What the Imai Sake Brewery Document Storehouse Is
The Imai Sake Brewery Document Storehouse (今井酒造店文庫蔵, Imai Shuzōten Bunkogura) in Toriyama-nakachō, Ota City, Gunma Prefecture, is a small two-story Dozo-zukuri storehouse for records built in 1908, and it became a Registered Tangible Cultural Property on August 1, 2016.
It stands northwest of the Shop and Main House. At 3 by 2 ken (1 ken is about 1.8 meters) and 21 square meters, it is the smallest of the six listed structures at Imai.
A Storehouse for Paperwork
It was registered for contributing to the historic landscape. The Agency for Cultural Affairs describes the Imai Sake Brewery Document Storehouse as the building that held a large volume of records and papers such as license applications, and Ota City likewise believes it was built to keep the records, applications and reports that running a brewery required.
A country sake brewer was never only a maker. Brewing in Japan operated under a licensing and liquor-tax system, and brewers were expected to keep written records of what they brewed and what they shipped.
Those papers still matter. According to Ota City, the Imai family preserves a large collection of brewing and business ledgers going back almost to the founding, and the dating of every listed building except the main house to 1908 and 1909 rests on those records. The Imai Sake Brewery Document Storehouse, in other words, kept the evidence for the history of the other five.
What to Look For
The roof is an okiyane, or "placed roof": the thick earthen body of the storehouse is sealed on its own, and a separate tiled roof on its own framing sits on top. The arrangement is usually explained as fire protection, since the outer roof can burn away while the sealed body survives.
The door faces east, toward the main house. There are just two windows, one on the north side of the ground floor and one on the south side of the upper floor, each closed by a pair of Tsuchido, heavy doors faced in plaster. The walls are plastered inside and out, and a small drip ledge runs above the thickened base of the wall to throw rainwater clear.
With its door turned toward the house rather than the brewhouses, the storehouse looks like one that was used from the family and office side.
Visiting
The interior of the Imai Sake Brewery Document Storehouse is closed, and there is no published access to the ledgers kept by the family (checked September 25, 2026).
The building is small and easy to miss. The brewery's website has a photograph lining up, from left to right, the New Storehouse, the Document Storehouse, the chimney and the main house, which shows where the little storehouse sits between the larger buildings.
- 📍 Plan Your Visit to Gunma
- Find tours, activities & transport passes near Imai Sake Brewery Document Storehouse
- [ Kusatsu Onsen & Tomioka Silk Mill Heritage Tours ]
Q&A
- What was kept in the Imai Sake Brewery Document Storehouse?
- Large quantities of records and papers needed to run the brewery, such as license applications and reports.
- When was the Imai Sake Brewery Document Storehouse built?
- In 1908. It is a two-story earthen-walled storehouse with a tiled roof and a building area of 21 square meters.
- What kind of roof does the Imai Sake Brewery Document Storehouse have?
- An okiyane, a separate tiled roof set on top of the sealed earthen body of the storehouse.
- Can visitors go inside the Imai Sake Brewery Document Storehouse?
- No. The interior is not open to the public.
- When was the Imai Sake Brewery Document Storehouse registered as a cultural property?
- On August 1, 2016, as Registered Tangible Cultural Property No. 10-0335.
Basic Information
| Name | Imai Sake Brewery Document Storehouse (今井酒造店文庫蔵) |
|---|---|
| Location | 746-2 Toriyama Nakacho, Ota City, Gunma Prefecture |
| Designation | Registered Tangible Cultural Property (building), No. 10-0335 |
| Year Designated | Registered August 1, 2016 |
| Quantity | 1 building |
| Dimensions | Two-story dozo-zukuri storehouse, tiled roof, building area 21 square meters |
| Owner | Not listed (the Agency for Cultural Affairs database gives no owner name) |
| Public Access | Interior closed |
References
- Agency for Cultural Affairs, Database of National Cultural Properties: Imai Sake Brewery Document Storehouse
- https://kunishitei.bunka.go.jp/heritage/detail/101/00011066
- Ota City: Imai Sake Brewery registered buildings (Japanese)
- https://www.city.ota.gunma.jp/page/4165.html
- Imai Shuzoten official website, Kazekura (Japanese)
- https://www.kaze-kura.com/
Last verified: 2026.09.24
