What the Imai Sake Brewery New Storehouse Is
The Imai Sake Brewery New Storehouse (今井酒造店新蔵, Imai Shuzōten Shingura) in Toriyama-nakachō, Ota City, Gunma Prefecture, is a two-story timber brewhouse built in 1909 and altered around 1965, and it became a Registered Tangible Cultural Property on August 1, 2016.
Its ridge runs north to south, and its northern end meets the Main Storehouse. With a building area of 308 square meters, about 93 tsubo by Ota City's reckoning, it is the largest of the six listed structures at Imai.
Why It Was Registered
It was registered for contributing to the historic landscape. The Agency for Cultural Affairs describes the Imai Sake Brewery New Storehouse, together with the Main Storehouse, as the core of the brewing operation, and Ota City says the two shared the work from cooling steamed rice to storing pressed sake.
The lean-to on its west side was the koji room, the kōjimuro, where steamed rice is inoculated with koji mold and kept at a steady warmth and humidity while the mold grows. Koji does much to decide how a sake will taste, and that work happened along one side of this building.
The name simply means "new storehouse": it went up in 1909, a year after the Main Storehouse, the boiler room, the document storehouse and the chimney were built in 1908, and completed the brewery's production buildings.
What to Look For
The roof is the thing to notice. On the west the roof steps down a level, and on the east a pent roof is attached below the main slope in the shikorobuki manner, layered like the neck guard of a samurai helmet. Adding low roofs on both flanks gave the building an overall footprint of 10 by 9.5 ken, almost square, and a very broad interior.
The eastern lean-to is now one continuous space, but the Agency notes that it was originally divided by walls. The description does not say when the walls came out.
With brewing finished, the brewery now rents out the New Storehouse as an event hall under the name Sakagura (Shingura). Its website says the space seats around 100 people, and on market and exhibition days when the doors are thrown open there is no limit on numbers.
Visiting
The Imai Sake Brewery New Storehouse is the only one of the six listed structures whose interior visitors can enter. Concerts, lectures, exhibitions and markets are held here, and on those days the building is open as a venue. Events are announced on the events page of the brewery's website (checked September 25, 2026).
The hall can also be booked, with long tables, folding chairs and a projector among the equipment. Inquiries go to the brewery on 0120-15-2680 (toll-free within Japan). On days with no event the interior is closed.
- 📍 Plan Your Visit to Gunma
- Find tours, activities & transport passes near Imai Sake Brewery New Storehouse
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Q&A
- Can you go inside the Imai Sake Brewery New Storehouse?
- Yes, on days when concerts, exhibitions, markets or other events are held there. On other days the interior is closed.
- When was the Imai Sake Brewery New Storehouse built?
- In 1909. It was altered around 1965.
- What was the Imai Sake Brewery New Storehouse used for in sake making?
- It formed the core of production with the Main Storehouse, and its west lean-to served as the koji room.
- How big is the Imai Sake Brewery New Storehouse?
- It measures 10 by 9.5 ken overall, with a building area of 308 square meters, the largest of the brewery’s six listed structures.
- When was the Imai Sake Brewery New Storehouse registered as a cultural property?
- On August 1, 2016, as Registered Tangible Cultural Property No. 10-0333.
Basic Information
| Name | Imai Sake Brewery New Storehouse (今井酒造店新蔵) |
|---|---|
| Location | 746-2 Toriyama Nakacho, Ota City, Gunma Prefecture |
| Designation | Registered Tangible Cultural Property (building), No. 10-0333 |
| Year Designated | Registered August 1, 2016 |
| Quantity | 1 building |
| Dimensions | Two-story timber building, tiled roof, building area 308 square meters |
| Owner | Not listed (the Agency for Cultural Affairs database gives no owner name) |
| Public Access | Open on event days (otherwise closed) |
References
- Agency for Cultural Affairs, Database of National Cultural Properties: Imai Sake Brewery New Storehouse
- https://kunishitei.bunka.go.jp/heritage/detail/101/00011064
- 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/
- Imai Shuzoten, facility guide (Japanese)
- https://www.kaze-kura.com/guidance/
- Imai Shuzoten, events (Japanese)
- https://www.kaze-kura.com/event/
Last verified: 2026.09.24
