The Oldest Building at Ryozeki, Dated by Its Ridge Tablet
Ryozeki Sake Brewery No. 1 Storehouse (両関酒造１号蔵, Ryōzeki Shuzō Ichigō-gura) is a two-story earthen storehouse in the Dozo-zukuri manner at Ryozeki Sake Brewery in Maemori, Yuzawa City, Akita Prefecture, built in 1892 and listed as a Registered Tangible Cultural Property on December 20, 1996, under registration number 05-0002.
Its date comes from a Munafuda, the wooden ridge tablet on which builders recorded a construction, and the Agency for Cultural Affairs names it the oldest building at the brewery. It measures 21.7 meters along the ridge (Ketayuki) by 7.85 meters across (Harima), with a building area of 178 square meters. Roof and walls alike are finished in Shikkui lime plaster.
Wall Posts and Bracket-Like Beams
What the Agency calls distinctive about the Ryozeki Sake Brewery No. 1 Storehouse is the way it carries its roof. A row of side posts stands against the earthen walls. These posts hold up horizontal members shaped rather like hijiki, the bracket arms of temple architecture, and those members take the load of everything above the wall plate.
In a temple, a hijiki projects from the top of a post to catch a beam. Here the same idea is worked into a plain storehouse: the brackets sit on posts built into the walls, and the weight of the roof is taken up along the line of the walls.
Yuzawa City records that all four Ryozeki storehouses use Wagoya, the traditional Japanese roof frame, and that the master carpenter was Takaku Santaro. Building ran from 1892 to 1916, and the No. 1 Storehouse was the first to go up.
Registration, and a Method Repeated at Larger Scale
The storehouse became a Registered Tangible Cultural Property in 1996 as a building that contributes to the historic landscape of the nation.
Its construction method did not stay with one building. Of the No. 2 Storehouse, finished sixteen years later in 1908, the Agency says the structure is the same as No. 1 and only the scale is larger. No. 2 runs 56.04 meters, about 2.6 times the length of No. 1, so the brewery repeated the same framing over a far longer building.
These were the years when Ryozeki sake won first prizes at national competitions. The No. 1 Storehouse is the earliest of the buildings that brewing relied on.
What to Look for in the No. 1 Storehouse
If you get inside, look along the walls at the side posts and the brackets they carry. How the bracket sits on the post head, and how the wall plate rests on the bracket, is exactly the detail the Agency singles out in the Ryozeki No. 1 Storehouse.
Then note the finish. Plastering the roof itself instead of tiling it is shared by all four Ryozeki storehouses, and according to the Agency the storehouses are in turn covered by a large outer roof.
Visiting the Ryozeki Sake Brewery No. 1 Storehouse
The storehouse is in working use and its interior is not open to the public. The only way inside is a brewery tour, and tours were suspended as of September 28, 2026.
Even when tours run, the brewery says it does not take visitors into the fermentation storehouse for hygiene reasons and shows only some equipment and parts of the buildings, so ask when booking whether the No. 1 Storehouse is on the route. The brewery gives no guidance on photography. Tour conditions and directions are on the Ryozeki Sake Brewery page.
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Q&A
- When was the Ryozeki Sake Brewery No. 1 Storehouse built?
- In 1892, as recorded on its ridge tablet. It is the oldest building at Ryozeki Sake Brewery.
- How large is the Ryozeki Sake Brewery No. 1 Storehouse?
- It is a two-story earthen storehouse measuring 21.7 meters by 7.85 meters, with a building area of 178 square meters.
- What is unusual about the structure of the Ryozeki Sake Brewery No. 1 Storehouse?
- Side posts set against the walls support bracket-like horizontal members, and those members carry the load above the wall plate. The Agency for Cultural Affairs describes this as a distinctive method.
- How does the Ryozeki Sake Brewery No. 1 Storehouse differ from the No. 2 Storehouse?
- The structure is the same; the size is not. No. 1 dates from 1892 and is 21.7 meters long, while No. 2 dates from 1908 and is 56.04 meters long.
- Can I see inside the Ryozeki Sake Brewery No. 1 Storehouse?
- The interior is not open to the public. Brewery tours were suspended as of September 28, 2026, and once they resume you should ask when booking whether this storehouse is included.
Basic Information
| Name | Ryozeki Sake Brewery No. 1 Storehouse (両関酒造１号蔵) |
|---|---|
| Location | 4-3-18 Maemori, Yuzawa City, Akita Prefecture |
| Designation | Registered Tangible Cultural Property (building), registration no. 05-0002 |
| Year Designated | Registered December 20, 1996 |
| Quantity | 1 building |
| Dimensions | Dozo-zukuri, 2 stories, plastered roof, 21.7 meters by 7.85 meters, building area 178 square meters |
| Owner | Ryozeki Shuzo Co., Ltd. |
| Public Access | Interior closed (brewery tours currently suspended) |
References
- Database of National Cultural Properties (Agency for Cultural Affairs): Ryozeki Sake Brewery No. 1 Storehouse
- https://kunishitei.bunka.go.jp/bsys/maindetails/101/00000012
- Database of National Cultural Properties (Agency for Cultural Affairs): Ryozeki Sake Brewery No. 2 Storehouse
- https://kunishitei.bunka.go.jp/bsys/maindetails/101/00000013
- Yuzawa City: Ryozeki Sake Brewery Main Building and Four Other Buildings (Japanese)
- https://www.city-yuzawa.jp/site/bunkazai/2212.html
- Ryozeki Shuzo Co., Ltd. official website (Japanese)
- https://www.ryozeki.co.jp/
Last verified: 2026.09.27
