A Moromi Store with Nine Wooden Casks
The Miya Soy Sauce Store East Storehouse (宮醤油店東蔵, Miya Shōyu-ten Higashigura) is a moromi fermentation storehouse built in 1907 at a soy sauce brewery in Sanuki, Futtsu City, Chiba Prefecture, and registered as a Registered Tangible Cultural Property in 2007.
It stands south of the Former Rice Storehouse, at the far end of the row of storehouses along the east side of the property. The two-storey Dozo-zukuri building measures 5 by 2 and a half bays, with a building area of 46 square metres, under a gabled pantile roof entered from the long side. Its roof is framed as a truss, and the door sits at the northern end of the west wall.
Why It Was Registered
The Miya Soy Sauce Store East Storehouse was registered on 31 July 2007 as number 12-0077, for its contribution to the historic landscape.
The Agency for Cultural Affairs is frank about it: plain on the outside, but of a fair size, and it lets you feel how deep the property runs. There is no decorative show here. Its job in the ensemble is to close off the line of storehouses running back from the street and mark how far the brewery extends.
What to Look For
Nine wooden casks stand inside the Miya Soy Sauce Store East Storehouse, which serves as a moromi store: the room where the mash of koji and brine is left to mature. According to the company, its standard Tamasa soy sauce spends a year in wooden vats, and the Tokusen grade blends mash that has been through two summers. Because the brewery uses no artificial temperature control, the mash ripens with the seasons inside these earthen walls.
It was built in the same year as the Former Rice Storehouse, and both have truss roofs. One was converted to a new use; this one still does the slow work of fermentation. Walking the row, the contrast is worth noticing.
Visiting
The Miya Soy Sauce Store East Storehouse is at the back of the property and is not regularly open. Free brewery tours (booking ahead preferred) show visitors the production floor, but which storehouses are included is not published, so ask when you arrange your visit. Directions, opening hours and brewery-tour arrangements are covered on the Miya Soy Sauce Store page.
Q&A
- Can you see inside the Miya Soy Sauce Store East Storehouse?
- It is not regularly open. The brewery offers free tours, but check when booking whether this storehouse is included.
- When was the Miya Soy Sauce Store East Storehouse built?
- In 1907, the same year as the Former Rice Storehouse next door.
- What happens in the Miya Soy Sauce Store East Storehouse?
- It is a moromi store: nine wooden casks inside hold the fermenting soy sauce mash while it matures.
- What kind of cultural property is the Miya Soy Sauce Store East Storehouse?
- It is a Registered Tangible Cultural Property (building), registered on 31 July 2007 as number 12-0077.
- Where on the property is the Miya Soy Sauce Store East Storehouse?
- At the southern end of the row of storehouses on the east side, immediately south of the Former Rice Storehouse.
Basic Information
| Name | Miya Soy Sauce Store East Storehouse (宮醤油店東蔵) |
|---|---|
| Location | 247 Nishimasaishi, Sanuki, Futtsu City, Chiba Prefecture |
| Designation | Registered Tangible Cultural Property (Building) |
| Year Designated | Registered 2007/7/31 (Heisei 19) |
| Quantity | 1 building |
| Dimensions | 5 by 2 and a half bays; building area 46 square metres |
| Owner | Private |
| Public Access | Not regularly open; ask about brewery-tour coverage |
References
- Agency for Cultural Affairs, Database of National Cultural Properties: Miya Shōyu-ten Higashigura
- https://kunishitei.bunka.go.jp/bsys/maindetails/101/00006520
- Chiba Prefectural Board of Education: Miya Shōyu-ten Tenpo and Other Buildings
- https://www.pref.chiba.lg.jp/kyouiku/bunkazai/bunkazai/q111-074.html
- Miya Shōyu-ten product information
- https://www.miyashoyu.co.jp/products.html
- Miya Shōyu-ten company profile and history
- https://www.miyashoyu.co.jp/profile.html
Last verified: 2026.09.26
