Behind the garden, behind the house
Saiya Sake Brewery Middle Storehouse (斎彌酒造店中蔵) is a single-storey earthen-walled storehouse of about 1902 in the Ishiwaki district of Yurihonjo City, Akita Prefecture, listed as a Registered Tangible Cultural Property in 1998.
Its floor area is 189 square metres, large for a single-storey storehouse, under a tiled roof. It stands north of the shop and residence with a garden between. The east storehouse rises beside it, and the two sit together inside one covering shed.
The garden in between is worth pausing over. South of it, people lived and received visitors. North of it, sake was mashed and stored. Putting an area of open ground in the middle draws a soft line between the domestic side and the working side of the property. Saiya Sake Brewery Middle Storehouse is the first storehouse on the far side of that line.
Plainness as a decision
Registration as a Registered Tangible Cultural Property came on 2 September 1998, number 05-0023, for contribution to the historic character of the landscape.
National records call this storehouse simply built compared with the rice store, and in the same breath describe it as indispensable to understanding how sake was made here. The two judgements sit together comfortably. The carving on the lintel of the rice store exists because that doorway was seen. Saiya Sake Brewery Middle Storehouse stands within the property, never meant to be looked at from outside. Where there is no reason to decorate, nothing was decorated.
Tanks for sake stand inside. A building put up at the founding of the brewery in 1902 has gone on holding production equipment for more than a century, which is a case of heritage value and continued use running in parallel rather than in conflict.
Two buildings under one skin
Saiya Sake Brewery Middle Storehouse and the east storehouse are separate structures, yet from outside they read as one. A covering shed encloses both. The east storehouse dates from the early Shōwa era, from 1926 onwards, roughly a quarter of a century later than its neighbour, so two buildings of different dates were afterwards gathered under a single skin.
Covering sheds recur across this site. Three storehouses share one at the southwest corner, the document storehouse has its own at the southeast, and here two are wrapped together. Wet snow off the Sea of Japan drives in sideways and soaks earthen walls until they fail. Building a second structure around the first is one answer that houses in snow country arrived at.
A roof above the roof, a wall outside the wall. When you look at Saiya Sake Brewery Middle Storehouse, what actually meets the eye is the boarding of the shed rather than the earthen wall itself.
Visiting
Saiya Sake Brewery Middle Storehouse is a working brewing facility and is not open. The tours run by Saiya Shuzōten are suspended, so there is no way in. Standing north of the garden, well inside the property, it is also hard to make out from the road. Entering or photographing within the grounds requires the company's permission.
Hakkōkōji Taya, run by the brewery, is opposite and opens 10:00 to 17:00, closed Thursdays and Sundays. Its gallery screens video of the brewery to visitors who apply in advance, which for a building set as far back as Saiya Sake Brewery Middle Storehouse is the way to see inside.
From Ugo-Honjō Station on the JR Uetsu Main Line, walk north across the Koyoshi River about 1.5 kilometres, roughly 20 minutes. The city loop bus stops at Okeyachō. Enquiries go to Saiya Shuzōten on 0184-22-0536.
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Q&A
- Why is Saiya Sake Brewery Middle Storehouse so plainly built?
- Because it stands inside the property and was never meant to be seen from outside. Ornament was concentrated where people looked, such as the doorway of the rice store.
- What is inside Saiya Sake Brewery Middle Storehouse?
- Tanks for sake. A building of about 1902 has continued to house production equipment ever since.
- How are Saiya Sake Brewery Middle Storehouse and the east storehouse related?
- They are two separate earthen storehouses standing side by side inside a single covering shed. The middle storehouse dates from about 1902, the east storehouse from the early Shōwa era, from 1926 onwards.
- When was Saiya Sake Brewery Middle Storehouse registered?
- On 2 September 1998, under registration number 05-0023.
- Is Saiya Sake Brewery Middle Storehouse visible from the road?
- Barely. It sits north of the shop and residence beyond a garden, and only part of the boarding of its covering shed can be glimpsed from outside.
Basic Information
| Name | Saiya Sake Brewery Middle Storehouse |
|---|---|
| Location | 53 Ishiwaki, Ishiwaki, Yurihonjo City, Akita Prefecture |
| Designation | Registered Tangible Cultural Property (structure) |
| Year Designated | 1998 (Heisei 10) |
| Quantity | 1 building |
| Dimensions | Single-storey earthen-walled storehouse, floor area 189 square metres |
| Owner | Saiya Shuzoten Co., Ltd. |
| Public Access | Closed to the public, difficult to see from outside the grounds |
References
- Agency for Cultural Affairs, National Cultural Properties Database: Saiya Shuzoten Middle Storehouse
- https://kunishitei.bunka.go.jp/heritage/detail/101/00000617
- Yurihonjo City: Saiya Shuzoten
- https://www.city.yurihonjo.lg.jp/1001503/1002098/1002113/1002126/1003557.html
- Yurihonjo City Board of Education: Saiya Shuzoten (PDF)
- https://www.city.yurihonjo.lg.jp/_res/projects/default_project/_page_/001/003/557/1003557_002.pdf
- Yurihonjo City: Nationally Registered Tangible Cultural Properties
- https://www.city.yurihonjo.lg.jp/1001503/1002098/1002113/1002126/1003565.html
- Hakkokoji Taya, operated by Saiya Shuzoten Co., Ltd.
- https://hakkokoji-taya.jp/
Last verified: 2026.09.08