Isamigoma Sake Brewery

A Brewery Founded in 1754 on the Old Road Through Masuda

Isamigoma Sake Brewery (勇駒酒造, Isamigoma Shuzō) was a sake brewery founded in 1754 in Masuda, Masuda-machi, Yokote City, Akita Prefecture, and the store, East Storehouse, West Storehouse and South Storehouse of its head office were listed together as Registered Tangible Cultural Properties on February 14, 2002. The four buildings date from the late Edo period to the end of the Taishō era.

The name is read Isamigoma, not Yūkoma; its characters mean roughly "brave colt." Yokote City and the Masuda tourism association say that Ishida Kyūbē opened the brewery in 1754, that it became a joint-stock company in 1931, and that it kept brewing until 2003. In town it is now known simply as the former Isamigoma Sake Brewery.

The Agency for Cultural Affairs lists the owner of all four buildings as Haba Koji Limited Partnership (合資会社羽場こうじ店), a koji and miso maker founded in 1918 in the Haba district of Masuda. The company runs a restaurant called Kurawo in the old brewery, and it says the well that once supplied the brewing water still supplies its kitchen.

A Long, Narrow Lot Running West from the Street

The agency's notes describe the Isamigoma Sake Brewery lot as a long strip running east to west off the old road. The store stands at the east end, facing the street. Behind it, roughly in the middle of the lot, is the East Storehouse. At the far western end sit the West Storehouse and, just south of it, the South Storehouse.

Yokote City explains that Masuda merchants built on narrow, very deep plots, lining up shop, house and storehouses one behind another from the street. The four buildings at Isamigoma Sake Brewery follow the same pattern, from the shopfront on the road back to the storehouses at the rear.

The three storehouses are of Dozo-zukuri earthen construction, and all four buildings have sheet-metal roofs. The East Storehouse is the longest at about 33 meters, the West Storehouse runs about 19 meters, and the South Storehouse, with a footprint of 81 square meters, is the smallest. The store is a two-storey timber building whose shopfront carries a sake barrel modeled in plaster relief, a technique known as Kote-e.

Their registration numbers run consecutively from 05-0086 (store) through 05-0087 (East Storehouse) and 05-0088 (West Storehouse) to 05-0089 (South Storehouse), all published on March 12, 2002. The store was listed for its contribution to the historic landscape, the three storehouses as models of design.

Names to Know: Isamigoma Sake Brewery and the Horeki Storehouse

The official names attach each building to "Isamigoma Sake Brewery Head Office," while city and tourism pages use "former Isamigoma Sake Brewery." The restaurant appears as Shunsai Miso Chaya Kurawo on its own website and as Haba Koji Chaya Kurawo on Akita Prefecture's tourism site.

Yokote City calls the old brewing storehouse on the site the Hōreki-gura, the Horeki Storehouse, dates it to the late Edo period, and suggests the name recalls the Hōreki era (1751 to 1764) in which the brewery was founded. The city's description of a long building enlarged in stages matches the registered East Storehouse closely, but the Agency for Cultural Affairs does not use the name.

Visiting Isamigoma Sake Brewery

The buildings of Isamigoma Sake Brewery now house a working restaurant. The Masuda tourism association says visits to the former brewery require an advance reservation. The front of the store and its barrel relief can be seen from the street at any time.

The restaurant's website gives opening hours of 10:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m., with lunch from 11:30 a.m. to 3:00 p.m., and lists Wednesday as the regular closing day. The same site also mentions closing on Wednesdays and Thursdays, so call ahead on 0182-45-3710. The Horeki Storehouse and a tatami room upstairs can be booked for private use.

The Masuda tourist information center, Hotaru, run by the Masuda tourism association (0182-45-5541), keeps track of which historic houses in town are open and how to arrange a visit. These are working businesses, so follow the staff's lead while you look around.

The nearest station is Jūmonji on the JR Ōu Line. Yokote City puts the bus ride from the station to Masuda at about 10 minutes, and the restaurant gives about 7 minutes by car from the station and about 12 minutes from Jūmonji Interchange on the Yuzawa Yokote Road.