What the Hosoi Family Residence Sake Storehouse Is
The Hosoi Family Residence Sake Storehouse (細井家住宅酒蔵, Hosoi-ke Jūtaku Sakagura) is a late Edo-period earthen-walled storehouse for sake making in Shizukawa, Minamiaizu Town, Fukushima Prefecture, and was listed as a Registered Tangible Cultural Property on 21 April 1998 under registration number 07-0018. It stands to the northeast of the main house on the estate of the Hosoi, a family of village headmen.
It is a Dozo-zukuri building of 2 storeys under a metal-sheet roof, with a building area of 93 square metres, the second largest of the four structures still listed on the estate. Its entrance is on the gable end, the arrangement known as Tsumairi.
The Hosoi farmed, but they also brewed. According to the Agency for Cultural Affairs, the family formally went into sake making in 1790. This storehouse is the one building on the estate that still speaks for that trade.
Why It Was Listed
The Hosoi Family Residence Sake Storehouse was registered as a model of its type. Of the four Hosoi buildings still listed, it is the only one in that category; the other three were listed as contributing to the historic landscape. It was judged on its own form, not only as part of the estate.
The Agency also places it in the family's history. From the late Edo period, prosperous farming households increasingly branched into other businesses, and the Agency treats this storehouse as evidence of that shift.
On the date, the primary source says two things. The date field in the Agency's database reads late Edo period, 1830 to 1867. Its commentary, however, says the building is thought to date from not long after 1790, when the family formally began brewing. That would make it older, from around the turn of the nineteenth century. This article records both readings rather than choosing between them.
What to Look For
The first thing to notice is that the gable faces forward. With the triangular end wall at the front, the building reads taller than a storehouse entered from its long side, and 93 square metres over 2 storeys gives it real depth, room for the preparing and storing that brewing requires.
Then consider where it stands. Set northeast of the main house, the brewery sits right beside the family's living quarters. Home and business shared one compound, which is exactly what a farming household that also brewed would need.
The roof is metal sheet, but the primary sources do not say when that covering was put on. The walls and the timber frame inside cannot be checked from outside, so for those details the Agency's record is the guide.
Visiting
The Hosoi Family Residence Sake Storehouse is on a private estate and its interior is closed. No shop or tasting is advertised. No opening days or visitor arrangements appear in material published by the Agency for Cultural Affairs, Fukushima Prefecture or Minamiaizu Town (checked 1 October 2026).
It lies inside the compound beyond the gate, so little of it is visible from the road. Stay on the road and do not enter the property. No signs about photography were found, but this is a lived-in home, so keep windows and residents out of your pictures.
Directions to the estate and the conditions for viewing it are on the Hosoi Family Residence page.
Q&A
- Can I visit the Hosoi Family Residence Sake Storehouse?
- The interior is not open. It is on a private estate, and no opening days or visitor arrangements could be found (checked 1 October 2026).
- When was the Hosoi Family Residence Sake Storehouse built?
- The primary source gives two answers. The Agency's database dates it to the late Edo period, 1830 to 1867, while its commentary places it not long after 1790.
- How large is the Hosoi Family Residence Sake Storehouse?
- It is an earthen-walled storehouse of 2 storeys with a metal-sheet roof and a building area of 93 square metres, entered from the gable end.
- When did the Hosoi family start brewing sake?
- According to the Agency for Cultural Affairs, the family formally began brewing in 1790. The Hosoi Family Residence Sake Storehouse is the building linked to that business.
- Why is the Hosoi Family Residence Sake Storehouse a Registered Tangible Cultural Property?
- It was registered in 1998 as a model of its type, and it shows how large farming households expanded into businesses such as brewing.
Basic Information
| Name | Hosoi Family Residence Sake Storehouse (細井家住宅酒蔵) |
|---|---|
| Location | 175 Kazeshita-ko, Shizukawa, Minamiaizu Town, Minamiaizu District, Fukushima Prefecture |
| Designation | Registered Tangible Cultural Property (Building), registration number 07-0018 |
| Year Designated | Registered 1998/4/21 (Heisei 10) |
| Quantity | 1 building |
| Dimensions | Earthen-walled storehouse, 2 storeys, metal-sheet roof, building area 93 square metres |
| Owner | Private |
| Public Access | Not open to the public |
References
- National Cultural Properties Database: Hosoi Family Residence Sake Storehouse (Agency for Cultural Affairs)
- https://kunishitei.bunka.go.jp/bsys/maindetails/101/00000520
- Fukushima Prefecture, List of Registered Tangible Cultural Properties (Buildings), as of 1 April 2026
- https://www.pref.fukushima.lg.jp/uploaded/attachment/748318.pdf
Last verified: 2026.10.01
