A Plasterer's Showpiece Behind the House
Gyokusendo Sake Brewery Storehouse (玉泉堂酒造土蔵, Gyokusendō Shuzō Dozō) is a two-storey Dozo-zukuri (earthen-walled) storehouse built in 1928 in Takada, Yoro Town, Gifu Prefecture, and was listed as a Registered Tangible Cultural Property on 25 April 2014. It is the youngest of the brewery's seven registered buildings.
It stands behind the east side of the Shop and Main House, its ridge running north to south and its front facing north. With a footprint of only 30 square metres it is small, and it was never part of the brewing. The Agency for Cultural Affairs describes it as a store for the family's household belongings.
Why It Was Registered
The Storehouse was registered for its contribution to the historic landscape, and the Agency's description dwells on one thing: the plasterwork, which it credits with a high level of skill.
The storehouse went up in 1928, two years after the brewhouses and the rice-washing shed were built in 1926. Once the production side had been renewed, the family spent money and craftsmanship on its own domestic store, a sign of how the business stood at the time.
What to Look For
The walls rise from three courses of cut stone and are finished entirely in black plaster. Visitors used to white-walled storehouses tend to notice that first. Black lime plaster can be burnished to a deep gloss, but it takes far more labour than white.
Beside the entrance, the lower part of the wall carries a pattern in the manner of shokkō-mon, a geometric design of octagons linked by small squares, named after the brocades of the ancient Chinese kingdom of Shu. It is a textile motif, carried over into plaster with a trowel.
The front door and the upper-floor windows are kakego-nuri doors. Their edges and the surrounding frames are built up in stepped layers that nest together when closed, sealing the gap against fire. The number of steps and the sharpness of their edges are a direct measure of the plasterer's hand. The Gyokusendo Sake Brewery Storehouse packs a great deal of that skill into a very small building.
Visiting
The Gyokusendo Sake Brewery Storehouse stands behind the main house and can hardly be seen from the road. It is not open to the public, and no opportunity to see the patterned wall or the stepped doors up close has been announced (checked 24 September 2026).
The site is private property 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 Storehouse
- [ Shirakawago & Takayama Old Town Tours ]
Q&A
- What was the Gyokusendo Sake Brewery Storehouse used for?
- It held the family's household belongings, not anything to do with brewing.
- When was the Gyokusendo Sake Brewery Storehouse built?
- In 1928, which makes it the newest of the brewery's seven registered buildings.
- What should you notice about the Gyokusendo Sake Brewery Storehouse?
- The plasterwork: black lime plaster walls, a shokkō-style geometric pattern beside the entrance, and stepped kakego-nuri fireproof doors and windows.
- Can you see the Gyokusendo Sake Brewery Storehouse from outside?
- Barely. It stands behind the main house, out of view from the road, and the grounds are closed to visitors.
- When was the Gyokusendo Sake Brewery Storehouse registered?
- On 25 April 2014, as registration no. 21-0225, on the same day as the brewery's other six buildings.
Basic Information
| Name | Gyokusendo Sake Brewery Storehouse (Gyokusendō Shuzō Dozō) |
|---|---|
| Location | 126 Takada Aza-Machi, Yoro-cho, Yoro-gun, Gifu Prefecture |
| Designation | Registered Tangible Cultural Property (building), registration no. 21-0225 |
| Year Designated | Registered 2014/4/25 (Heisei 26) |
| Quantity | 1 building |
| Dimensions | Dozo-zukuri (earthen-walled), 2 storeys, tiled roof, building area 30 square metres |
| Owner | Not listed (no owner name in the Agency for Cultural Affairs database) |
| Public Access | Closed (inside the premises, barely visible from the road) |
References
- Agency for Cultural Affairs database: Gyokusendo Sake Brewery Storehouse
- https://kunishitei.bunka.go.jp/heritage/detail/101/00009960
- 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
