The Stone Front of the Compound
Yoshino Sake Brewery Gate is a stone gate of about 1955 at Ueno in Katsuura City, Chiba Prefecture, entered on the national register as Registered Tangible Cultural Property on 18 April 2008.
It opens at the centre of the southern boundary, directly onto the road. The opening is 4.0 metres wide. The piers are built of cut granite, 60 centimetres square and 2.4 metres high, with low walls running out to either side.
Among the ten registered items, Yoshino Sake Brewery Gate is the only one from the Showa era. The halls and the house went up under Meiji and Taisho; the gate was the last piece of work, put in to finish the frontage.
A Groove in the Capstone
Each pier carries a capstone, and the centre of each of its faces is cut with a vertical groove, so a thin line of shadow runs down every side of the square.
It is a minor piece of stonework. But from a distance it changes what the eye registers: the head of the pier is no longer a plain block but a shape with a notch in it. A gate made simply by stacking stone acquires an outline that has nothing to do with its size.
A double wooden gate hangs in the opening. Stone piers, timber leaves, and no attempt to build the whole thing out of one material. When the leaves stand open, pier and door narrow the view into the compound from both sides.
Flanking Walls and a Wicket
The flanking walls are cut stone as well. Square niches run along their upper part in a regular row, with a coping laid over them, and that rhythm carries the eye sideways from the gate.
The western wall holds a wicket door, the small opening that lets a person through without swinging the main leaves. Everyday movement uses it; the gate proper is for goods and vehicles.
Beyond the flanking walls the stonework continues as the long wall running east and west. Yoshino Sake Brewery Gate is not a free-standing object but the centre of a continuous stone frontage, which is why it too was listed for its contribution to the historic landscape.
Conditions for Seeing It
Standing on the road, Yoshino Sake Brewery Gate is the most closely inspected of the ten items. The coursing of the piers, the grooved capstones and the niches in the flanking walls can all be studied from the public side.
Passing through it depends on the shop's opening hours. Once inside, keep to the area around the shop.
Directions to the compound and the shop's opening hours are collected on the Yoshino Sake Brewery page. No restriction on photographing the gate from the road is advertised, but choose a spot that does not block the way.
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Q&A
- When was Yoshino Sake Brewery Gate built?
- About 1955. It is the only Showa-era item among the ten registered here.
- What are the piers of Yoshino Sake Brewery Gate made of?
- Cut granite, 60 centimetres square and 2.4 metres high, topped by capstones grooved down the centre of each face.
- How wide is the opening of Yoshino Sake Brewery Gate?
- 4.0 metres, closed by a pair of wooden gate leaves.
- Where is the wicket door at Yoshino Sake Brewery Gate?
- In the western flanking wall. It lets one person through without opening the main leaves.
- Can Yoshino Sake Brewery Gate be seen from the road?
- Yes. It opens at the centre of the southern boundary onto the road, and is the item here that can be examined most closely.
Basic Information
| Name | Yoshino Sake Brewery Gate |
|---|---|
| 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 | Stone, opening 4.0 metres wide, with flanking walls |
| Owner | Yoshino Shuzo Co., Ltd. |
| Public Access | Visible from the road; passage during shop opening hours |
References
- Agency for Cultural Affairs, National Cultural Properties Database: Yoshino Sake Brewery Gate
- https://kunishitei.bunka.go.jp/bsys/maindetails/101/00007016
- 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
