The Smallest Storehouse, Still Holding the Rice
Behind the shop and to its south, in the Hinomaru Jozo compound in the Masuda district of Yokote, stands the Minami-gura, the most modest of the brewery's registered buildings. It measures about 11 metres along its ridge, a single-storey earthen storehouse entered from the gable end, roofed in iron sheet over a gable and finished in white plaster. The brewery still uses it to store rice and other materials, keeping a working purpose in a building of the early Meiji era.
Why It Was Registered
Small though it is, the Minami-gura earned its place on the national register of tangible cultural properties in 2002 for the clarity of its framing. Its gable faces are carried on triple beams raised on struts, while at the centre of the ridge a set of quadruple beams, this time without struts, takes the weight of the ridge-piece and the plates. This mix of strutted and strut-free framing is the same approach found in the far larger Chuo-gura on the site, tying the smallest and biggest storehouses to a single carpentry tradition.
Hinomaru Jozo has brewed in Masuda since 1689 and remains the only sake maker in a town whose merchant houses and storehouses now form a protected district.
How to See It
The Minami-gura is a working store and is not open to visitors. To go inside a Masuda storehouse, visit the brewery's Bunko-gura, its ornamental interior storehouse, open by reservation for a small fee. The on-site shop sells the Mansaku no Hana range, and the preservation district along the old street holds dozens of houses, many of them open to look through.
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- Find tours, activities & transport passes near Hinomaru Brewery Headquarters South Brewery
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Q&A
- What is the Minami-gura used for?
- It stores rice and other brewing materials. It is the smallest of the brewery's registered buildings but still in daily use.
- Can I visit it?
- No. It is a working brewery store, closed to the public. The Bunko-gura is the storehouse open for tours.
- What is notable about its structure?
- Its roof mixes strutted triple beams at the gable ends with strut-free quadruple beams at the centre, the same framing seen in the compound's largest storehouse.
- How old is it?
- It dates from the early Meiji era and was registered as a tangible cultural property in 2002.
Basic Information
| Name | Hinomaru Jozo Honsha Minami-gura (South Storehouse) |
|---|---|
| Location | 114-2 Nanukamachi, Masuda-machi, Yokote, Akita |
| Category | Registered Tangible Cultural Property (building) |
| Registered | 14 February 2002 |
| Structure | Earthen-walled, single storey, iron-sheet roof; building area 80 sq m |
| Built | Early Meiji era |
| Owner | Hinomaru Jozo Co., Ltd. |
| Access | Not open to the public (working brewery building) |
References
- National Database of Designated Cultural Properties — Hinomaru Jozo Honsha Minami-gura
- https://kunishitei.bunka.go.jp/bsys/maindetails/101/00002592
- 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