What Is the Yamakichi Miso and Soy Sauce Brewery Storehouse?
The Yamakichi Miso and Soy Sauce Brewery Storehouse (ヤマキチ味噌醤油醸造元土蔵, Yamakichi Miso Shōyu Jōzōmoto Dozō) is a two-story earthen-walled Dozo-zukuri storehouse in Ishiwaki, Yurihonjo City, Akita Prefecture, built around 1916 and registered as a Registered Tangible Cultural Property of Japan on February 27, 2023. It stands northeast of the main house and is attached to it. At 33 square meters it is the smallest of the brewery's five registered buildings.
This was never a brewing store. It held the household's belongings and valuables, a type known in Japan as a kazaigura. The building was moved to its present position in the mid-Showa period (1946 to 1965), so although it dates from the same years as the main house and shop, it has stood on this exact spot for a shorter time.
The Yamakichi Storehouse is also the only one of the five with a tiled roof. The other four are roofed in sheet metal; this one carries Sangawara-buki interlocking pantiles.
Why It Was Registered
The Yamakichi Miso and Soy Sauce Brewery Storehouse was listed as contributing to the historic landscape of the country, under registration number 05-0237. The Agency for Cultural Affairs values it for giving character to the northeast corner of the brewery lot.
It has a Kirizuma-zukuri gable roof with the ridge running north to south, and the entrance on the gable end. On the south side, a lean-to roof shelters the doorway and links the storehouse to the main house, so the family could reach it without stepping outside. The Council for Cultural Affairs describes it as an inner storehouse joined to the house.
The walls are finished in Shikkui lime plaster, with a thick band called a Hachimaki wrapped under the eaves to shield the vulnerable roof edge from fire. The doorway and the upper window both have double doors in Kakegonuri finish: the plaster around their edges is built up in steps so that, when closed, door and frame lock together and keep out flames and heat.
What to Look For
The place to look at the Yamakichi Storehouse is its south front. Under the lean-to, the stepped, heavily plastered doors fill the doorway, and the upper-floor window has a matching pair. Both openings are protected the same way, which is exactly what a family would want for the room that held its most valuable things.
Each floor is a single room with a board floor, and a staircase sits in the southwest corner. The Agency's database includes a photograph of the roof framing alongside the south elevation, showing the timbers that carry the tiled roof.
Among the metal-roofed house and factories, this small white storehouse with its tiled roof gives the back corner of the lot a quieter, older look.
Visiting the Storehouse
The Yamakichi Miso and Soy Sauce Brewery Storehouse holds household goods, and no public interior access is announced (checked September 28, 2026). The brewery's reservation-only visits do not say whether it is included.
It stands deep in the lot northeast of the main house and does not face Ishiwaki Street. Ask when booking a brewery visit whether it can be seen, even from outside, and do not walk into the property from the street.
Directions to the brewery and booking details are on the Yamakichi Miso and Soy Sauce Brewery page.
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- Find tours, activities & transport passes near Yamakichi Miso and Soy Sauce Brewery Storehouse
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Q&A
- When was the Yamakichi Miso and Soy Sauce Brewery Storehouse built?
- Around 1916. It was moved to its present location in the mid-Showa period (1946 to 1965).
- What was the Yamakichi Miso and Soy Sauce Brewery Storehouse used for?
- Storing the family's household goods and valuables. It was an inner storehouse attached to the main house, not a brewing building.
- How is the Yamakichi Miso and Soy Sauce Brewery Storehouse protected against fire?
- Lime-plastered walls with a thick plaster band under the eaves, and stepped kakegonuri double doors on the doorway and the upper window.
- Can I visit the Yamakichi Miso and Soy Sauce Brewery Storehouse?
- No interior access is announced (checked September 28, 2026). It sits deep in the lot away from Ishiwaki Street, so ask the brewery when booking what can be seen.
- Why is the Yamakichi Miso and Soy Sauce Brewery Storehouse a Registered Tangible Cultural Property?
- It was listed for contributing to the historic landscape, as the storehouse that shapes the northeast corner of the brewery lot.
Basic Information
| Name | Yamakichi Miso and Soy Sauce Brewery Storehouse (ヤマキチ味噌醤油醸造元土蔵) |
|---|---|
| Location | 8-1 Aza Ishiwaki, Ishiwaki, Yurihonjo City, Akita Prefecture, and other lots |
| Designation | Registered Tangible Cultural Property (Building), Registration No. 05-0237 |
| Year Designated | Registered February 27, 2023 |
| Quantity | 1 building |
| Dimensions | 2-story earthen-walled storehouse, tiled roof, building area 33 square meters |
| Owner | Not published (not listed in the Agency for Cultural Affairs database) |
| Public Access | No announced interior access; stands deep in the lot, not on the street |
References
- Agency for Cultural Affairs, Database of National Cultural Properties: Yamakichi Miso and Soy Sauce Brewery Storehouse
- https://kunishitei.bunka.go.jp/heritage/detail/101/00014449
- Agency for Cultural Affairs: Council for Cultural Affairs recommendation of November 18, 2022, full list (PDF, Japanese)
- https://www.bunka.go.jp/koho_hodo_oshirase/hodohappyo/pdf/93791601_03.pdf
- Yurihonjo City: Yamakichi Miso and Soy Sauce Brewery, History and Culture Walk (Japanese)
- https://www.city.yurihonjo.lg.jp/1001503/1002098/1002113/1009732/1009747.html
Last verified: 2026.09.27
