The Hall Where the Sake Was Made
Gyokusendo Sake Brewery North Brewhouse (玉泉堂酒造北酒蔵, Gyokusendō Shuzō Kita-sakagura) is a two-storey Dozo-zukuri (earthen-walled) brewhouse built in 1926 in Takada, Yoro Town, Gifu Prefecture, and was listed as a Registered Tangible Cultural Property on 25 April 2014. It was built as the fermenting hall, where the sake itself was brewed.
Its ridge runs east to west, and on the south it joins the South Brewhouse. It measures 10 by 6 Ken (bays) with a footprint of 246 square metres. The Inspection Office and Tax Office is attached to the east end of its north front, and the Rice Washing Plant sits off its north-west corner: this is the centre of the brewery's working buildings.
Why It Was Registered
The North Brewhouse was registered for its contribution to the historic landscape. The Agency for Cultural Affairs describes it as a large storehouse that achieves one big open space so that many fermenting tubs could stand in rows. Floor area for vessels was the starting point of the design.
The Agency also records how the two floors divided the work. The upper floor originally held a koji room: rice steamed in a separate building was carried up, spread out and kept at the right temperature while the koji mould grew. Fermentation happened below. With koji upstairs and tubs downstairs, the building held a complete stage of brewing, and the washing shed attached by its lean-to seems placed to feed that sequence.
The South Brewhouse, the washing shed and the tax office all went up with it in 1926. Within that rebuilt production complex, the Gyokusendo Sake Brewery North Brewhouse is where the sake was actually born.
What to Look For
Start with the size. Taking one ken as about 1.8 metres, 10 by 6 ken gives a floor of roughly 18 metres by 11 metres. Picture it with few posts and rows of wooden tubs, and the Agency's phrase about a large open space makes sense.
The walls are thick earth plaster. For a fermenting hall, where temperature control is everything, dozo-zukuri construction is not only fireproofing; the heavy walls also slow down changes in the outside air.
Notice how it meets the South Brewhouse. The North Brewhouse runs east to west, and the north gable of the South Brewhouse, which runs north to south, is joined onto it. Two earthen storehouses set at right angles pass the work across a single wall, from fermentation to pressing, aging and bottling.
Visiting
The Gyokusendo Sake Brewery North Brewhouse stands behind the Shop and Main House and is barely visible from the road. The interior is not open, and the brewery's website lists no tours (checked 24 September 2026).
The site is a working brewery and cannot be entered.
Directions and visiting conditions for the brewery as a whole are on the Gyokusendo Sake Brewery page.
- 📍 Plan Your Visit to Gifu
- Find tours, activities & transport passes near Gyokusendo Sake Brewery North Brewhouse
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Q&A
- What was the Gyokusendo Sake Brewery North Brewhouse used for?
- It was the fermenting hall, where sake was brewed, and its upper floor held the koji room.
- How big is the Gyokusendo Sake Brewery North Brewhouse?
- It is a two-storey earthen-walled building of 10 by 6 ken with a footprint of 246 square metres.
- When was the Gyokusendo Sake Brewery North Brewhouse built?
- In 1926, together with the South Brewhouse, the Rice Washing Plant and the Inspection Office and Tax Office.
- Is the Gyokusendo Sake Brewery North Brewhouse connected to the South Brewhouse?
- Yes. The north gable of the South Brewhouse joins the east-west North Brewhouse.
- Can you visit the Gyokusendo Sake Brewery North Brewhouse?
- No. The interior is closed, and the building stands behind the main house where it can barely be seen from the road.
Basic Information
| Name | Gyokusendo Sake Brewery North Brewhouse (Gyokusendō Shuzō Kita-sakagura) |
|---|---|
| Location | 126 Takada Aza-Machi, Yoro-cho, Yoro-gun, Gifu Prefecture, and other lots |
| Designation | Registered Tangible Cultural Property (building), registration no. 21-0227 |
| Year Designated | Registered 2014/4/25 (Heisei 26) |
| Quantity | 1 building |
| Dimensions | Dozo-zukuri (earthen-walled), 2 storeys, tiled roof, building area 246 square metres, 10 by 6 bays |
| Owner | Gyokusendo Shuzo Co., Ltd. |
| Public Access | Closed (inside the premises, barely visible from the road) |
References
- Agency for Cultural Affairs database: Gyokusendo Sake Brewery North Brewhouse
- https://kunishitei.bunka.go.jp/heritage/detail/101/00009962
- Gifu Prefecture: Registered Tangible Cultural Properties (Buildings)
- https://www.pref.gifu.lg.jp/page/12417.html
- Gyokusendo Shuzo official website
- https://www.gyokusendo.jp/
Last verified: 2026.09.24
