Behind the Main House
Yoshino Sake Brewery South Storehouse is a two-storey timber building of 1907 at Ueno in Katsuura City, Chiba Prefecture, entered on the national register as Registered Tangible Cultural Property on 18 April 2008.
It stands northwest of the shop and main house, 9.1 metres by 6.4 metres with the ridge running north to south, under a gabled kirizuma roof of sangawara pantiles. The building area is a modest 58 square metres.
The Japanese name calls it a kura, but it is not a dozo storehouse of thick earth. The frame is shinkabe work with the posts left visible, finished in shikkui plaster. Its neighbour to the north is the earthen kind, and seeing the two together makes the difference plain.
Two Ways of Cladding One Wall
The wall treatment repays a look. Below the pent roof the boards run vertically; above it, and across the gables, they are laid horizontally as shitami-itabari weatherboarding held by battens. One wall, two directions, with the pent roof as the dividing line.
The eaves use widely spaced rafters, an older and plainer method suited to a working building. The roof sits on a wagoya frame and the whole rises from cut-stone footings.
The listing criterion was contribution to the historic landscape. Nothing here demands attention on its own, but the survival of the whole row of small buildings behind the house is what makes the compound read as it does.
The Year 1907
Yoshino Sake Brewery South Storehouse carries the same date as the shop and main house: 1907. Dwelling and storage went up together.
By that year the south brewing house either stood already or was close to finished. The bones of the compound were set at the end of the Meiji era, with the Taisho brewing hall and the Showa gate and wall completing the outline afterwards. This storehouse belongs to the first of those stages.
Its length of 9.1 metres matches the north storehouse beside it exactly. Only the depth differs, 6.4 metres against 5.5 metres, so the two present the same frontage.
Conditions for Seeing It
The interior of Yoshino Sake Brewery South Storehouse is closed. Because the building sits behind the main house, even the exterior is only visible from the inner part of the compound.
Through the gate and to the left, beyond the house, the roof and part of a gable come into view. Seeing the change in the boarding means catching it from wherever the shop visit allows.
Directions to the compound and the shop's opening hours are collected on the Yoshino Sake Brewery page. Stay near the shop, and ask before photographing.
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Q&A
- When was Yoshino Sake Brewery South Storehouse built?
- In 1907, the same year as the shop and main house.
- Is Yoshino Sake Brewery South Storehouse an earthen-walled storehouse?
- No. It is a timber building with exposed posts finished in plaster. The north storehouse beside it is the earthen-walled type.
- How large is Yoshino Sake Brewery South Storehouse?
- It measures 9.1 metres by 6.4 metres, with a building area of 58 square metres.
- What is distinctive about the walls of Yoshino Sake Brewery South Storehouse?
- The boarding runs vertically below the pent roof and horizontally above it and on the gables, so the direction changes at the roof line.
- Can Yoshino Sake Brewery South Storehouse be visited?
- The interior is closed, and because it stands behind the main house the exterior is visible only from the inner part of the compound.
Basic Information
| Name | Yoshino Sake Brewery South Storehouse |
|---|---|
| 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, 2 storeys, tile roof, building area 58 square metres |
| Owner | Yoshino Shuzo Co., Ltd. |
| Public Access | Interior not open; exterior only |
References
- Agency for Cultural Affairs, National Cultural Properties Database: Yoshino Sake Brewery South Storehouse
- https://kunishitei.bunka.go.jp/bsys/maindetails/101/00007012
- 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
