The Storehouse That Faces the Street
Okunomatsu Sake Brewery Pressing Storehouse (奥の松酒造槽場蔵, Okunomatsu Shuzō Funaba-gura) is a 2-storey earthen storehouse at the Okunomatsu brewery site in Kamegai, Nihonmatsu City, Fukushima Prefecture, built in the early Showa period and registered as a Registered Tangible Cultural Property on July 23, 2004. Its building area is 144 square meters.
A funaba is the room where fermented mash is pressed to separate sake from the lees; the name comes from fune, the press box. According to the Agency for Cultural Affairs, this building is said to have begun as a brewing storehouse.
A Tiled Gable Turned to the Street
The Okunomatsu Sake Brewery Pressing Storehouse is an earthen Dozo-zukuri building, 10 Ken by 4 ken, under a gabled roof of interlocking pantiles. Its ridge runs east to west and its west gable faces the street along the west side of the site, closing the south end of the brewery frontage.
The lower walls of both gable ends are scored with joints that imitate stone masonry. The South Building of the Second-Grade Storehouse has the same finish, and the Agency credits it with giving the street a tidy face.
Why the Pressing Storehouse Was Registered
The Okunomatsu Sake Brewery Pressing Storehouse was listed as a Registered Tangible Cultural Property, registration number 07-0076, for contributing to the historic landscape of the country.
Of the six buildings, this is the one that presents the brewery to the street. A tiled earthen store with its gable to the road and a stone-pattern base turns the edge of an industrial site into part of the townscape. The name says pressing room while the record says it began as a brewing store, a sign that the building's role inside the brewery changed over time.
Seeing the Okunomatsu Pressing Storehouse
With its gable turned to the west street, the Okunomatsu Pressing Storehouse is, with the First-Grade Storehouse, one of the two buildings most easily seen from the road. From in front of it, compare the stone-pattern joints on the lower wall with the tiled outline of the gable above.
No interior openings have been announced (checked September 30, 2026). The site is private, so the building is seen from the road.
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Q&A
- When was the Okunomatsu Sake Brewery Pressing Storehouse built?
- The national database dates it to the early Showa period. It was registered as a Registered Tangible Cultural Property on July 23, 2004.
- What does funaba mean in the Okunomatsu Sake Brewery Pressing Storehouse name?
- A funaba is where fermented mash is pressed to separate the sake from the lees. The building itself is said to have begun as a brewing storehouse.
- How is the Okunomatsu Sake Brewery Pressing Storehouse built?
- It is a 2-storey earthen dozo-zukuri building, 10 ken by 4 ken, with a gabled pantiled roof and a building area of 144 square meters.
- What is the pattern on the lower walls of the Okunomatsu Sake Brewery Pressing Storehouse?
- Joints cut to imitate stone masonry, the same finish used on the South Building, which the Agency says helps order the streetscape.
- Can I visit the Okunomatsu Sake Brewery Pressing Storehouse?
- No interior openings have been announced. Its gable faces the west street, so the exterior can be seen from the road.
Basic Information
| Name | Okunomatsu Sake Brewery Pressing Storehouse (奥の松酒造槽場蔵) |
|---|---|
| Location | 1-213 Kamegai, Nihonmatsu City, Fukushima Prefecture |
| Designation | Registered Tangible Cultural Property (building), registration no. 07-0076 |
| Year Designated | Registered July 23, 2004 |
| Quantity | 1 building |
| Dimensions | Dozo-zukuri, 2 storeys, tiled roof, building area 144 square meters |
| Owner | Not listed in the national database (the brewer is Okunomatsu Sake Brewery) |
| Public Access | No interior opening announced (exterior from the west street) |
References
- Agency for Cultural Affairs, Database of National Cultural Properties: Okunomatsu Sake Brewery Pressing Storehouse (Japanese)
- https://kunishitei.bunka.go.jp/bsys/maindetails/101/00004200
- Cultural Heritage Online: Okunomatsu Sake Brewery Pressing Storehouse (Japanese)
- https://online.bunka.go.jp/heritages/detail/188930
Last verified: 2026.09.30
