Morikyu Shoten

Morikyu Shoten

Morikyu Shoten (森九商店) is a brewer's premises in Araya Omotemachi, Akita City, Akita Prefecture, whose main house, factory and brewing storehouse, built in 1913 and 1914, were registered as Registered Tangible Cultural Properties (structures) on August 3, 2006 (Agency for Cultural Affairs). The name is read Morikyū Shōten.

All three were entered in the same round of registrations, numbered 05-0143 to 05-0145, and each was registered for its contribution to the historic landscape (Agency for Cultural Affairs). Akita Prefecture counts Morikyu Shoten among the key buildings of a district where traditional townhouses still give the streets a strongly historic character.

A Brewing Street in Araya

Morikyu Shoten stands on the old Ushu Hama Kaido, the coastal highway also called the Hokkoku Kaido, in a part of Araya Omotemachi where brewing has thrived since the Edo period (Akita Prefecture). The Agency's own description of the main house notes the many brewers along this stretch of the old road.

Akita City's townscape guidelines explain why. Araya sits on the left bank at the mouth of the Omono River and was the first post town on the coast road from Akita to Sakata. Rain and snow falling on the Araya dunes seep down into an aquifer and rise again as springs; until the early Showa era there were more than 500 springs and wells. That water, and rice shipped down the Omono valley, supported a sake trade that at its height counted 12 breweries. Sake breweries and makers of tofu, miso and soy sauce, with their storehouses, still line the street.

The Akita City Board of Education's illustrated map of the district lists Morikyu Shoten as one of the brewers on this street.

Three Buildings in a Row

The three buildings of Morikyu Shoten run back from the street in a single line. The main house faces west onto the old road with its gable end to the street, in the Tsumairi manner; the factory adjoins it on the east, and the brewing storehouse adjoins the factory further east (Agency for Cultural Affairs). From townhouse to workshop to the storehouse where the brew was prepared, the plan follows the work of the business.

The factory and the storehouse date from 1913 and the main house from 1914 (Agency for Cultural Affairs). All three have gabled roofs clad in sheet steel; the main house and factory are timber, and the storehouse is of Dozo-zukuri earthen-walled construction. The Agency notes that the factory and storehouse give the site the look of a working brewery. Each building is described on its own page.

Visiting

The nearest station is Araya on the JR Uetsu Line; Akita City's illustrated map puts Morikyu Shoten about a 9-minute walk away. The same map includes it on a suggested walking route along Omotemachi street and points out the post box at its front.

No official information was found on interior access, visits or photography at Morikyu Shoten. The city map asks walkers not to enter private houses or grounds, so expect to see the buildings from the street.