary landscape of Hokkaido touches a chord in people. We should therefore preserve and utilize these precious heritage sites to be enjoyed and appreciated by the younger generation. This is one of our big objectives.

	Tarokichigura renovation planning team
	Renovation planning: Yoshifumi Nakamura / architect Lighting design: Hiroyasu Shoji / lighting designer Exterior design: Koji Saito / landscape architect Entrance door and ventilating tour: Takenobu Igarashi / sculptor Graphic design: Kenya Hara / designer

*Profile of Tarokichi Igarashi In 1879: Born in February as the second son of Rinnosuke Igarashi who lived at Aza Kitaueno,Wada-mura, Asuwa-gun, Fukui In 1895: Came to Hokkaido from Fukui when he was 16 years old. After having helped his elder brother who had been dealing in marine and farm products, and groceries, he founded a transportation business, a fish and vegetable market, Takikawa Theater, mutual finance, and made a monopoly of salt. In 1909: Became a councilor of Takikawa town In 1911: Organized young entrepreneurs group and became the head. In 1927: Became the first chairman of the Hokkaido Chamber of Commerce. In 1914: Elected assemblyman of Hokkaido In 1937: Died aged 58 in June