The Storefront That Faces Masuda's Old Highway
Walk the main street of Masuda, a merchant quarter in the city of Yokote, and the shop building of Hinomaru Jozo meets you head on. This single-storey timber structure faces west onto the old highway, its gable end turned to the road in the manner known as tsumairi. Behind it stretches one of the long, narrow lots typical of the town, running back from the street for a hundred metres or more. Hinomaru Jozo has brewed sake here since 1689 and is the last brewery left in Masuda.
A Registered Piece of the Streetscape
The Agency for Cultural Affairs registered the shop as a tangible cultural property in 2002, together with six other buildings in the compound. Its value lies in how faithfully it keeps the form of a local gable-fronted townhouse. The gable facing the street shows four tiers of dressed beams. The ridge beam is left to project forward, and a lean-to eave sweeps down below it, a composition that, with the low pitch of the roof, marks out the merchant-house style of this part of Akita.
Buildings like this once lined the street when Masuda thrived on trade in tobacco leaf, silk and rice. The shop is the public face of a compound whose real treasures, the storehouses, sit out of sight behind it.
What You Can See on a Visit
The storefront is visible from the road at any time, and its beamwork rewards a look from across the street. The brewery runs a direct-sales counter on the premises, where seasonal and brewery-only bottles of Mansaku no Hana are sold. The sake-production buildings themselves are not open. If you want to step inside a Masuda storehouse, the brewery's Bunko-gura is shown to visitors by reservation for a small fee, and many other houses along the street open their interiors as well.
- 📍 Plan Your Visit to Akita
- Find tours, activities & transport passes near Hinomaru Brewery Head Office
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Q&A
- Can I go inside the shop building?
- The brewery's direct-sales counter operates on the premises, but the sake-production buildings are closed to the public. The exterior can be viewed from the street.
- What does tsumairi mean?
- It describes a building entered from the gable end rather than the long side. The gable here faces the highway and shows tiered beams beneath a low roof.
- When was the shop built and registered?
- It dates from the late Meiji era and was registered as a tangible cultural property in 2002.
- Where can I taste or buy the sake?
- At the brewery's shop on site, which carries labels sold nowhere else. The brewery is known for its Mansaku no Hana line.
Basic Information
| Name | Hinomaru Jozo Honsha Tenpo (Shop) |
|---|---|
| Location | 114-2 Nanukamachi, Masuda-machi, Yokote, Akita |
| Category | Registered Tangible Cultural Property (building) |
| Registered | 14 February 2002 |
| Structure | Timber, single storey, iron-sheet roof; building area 163 sq m |
| Built | Late Meiji era |
| Owner | Hinomaru Jozo Co., Ltd. |
| Access | Exterior visible from the street; on-site sales counter open; brewery interior closed |
References
- National Database of Designated Cultural Properties — Hinomaru Jozo Honsha Tenpo
- https://kunishitei.bunka.go.jp/bsys/maindetails/101/00002591
- Masuda Tourism Association — Townscape and Interior Storehouses
- https://masudakanko.com/uchigura/
- Hinomaru Jozo Co., Ltd. — Official Site
- https://hinomaru-sake.com/
Last verified: 2026.07.03