The Landmark of the Compound
Yoshino Sake Brewery Chimney is a brick stack of the late Meiji era at Ueno in Katsuura City, Chiba Prefecture, entered on the national register as Registered Tangible Cultural Property on 18 April 2008.
It stands 16 metres high on a base 1.2 metres square, set against the southern part of the west face of the south brewing house. It was built to draw smoke from the brick furnace room housed in that hall's western geya aisle.
Of the ten registered items, this is the one visible from furthest away. The Agency for Cultural Affairs describes it as a landmark of the kind a brewery produces.
English Bond and Steel
The brickwork is laid in English bond, courses of stretchers alternating with courses of headers, which ties the thickness of the wall together and was the usual choice for tower-like structures.
Steel angles run up all four corners, drawn together by round bars and nuts. Brick alone takes lateral movement badly, and the ironwork looks to be a later addition. Keeping a tall brick stack standing in an earthquake country requires that sort of attention.
The listing criterion was contribution to the historic landscape. This is one of two entries here classed as a structure rather than a building; the other is the gate on the southern boundary.
Chimney and Furnace
The stack was never an isolated object. A furnace room occupied part of the wide aisle beside the brewing hall, raising the steam that cooked the rice, and Yoshino Sake Brewery Chimney carried the smoke of that fire clear of the roofs. It belongs to the brewing process as directly as a vat does.
A base of 1.2 metres square is slender for a height of 16 metres. Stand beneath it and the taper is unmistakable.
The brick is not one colour. Firing left the courses uneven, and from close range the depth of red shifts band by band.
Conditions for Seeing It
Yoshino Sake Brewery Chimney is an outdoor structure, so there is nothing to stop you looking at it. Its foot, however, lies inside the working compound and cannot be approached.
For the whole shaft, look up from the south side of the road across the stone wall; the stack rises behind the line of roofs. Driving in along the prefectural road from the Katsuura direction, the chimney appears above the hamlet before the buildings do.
Directions to the compound and the shop's opening hours are collected on the Yoshino Sake Brewery page. Ask at the counter before photographing inside the grounds.
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Q&A
- How tall is Yoshino Sake Brewery Chimney?
- It rises 16 metres from a base 1.2 metres square, tapering towards the top.
- What was Yoshino Sake Brewery Chimney built for?
- To vent the brick furnace room in the western aisle of the south brewing house, where steam for cooking rice was raised.
- How is the brickwork of Yoshino Sake Brewery Chimney laid?
- In English bond, with courses of stretchers alternating with courses of headers. Steel angles and round bars reinforce the four corners.
- When was Yoshino Sake Brewery Chimney built?
- In the late Meiji era, according to the Agency for Cultural Affairs database.
- Where can Yoshino Sake Brewery Chimney be seen from?
- From the south side of the road, looking up across the stone wall. It is also the first part of the compound visible when approaching along the prefectural road.
Basic Information
| Name | Yoshino Sake Brewery Chimney |
|---|---|
| Location | 571 Koshigoe, Ueno, Katsuura City, Chiba Prefecture, and other locations |
| Designation | Registered Tangible Cultural Property (Structure) |
| Year Designated | Registered 2008/4/18 (Heisei 20) |
| Quantity | 1 structure |
| Dimensions | Brick, 16 metres high |
| Owner | Yoshino Shuzo Co., Ltd. |
| Public Access | Outdoor structure; exterior only |
References
- Agency for Cultural Affairs, National Cultural Properties Database: Yoshino Sake Brewery Chimney
- https://kunishitei.bunka.go.jp/bsys/maindetails/101/00007010
- Chiba Prefectural Board of Education: Yoshino Shuzo Tenpo ken Shuoku hoka
- https://www.pref.chiba.lg.jp/kyouiku/bunkazai/bunkazai/q111-057.html
- Yoshino Shuzo Co., Ltd., official site (Koshigoi)
- https://www.koshigoi.com
Last verified: 2026.09.17
