What the Wakaki Shoten Brewing Hall is
The Wakaki Shoten Brewing Hall (若喜商店醸造場, Wakaki Shōten Jōzōjō) is a 2-story wooden brewing building from the late Meiji period on the premises of a miso and soy sauce maker in Aza Sanchome, Kitakata City, Fukushima Prefecture, listed as a Registered Tangible Cultural Property in 2021.
According to the Agency for Cultural Affairs, the Wakaki Shoten Brewing Hall stands southeast of the main house with its ridge running north to south. It has a gabled roof, Kirizuma-zukuri, laid with Sangawara-buki pan tiles, and at 252 square meters it is the largest of the 5 registered buildings. The span is 5.5 ken, about 10 meters, crossed by a Truss roof that leaves a wide working floor free of posts.
The space is not entirely open. Toward the west there is a raised supervisor's platform, and the north end has an upper floor. A brick chimney stands on the east side. The agency calls the building the core of the brewery's group of buildings.
Why the Wakaki Shoten Brewing Hall was registered
It was registered as a building that "contributes to the historic landscape of the country." The Agency for Cultural Affairs points to the large trussed space, the hall's central place among the brewing buildings and the brick chimney on its east side, which gives the site a distinctive skyline.
Brewery chimneys have long been landmarks in Kitakata, and the city's list of modern industrial heritage includes several brick chimneys at local sake breweries. The chimney at the Wakaki Shoten Brewing Hall belongs to the same family, a sign that brewing still goes on here.
It was registered on October 14, 2021, as number 07-0270, added together with the work storehouse 20 years after the shop and the two brick storehouses were registered in 2001.
What to look for at the Wakaki Shoten Brewing Hall
The key to the Wakaki Shoten Brewing Hall is a roof frame that clears the full span without posts. A traditional Japanese roof frame would need long, heavy beams to clear 10 meters; triangulating the frame into a truss freed the floor for vats and equipment. It is a good example of a Western roof structure taken up for purely practical reasons in a provincial brewery of the late Meiji period.
The other feature is the raised platform on the west side, lifted a step so that someone standing there could see the whole floor, presumably the foreman directing the work. The agency's interior photograph, taken from the southeast, shows the raised section at the back of the open floor.
From outside, look for the brick chimney on the east, where its vertical line meets the long tiled roof.
Visiting the Wakaki Shoten Brewing Hall
The Wakaki Shoten Brewing Hall is still a working brewery building and is not part of the regular visit to the shop and brick storehouse. Contact Wakaki Shoten (tel. 0241-22-0010) to ask about seeing the interior; access may be limited during brewing or for hygiene reasons.
The company does not describe what can be seen from outside the premises. Entering the site, and taking photographs there, requires its permission.
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- Find tours, activities & transport passes near Wakaki Shoten Brewing Hall
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Q&A
- Can I go inside the Wakaki Shoten Brewing Hall?
- It is not part of the regular visit. Contact Wakaki Shoten (tel. 0241-22-0010) to ask if a look inside can be arranged.
- When was the Wakaki Shoten Brewing Hall built?
- The Agency for Cultural Affairs dates it to the late Meiji period, between 1898 and 1912.
- Why is the Wakaki Shoten Brewing Hall a Registered Tangible Cultural Property?
- It is a large trussed brewing space at the heart of the brewery, and together with the brick chimney on its east side it shapes a distinctive landscape. It was registered in 2021.
- What is the raised platform in the Wakaki Shoten Brewing Hall?
- It is a floor area on the west side lifted a step above the rest, laid out so the whole working floor can be overseen.
- How big is the Wakaki Shoten Brewing Hall?
- It is a 2-story wooden building with a footprint of 252 square meters and a span of 5.5 ken, about 10 meters.
Basic Information
| Name | Wakaki Shoten Brewing Hall |
|---|---|
| Location | 4786 Aza Sanchome, Kitakata City, Fukushima Prefecture |
| Designation | Registered Tangible Cultural Property (Building) |
| Year Designated | Registered 2021 (Reiwa 3) |
| Quantity | 1 building |
| Dimensions | Wooden, 2 stories, tiled roof, building area 252 m² |
| Owner | Not listed in the Agency for Cultural Affairs database (business operated by Wakaki Shoten Co., Ltd.) |
| Public Access | Not normally open (ask Wakaki Shoten about viewing the interior) |
References
- Wakaki Shoten Brewing Hall (Agency for Cultural Affairs, Database of National Cultural Properties)
- https://kunishitei.bunka.go.jp/bsys/maindetails/101/00013945
- Wakaki Shoten Brewing Hall (Cultural Heritage Online, Japanese)
- https://online.bunka.go.jp/heritages/detail/553825
- Kitakata City Cultural Property Preservation and Utilization Plan, Chapter 2 (Kitakata City, Japanese)
- https://www.city.kitakata.fukushima.jp/uploaded/attachment/43016.pdf
- Wakaki Shoten (Utsukushima Electronic Encyclopedia, Fukushima Prefectural Education Center, Japanese)
- https://www.gimu.fks.ed.jp/plugin/databases/detail/2/18/321
Last verified: 2026.10.04
