What Is the Ishimago Honten Inner Storehouse?
The Ishimago Honten Inner Storehouse (石孫本店内蔵, Ishimago Honten Uchigura) is a two-storey Dozo-zukuri document storehouse built in 1883 in Iwasaki, Yuzawa City, Akita Prefecture, and was listed as a Registered Tangible Cultural Property on December 11, 1998. It is the oldest of the five registered storehouses at the Ishimago Honten miso and soy sauce brewery, with a building area of 96 square meters and a sheet-metal roof.
A bunkogura, or document storehouse, is where a merchant family kept its account books, deeds and valuables. The brewing storehouses on the road are workplaces full of fermenting mash. The Uchigura, literally the "inner storehouse," sits on the household side of the property and did a different job entirely. The brewery's own website lists it separately as the Uchigura (bunkogura).
Its Munafuda, the ridge tablet placed at completion, gives the date and names the client, the second Ishikawa Magozaemon, and the master carpenter, Saito Hikoemon. Hikoemon built every registered storehouse at Ishimago Honten, and the Inner Storehouse was his first.
Why the Inner Storehouse Was Registered
The Ishimago Honten Inner Storehouse was registered under the criterion for structures that would be difficult to reproduce. The four brewing storehouses on the same site were registered instead as models of good design, so the Inner Storehouse is the only one of the five valued on different grounds.
The Agency for Cultural Affairs singles out the finish of its walls. Yuzawa City's description is more specific: the lower walls are faced in brick, a Western touch applied to a traditional clay storehouse. The brewery describes the same brick wainscot as the building's defining feature.
The base of a clay-walled storehouse takes the most punishment, from splashing rain and from snow banked against it for months. Cladding that zone in brick makes practical sense in snowy Yuzawa. It also shows a new material reaching a rural Akita storehouse as early as 1883.
Lined up by date, the registered storehouses at Ishimago Honten span 33 years, from this building to the No. 5 Storehouse of 1916. The Inner Storehouse is where that series, built by one carpenter for one client, begins.
What to Look For
Look low. On the Ishimago Honten Inner Storehouse, brick covers the lower part of the wall and plastered clay takes over above it, so two very different surfaces meet in a horizontal line. The fine grid of mortar joints softens what would otherwise be a heavy, closed box.
Then consider its size. At 96 square meters it is noticeably smaller than the brewing storehouses, which each cover 165 square meters. A document store did not need room for giant wooden vats, and comparing the Uchigura with the brewing buildings shows the same carpenter sizing each building to its purpose.
The roof is sheet metal, like those of the other registered storehouses.
Visiting the Inner Storehouse
No published information says the Ishimago Honten Inner Storehouse is open inside. The brewery's reserved tour follows the miso and soy sauce process through the koji room and aging storehouses, and does not say whether the document storehouse is included (checked September 24, 2026). When booking, ask whether the Uchigura can at least be seen from outside.
The Inner Storehouse does not stand in the row of No. 2 to No. 5 Storehouses facing the road, and published sources do not make clear whether its exterior can be seen from the street.
Photography rules are not stated either. This is a working brewery, so check with the staff before taking pictures. Directions, booking details and tour fees are on the Ishimago Honten page.
- 📍 Plan Your Visit to Akita
- Find tours, activities & transport passes near Ishimago Honten Inner Storehouse
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Q&A
- When was the Ishimago Honten Inner Storehouse built?
- In 1883, according to its ridge tablet. It is the oldest of the five registered storehouses at Ishimago Honten.
- What was the Ishimago Honten Inner Storehouse used for?
- The Agency for Cultural Affairs describes it as a bunkogura, a storehouse for documents and valuables. It was never a brewing building.
- What is distinctive about the Ishimago Honten Inner Storehouse's exterior?
- Its lower walls are faced in brick, a Western-style detail on a traditional clay storehouse. Brick below and plaster above meet in a clear horizontal line.
- Why is the Ishimago Honten Inner Storehouse a Registered Tangible Cultural Property?
- It was registered as a structure that would be difficult to reproduce. The other four registered storehouses on the site were listed as models of good design.
- Can I go inside the Ishimago Honten Inner Storehouse?
- No public access has been announced. The brewery's reserved tour does not say whether the document storehouse is included, so ask when booking (checked September 24, 2026).
Basic Information
| Name | Ishimago Honten Inner Storehouse (石孫本店内蔵, Uchigura) |
|---|---|
| Location | 162 Iwasaki, Iwasaki, Yuzawa City, Akita Prefecture |
| Designation | Registered Tangible Cultural Property (Building), No. 05-0035 |
| Year Designated | Registered December 11, 1998 |
| Quantity | 1 building |
| Dimensions | Dozo-zukuri, 2 storeys, sheet-metal roof, building area 96 square meters |
| Owner | Ishimago Honten Co., Ltd. |
| Public Access | No announced interior access. The shop is open on business days |
References
- Database of National Cultural Properties: Ishimago Honten Uchigura (Agency for Cultural Affairs)
- https://kunishitei.bunka.go.jp/bsys/maindetails/101/00000933
- Ishimago Honten Uchigura (Cultural Heritage Online)
- https://online.bunka.go.jp/heritages/detail/180843
- Ishimago Honten Uchigura and Four Other Buildings (Yuzawa City Cultural Properties)
- https://www.city-yuzawa.jp/site/bunkazai/2215.html
- History and Production Method (Ishimago Honten)
- https://ishimago.jp/history/
- Tour (Ishimago Honten)
- https://ishimago.jp/tour/
Last verified: 2026.09.24
