Former Kyoto Dentō Furuichi Electric Substation
The former Kyoto Dentō Furuichi Electric Substation was built in 1914 and was designated a Registered Tangible Cultural Property in 2011 for its contribution to the area’s historic townscape.
The substation is a single-story brick building measuring 19 meters long and 8 meters wide. Its gabled roof is covered with sangawara, a type of square tile that undulates from concave to convex. The roof is supported by a series of wooden trusses that eliminate the need for supporting pillars. This opens up the entire interior space for use. The substation building is one of only a few surviving examples of large-scale brick construction in Fukui Prefecture.
Like the nearby Eiheiji-guchi Station Building, the substation was operated by an electric company called Kyoto Dentō. However, the exact purpose of the substation is unknown. The building’s exterior has a series of small, circular openings through which electrical cables could pass, and it seems likely that the substation supplied power to the train network. Contrary to this theory, the holes face away from the station, which suggests that they may have had a wholly different purpose.