Yoshino Kappanjo
Yoshino Kappanjo was built in 1917, designed by then president Yoshino Matsujiro. The three storey wood frame mortar rendered facade obscures a labyrinthine factory and residence that extends back the entire length of the block. The building boasts Niigata’s first elevator, testament to Yoshino’s reputation as a modernist and innovator. The building remains one of Niigatajima’s few surviving examples of Kanban architecture.
The building served as a print factory for Yoshino Printing Ltd. for 101 years.
In 2020 ARTEFAKT bought the building with the hope of preserving and ultimately restoring it. To that end, in 2021 we opened a coffee roastery, shop and small print history gallery, and in 2022 we opened a Risograph printing studio on the second floor. In the near future we plan to start Risograph printing workshops and expand the history gallery. Ultimately, we hope to fully restore the building’s facade and utilize more of the building’s 430㎡ of floorspace, including lodgings in the old Meiji era residence in the back of the building.
Historical print and photographic galleries can be viewed below. More galleries will be added in the future.