A Stable in the Northwest Corner
Yoshino Sake Brewery Former Stables is a single-storey timber building 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 occupies the northwest of the compound, 11 metres by 5.5 metres with the ridge running east to west, under a gabled kirizuma roof of sangawara pantiles and a sheet-metal awning along the south front. The building area is 60 square metres.
The Japanese name marks it as former stables, and that is what it was. Horses moved rice and sake before lorries did, and when the work ended the building was left standing rather than cleared.
One Listing Criterion Out of Ten
Nine of the ten items at this brewery were registered for contributing to the historic landscape of the nation. Yoshino Sake Brewery Former Stables alone was registered as difficult to reproduce.
Those two criteria look in different directions. One asks what a building does for the view; the other asks whether anyone could build it again. This one stands at the back of the compound, invisible from the road, and earned its place on the second question rather than the first.
Stables tend not to survive. Once motor transport arrives they lose their purpose and are pulled down or gutted for another use. That the internal divisions are still here is much the same point the criterion makes.
Three Stalls Along the Length
A partition crosses the interior 3.0 metres from the back wall. The space in front of it is divided into 3 along the length of the building, each division a stall. The widths that suited one horse, and the strip kept behind for a passage and feed, survive in the plan.
The walls are shinkabe work in shikkui plaster, with battened weatherboarding at the base and across the gables. The finish matches the storehouses, which is why the outbuildings here read as a set.
Only the awning on the south front breaks the pattern, being sheet metal rather than tile. It looks like a replacement, a thin modern layer slipped in under an old roof.
Conditions for Seeing It
The interior of Yoshino Sake Brewery Former Stables is closed. Standing in the most secluded corner of the compound, it is also hard to see from the area around the shop.
The three stalls cannot be inspected in person. The Agency for Cultural Affairs database carries the structural description and photographs of the building.
Directions to the compound and the shop's opening hours are collected on the Yoshino Sake Brewery page. Do not walk into the back of the site, and ask at the counter before photographing.
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Q&A
- Why is Yoshino Sake Brewery Former Stables listed under a different criterion?
- Of the ten items here, it alone was registered as difficult to reproduce. The other nine were registered for contributing to the historic landscape.
- What is the interior of Yoshino Sake Brewery Former Stables like?
- A partition stands 3.0 metres from the rear wall, and the space in front of it is divided into 3 stalls along the building's length.
- How large is Yoshino Sake Brewery Former Stables?
- It is a single-storey building of 11 metres by 5.5 metres, with a building area of 60 square metres.
- When was Yoshino Sake Brewery Former Stables built?
- In the late Meiji era, according to the Agency for Cultural Affairs database.
- Can Yoshino Sake Brewery Former Stables be visited?
- No. The interior is closed and the building's position at the back of the compound makes even the exterior hard to see. Photographs are available in the Agency for Cultural Affairs database.
Basic Information
| Name | Yoshino Sake Brewery Former Stables |
|---|---|
| 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 building |
| Dimensions | Timber-framed, single storey, tile roof, building area 60 square metres |
| Owner | Yoshino Shuzo Co., Ltd. |
| Public Access | Interior not open; exterior hard to see from the shop area |
References
- Agency for Cultural Affairs, National Cultural Properties Database: Yoshino Sake Brewery Former Stables
- https://kunishitei.bunka.go.jp/bsys/maindetails/101/00007014
- 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
