The Rice Store of a Sake Brewery
The Suzuki Family Residence Granary (鈴木家住宅穀蔵, Suzuki-ke Jūtaku Kokugura) is a 2-storey earthen storehouse built in the late Meiji era in Nishimachi, Kamogawa City, Chiba Prefecture, and registered as a Registered Tangible Cultural Property (building) in 2002. Built in the Dozo-zukuri manner, it covers 99 square metres and measures 4 by 3 bays, running north to south under a gabled pantile roof, with its main face on the long side (Hirairi).
It stands east-southeast of the Main House and held the rice used for brewing. Across the path to the east gate, it faces the Hiire Storehouse to the south.
Why It Was Registered
The Suzuki Family Residence Granary was registered as a building that contributes to the historic landscape of the nation. The Agency for Cultural Affairs notes that, together with the Hiire Storehouse, it conveys the character of a sake brewer's compound.
A granary for brewing rice stands at the start of the process. Paired with the Hiire Storehouse, which stands at the end, it lets you read the flow of a brewery in the layout itself: raw material in on one side of the path, finished sake out on the other. Neither building alone would tell that story.
What to Look For
The walls are finished in white lime plaster (Shikkui), with the ground floor clad in overlapping boards (Shitami-itabari). Boarding the lower walls would have protected the plaster where rain splashes and where bales and barrels were knocked against it, and the white-above, timber-below wall is the building's most recognizable feature.
On the west side runs an earth-floored eave (Tsuchibisashi), a deep canopy over the long front that would have kept the rain off while rice was moved in and out. The 2-storey bulk, the boarded base and the canopy together give the Suzuki Family Residence Granary the look of a working building.
Visiting
The Suzuki Family Residence Granary is part of a private compound and is not open. The grounds are closed and only a limited view, if any, is possible from the street. It stands along the path to the east gate on the eastern side of the property, but please do not go through the gate to look.
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Q&A
- Can you visit the Suzuki Family Residence Granary in Kamogawa?
- No. It is part of a private compound, and the grounds are closed.
- What was stored in the Suzuki Family Residence Granary?
- Rice for sake brewing.
- When was the Suzuki Family Residence Granary built?
- In the late Meiji era. It was registered as a Registered Tangible Cultural Property in 2002.
- What does the Suzuki Family Residence Granary look like?
- It is a 2-storey earthen storehouse with white plastered walls, board cladding on the ground floor and a deep canopy on the west side.
- How large is the Suzuki Family Residence Granary?
- It measures 4 by 3 bays, with a building area of 99 square metres.
Basic Information
| Name | Suzuki Family Residence Granary (鈴木家住宅穀蔵) |
|---|---|
| Location | 1139-3 Nishimachi, Kamogawa City, Chiba Prefecture |
| Designation | Registered Tangible Cultural Property (Building) |
| Year Designated | Registered 2002/2/14 (Heisei 14) |
| Quantity | 1 building |
| Dimensions | Earthen storehouse, 2 storeys, tiled roof; building area 99 square metres |
| Owner | Private owner |
| Public Access | Not open to the public |
References
- Agency for Cultural Affairs database: Suzuki Family Residence Granary (Japanese)
- https://kunishitei.bunka.go.jp/bsys/maindetails/101/00002613
- Chiba Prefectural Board of Education: Suzuki Family Residence Main House and others, Kamogawa (Japanese)
- https://www.pref.chiba.lg.jp/kyouiku/bunkazai/bunkazai/q111-067.html
Last verified: 2026.09.25
