Granite posts under a steel arch
Suehiro Sake Brewery Kaeigura Front Gate is the entrance gate of a sake brewery in Nisshincho, Aizuwakamatsu City, Fukushima Prefecture, built in the late Meiji era between 1898 and 1912 and listed as a Registered Tangible Cultural Property on 2 November 2018. It is of stone, with a frontage of 2.2 metres and a flanking Sodobei wall on each side.
It faces east, set between the office wing of the main house and the new storehouse. Two granite posts 3.3 metres high carry a steel tube arch fitted with lamps. Brick walls run out to either side, and the northern one has a service opening framed in stone.
The Agency for Cultural Affairs gives the frontage as 2.2 metres in its structural field and 2.1 metres in its description. The two do not agree; the figure from the structural field is used here.
Why it was listed
Suehiro Sake Brewery Kaeigura Front Gate was listed under the criterion for structures that contribute to the historic landscape of the country. Its registration number, 07-0193, is the last of the nine.
What the listing values is the accent it gives to an otherwise Japanese frontage. The main house is timber, the new storehouse is earth over timber; between them this gate is granite, steel and brick. The change of material stops the eye at exactly that point on the street.
The lamp-bearing steel arch shows how new materials entered Japanese building in the late Meiji years. Displaying iron and steel as ornament was a habit shared with Western-style buildings and street furniture of the same decades.
Post height, and the bond in the side walls
Stand in front of Suehiro Sake Brewery Kaeigura Front Gate and the height of the posts registers first. Two granite shafts 3.3 metres tall frame an opening of 2.2 metres. Because the posts are heavy for so narrow a span, the gate reads from the street as a tall vertical frame.
The arch is a steel tube joining the tops of the posts, with lamps mounted on it. It was made to be lit, so that the entrance could be found after dark even with the gate shut.
The side walls are laid in Stretcher bond, the same stretcher bond as the brick wall at the north corner of the compound, and the service opening in the north wall is framed in stone exactly as that wall's openings are. The four elements of the street frontage were not built as separate things but thought of as one face.
Visiting
Suehiro Sake Brewery Kaeigura Front Gate stands on the street and can be seen at any hour, with no restriction on photography. Step back to the far side of the road to take it in whole, with the posts, the side walls and the buildings beyond reading as one composition.
The gate is the working entrance to the compound, and you can pass through it during opening hours.
Opening times, closing days and directions for the compound as a whole are set out on the page for Suehiro Sake Brewery Kaeigura.
- 📍 Plan Your Visit to Fukushima
- Find tours, activities & transport passes near Suehiro Sake Brewery Kaeigura Front Gate
- [ Aizu-Wakamatsu Castle & Ouchi-juku Village Tours ]
Q&A
- Can Suehiro Sake Brewery Kaeigura Front Gate be seen at any time?
- Yes. It stands on the street, and photography is unrestricted. Passing through it is possible during opening hours.
- How is Suehiro Sake Brewery Kaeigura Front Gate built?
- Of stone: two granite posts 3.3 metres high frame an opening of 2.2 metres, with a lamp-bearing steel tube arch between them and brick walls flanking each side.
- How wide is Suehiro Sake Brewery Kaeigura Front Gate?
- The Agency for Cultural Affairs gives 2.2 metres in its structural field and 2.1 metres in its description, and the two disagree. This article follows the structural field.
- When was Suehiro Sake Brewery Kaeigura Front Gate built?
- In the late Meiji era, between 1898 and 1912, the same span as the brick wall and the brick chimney on the site.
- Is Suehiro Sake Brewery Kaeigura Front Gate an Important Cultural Property?
- No. It was listed as a Registered Tangible Cultural Property on 2 November 2018, under registration number 07-0193.
Basic Information
| Name | Suehiro Sake Brewery Kaeigura Front Gate |
|---|---|
| Location | 159 Nisshincho, Aizuwakamatsu City, Fukushima Prefecture, and others |
| Designation | Registered Tangible Cultural Property (Structure) |
| Year Designated | Registered 2018 (Heisei 30) |
| Quantity | 1 structure |
| Dimensions | Stone, frontage 2.2 metres, with flanking walls to left and right |
| Owner | Suehiro Sake Brewery Co., Ltd. |
| Public Access | Visible from the street at any time; passage during opening hours |
References
- National Cultural Properties Database: Suehiro Sake Brewery Kaeigura Front Gate (Agency for Cultural Affairs)
- https://kunishitei.bunka.go.jp/heritage/detail/101/00012478
- Kaeigura tours (Suehiro Sake Brewery Co., Ltd.)
- https://sake-suehiro.co.jp/museum
- History of Suehiro (Suehiro Sake Brewery Co., Ltd.)
- https://sake-suehiro.co.jp/history
Last verified: 2026.09.17
