Watanabe Hikobei Shoten

Watanabe Hikobei Shoten

Watanabe Hikobei Shoten (渡辺彦兵衛商店) is a sake brewery founded in 1688 in Shitamachi, Gojome Town, Akita Prefecture, whose upper storehouse, lower storehouse and office and residence were registered as Registered Tangible Cultural Properties (structures) on December 20, 1996 (Agency for Cultural Affairs). All three stand at 48 Shitamachi and are owned by Watanabe Hikobei Shoten Co., Ltd.

The brewery, which now trades as Fukurokuju Brewery, says the Watanabe family came from Matto in Kaga, today Hakusan in Ishikawa Prefecture, in the late 16th century. The first Watanabe Hikobei began brewing in the village of Gojome in 1688, and each head of the house since has taken the name Hikobei. Early output was mostly cloudy doburoku; brewing of clear sake on a full scale is said to date from the last years of the Edo period.

The family business was incorporated in 1953 as Watanabe Hikobei Shoten Co., Ltd. and renamed Fukurokuju Brewery Co., Ltd. in 2004 (Fukurokuju Brewery). The registrations came before the change, so the Agency still lists the buildings under the old company name.

A Fire and Three Buildings

According to the brewery, a fire in October 1921 destroyed about 300 houses in the centre of Gojome. The brewery lost nearly everything except its upper and lower sake storehouses, and many of its old records burned with the rest.

Those two survivors are the registered Upper Storehouse and Lower Storehouse. The Agency dates the upper one to the late 18th century and the lower to the early 19th, judging the lower slightly later from differences in its structure. Both are single-storey clay-walled storehouses (dozo-zukuri), with building areas of 284 and 254 square metres.

The Office and Residence went up in 1925, four years after the fire. It joins a shop front under a hipped roof, entered at the gable end facing the street, to a suite of tatami reception rooms at the back (Agency for Cultural Affairs).

• Office and Residence, 1925, registration number 05-0006, registered as a model of design
• Upper Storehouse, late 18th century, registration number 05-0007, registered for its contribution to the historic landscape
• Lower Storehouse, early 19th century, registration number 05-0008, registered for its contribution to the historic landscape

Each building is described in detail on its own page.

On the Corner of the Morning Market Street

The Agency describes the office and the two storehouses together as a well-loved landmark of a townscape known for sake brewing.

The brewery points out that its corner site marks the entrance to the morning market street, where the brick wall of the brewery and a signboard carved with the brand name are among the best-known sights in town. The street is Shitamachi-dori; Gojome Town says its market, held on every date ending in 2, 5, 7 or 0 (except January 2), runs from 7 a.m. to noon.

Visiting and Getting There

All three buildings belong to a working brewery, and their exteriors can be seen from the street. Fukurokuju Brewery's website says brewery tours are suspended for the time being for company reasons (checked October 19, 2026). Contact the brewery (phone 018-852-4130) before planning a visit.

Each year in mid-February the brewery holds an open day on the same date as the market's winter festival; dates are announced on its official social media.

A direct bus runs from Akita Station to Gojome in about an hour (Fukurokuju Brewery). By car it is about 10 minutes from Hachirogata Station on the JR Ou Line (Tohoku Tourism Promotion Organization). The brewery has parking, including space for several coaches, and asks anyone who plans to taste sake to come by public transport.

Names and Readings

The Agency gives the name as Watanabe Hikobei Shoten, read Watanabe Hikobē Shōten; the company and the brewing family write Watanabe with the older character 邉.

The district name is written 下タ町 and read Shitamachi. The Agency's database prints it as 下夕町, but Gojome Town and the brewery both use 下タ町.