What Is the Ishimago Honten No. 4 Storehouse?
The Ishimago Honten No. 4 Storehouse (石孫本店４号蔵, Ishimago Honten Yongōgura) is a two-storey Dozo-zukuri brewing storehouse built in 1900 in Iwasaki, Yuzawa City, Akita Prefecture, and was listed as a Registered Tangible Cultural Property on December 11, 1998. It is third from the north in the row of four storehouses facing the road at the Ishimago Honten miso and soy sauce brewery, just south of the No. 3 Storehouse. It covers 165 square meters under a sheet-metal roof.
Its Munafuda, or ridge tablet, dates it and names the master carpenter Saito Hikoemon and the client, the second Ishikawa Magozaemon. It went up three years after the No. 3 Storehouse, and the Agency for Cultural Affairs notes that the two share much of their design and construction.
What sets the No. 4 Storehouse apart is its interior. According to the agency, it is divided into three parts: a room called the sokuzoshitsu, a preparation floor for setting mash, and a stone-built koji room. From outside it reads as one clay storehouse like its neighbors; inside, the space is partitioned by stage of work.
A Storehouse Built Around Koji
The stone koji room is the part to notice. Koji, the mold-cultured grain at the heart of both miso and soy sauce, is grown on steamed rice or soybeans and roasted wheat, and it needs steady warmth and humidity while it develops. A stone-walled chamber inside a clay storehouse is most likely there to shield the culture from swings in the outside air, though no source spells out the reason.
Ishimago Honten still makes its koji on shallow wooden trays called koji-buta, and the koji room is a stop on its brewery tour. Finding a dedicated koji chamber built into a storehouse in 1900 shows how far the brewery's methods shaped the design of its buildings.
The storehouse was registered as a model of good design. Its roof uses a Wagoya, the traditional Japanese frame, and Yuzawa City groups it with the No. 3 Storehouse on that basis. The same carpenter moved to Western-style trusses with the No. 1 Storehouse of 1904, which makes the Ishimago Honten No. 4 Storehouse the last brewing storehouse Hikoemon framed the Japanese way at Ishimago.
What to Look For
From the road, the No. 4 Storehouse is hard to tell from the No. 3 Storehouse beside it: the same 165 square meters, similar design, similar construction. What separates them is the work inside, pressing next door and koji making and mash preparation here. Knowing that two different stages of brewing sit side by side in the middle of the row changes how the matched facades read.
If you do get inside the Ishimago Honten No. 4 Storehouse, look for the room within a room, walled in stone inside the clay shell. The way the interior is split into three working zones is the key to this building's design.
Visiting the No. 4 Storehouse
The exterior of the Ishimago Honten No. 4 Storehouse can be seen from the road in front of the shop. It is the third storehouse from the north in the row of four.
The interior may be shown on the brewery's reserved tour, which follows the miso and soy sauce process through the koji room and aging storehouses. Which building's koji room the tour enters is not published, so ask when booking whether the No. 4 Storehouse is included (checked September 24, 2026). Koji rooms are sensitive to stray microbes, which is one reason the brewery asks visitors not to eat natto on the day.
Rules on photography inside are not stated. Directions, fees and booking are covered on the Ishimago Honten page.
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Q&A
- When was the Ishimago Honten No. 4 Storehouse built?
- In 1900, according to its ridge tablet. The master carpenter was Saito Hikoemon.
- What is inside the Ishimago Honten No. 4 Storehouse?
- According to the Agency for Cultural Affairs, three sections: a room called the sokuzoshitsu, a preparation floor, and a stone-built koji room.
- Why is the koji room in the Ishimago Honten No. 4 Storehouse built of stone?
- No source gives the reason, but koji needs stable warmth and humidity, and a stone enclosure most likely protects it from changes in the outside air.
- What roof frame does the Ishimago Honten No. 4 Storehouse use?
- A traditional Japanese frame. The carpenter switched to Western-style trusses with the No. 1 Storehouse of 1904, so this was his last brewing storehouse at Ishimago built the Japanese way.
- Can I go inside the Ishimago Honten No. 4 Storehouse?
- Only on the reserved tour, and which storehouses it enters is not published, so ask when booking (checked September 24, 2026).
Basic Information
| Name | Ishimago Honten No. 4 Storehouse (石孫本店４号蔵) |
|---|---|
| Location | 162 Iwasaki, Iwasaki, Yuzawa City, Akita Prefecture |
| Designation | Registered Tangible Cultural Property (Building), No. 05-0039 |
| Year Designated | Registered December 11, 1998 |
| Quantity | 1 building |
| Dimensions | Dozo-zukuri, 2 storeys, sheet-metal roof, building area 165 square meters |
| Owner | Ishimago Honten Co., Ltd. |
| Public Access | Exterior visible from the road. Interior on reserved tours only (confirm whether this storehouse is included) |
References
- Database of National Cultural Properties: Ishimago Honten No. 4 Storehouse (Agency for Cultural Affairs)
- https://kunishitei.bunka.go.jp/bsys/maindetails/101/00000937
- Ishimago Honten No. 4 Storehouse (Cultural Heritage Online)
- https://online.bunka.go.jp/heritages/detail/114017
- 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
