About the Former Hiroshima Prefecture Saijo Sake Brewing Branch Main Building
The Former Hiroshima Prefecture Saijo Sake Brewing Branch Main Building (旧広島県西条清酒醸造支場本館) is a two-story timber Western-style building completed around 1928 in Saijo Kamiichicho, Higashihiroshima City, Hiroshima Prefecture, and it was registered as a Registered Tangible Cultural Property on August 1, 2016.
This was the working heart of the prefecture's sake research station in Saijo. Chemists ran experiments on the ground floor while administrators kept the records upstairs. The footprint is 101 square meters under a tiled roof. Today the owner, Kamoizumi Sake Brewery, calls it Shusenkan and runs it as a sake café.
It faces north, with its ridge running north to south. The gable ends are clipped at the top, a half-hipped form that the Japanese call han-kirizuma. Among the white plaster walls of Saijo's breweries, the building still reads as an office from the street.
Why the Main Building Was Registered
The Former Hiroshima Prefecture Saijo Sake Brewing Branch Main Building was registered on August 1, 2016 as a Registered Tangible Cultural Property, number 34-0187, under the criterion of contributing to the historic landscape of the nation. The rice mill, brewing storehouse, chimney and gateposts were registered on the same day.
The Agency for Cultural Affairs describes it as a base for developing brewing technology. What makes the Saijo compound unusual is that the surviving buildings belonged to the people who studied and taught sake making, not to a commercial brewer, and they survive together on their original lot.
The national database gives the construction date as about 1928. Higashihiroshima City's Historic Site page gives 1929 instead. We follow the national figure.
What to Look For
Start at the front. The entrance porch is formed by a small canopy carried on pilasters, flat columns that project just slightly from the wall. It is a modest trick, but it gives the door the dignity expected of a public office in the early Showa years.
Then step to one side and look at the roofline. The half-hip folds the top of each gable back like a small hipped roof, so from the north you see the eaves line break into two levels. Japanese clay tiles on a Western-style body sum up the building's in-between character.
Inside, the café has replaced the laboratory benches, but the ground-floor rooms still have the generous proportions of a working lab. A small reading room of sake books is part of the café.
Visiting the Main Building
The Former Hiroshima Prefecture Saijo Sake Brewing Branch Main Building opens as the Shusenkan café on Saturdays, Sundays and national holidays from 10:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m., with closures around Obon, New Year and a few other dates. Entry is free; tasting sets and sweets are paid. On weekdays the café is closed and you can see only the exterior.
There is no published rule on photography. Ask the staff before taking pictures indoors. For the exterior, stand just inside the gateposts to fit both the porch and the clipped gable into one frame.
Opening days occasionally change, so check the business calendar on Kamoizumi's Shusenkan page before you go.
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Q&A
- Can you go inside the Former Hiroshima Prefecture Saijo Sake Brewing Branch Main Building?
- Yes. It operates as the Shusenkan sake café on Saturdays, Sundays and national holidays from 10:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m., and entry is free.
- When was the Former Hiroshima Prefecture Saijo Sake Brewing Branch Main Building built?
- The Agency for Cultural Affairs dates it to about 1928. Higashihiroshima City gives 1929.
- What was the Former Hiroshima Prefecture Saijo Sake Brewing Branch Main Building originally used for?
- It was the main building of the prefecture's sake research station, with laboratories on the ground floor and offices on the second floor.
- When was the Former Hiroshima Prefecture Saijo Sake Brewing Branch Main Building registered as a cultural property?
- It was registered as a Registered Tangible Cultural Property on August 1, 2016, under registration number 34-0187.
- What are the architectural features of the Former Hiroshima Prefecture Saijo Sake Brewing Branch Main Building?
- It is a north-facing, two-story timber Western-style building with a tiled half-hipped roof and a porch canopy supported on pilasters.
Basic Information
| Name | Former Hiroshima Prefecture Saijo Sake Brewing Branch Main Building |
|---|---|
| Location | 957 Saijo Kamiichicho, Higashihiroshima City, Hiroshima Prefecture |
| Designation | Registered Tangible Cultural Property (Structure) |
| Year Designated | Registered August 1, 2016 |
| Quantity | 1 building |
| Dimensions | Building area 101 square meters (2-story timber) |
| Owner | Kamoizumi Sake Brewery Co., Ltd. |
| Public Access | Open as the Shusenkan sake café on Saturdays, Sundays and holidays, 10:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. (free entry) |
References
- Agency for Cultural Affairs, Database of National Cultural Properties: Former Hiroshima Prefecture Saijo Sake Brewing Branch Main Building
- https://kunishitei.bunka.go.jp/bsys/maindetails/101/00011194
- Higashihiroshima City: Former Hiroshima Prefectural Brewing Experiment Station (Japanese)
- https://www.city.higashihiroshima.lg.jp/soshiki/kyoikuiinkaishogaigakushu/3/11/bunkazai/town/saijo/sakaguragun/39658.html
- Kamoizumi Sake Brewery: Shusenkan (Japanese)
- https://www.kamoizumi.co.jp/syusenkan/index.php
- Kamoizumi Sake Brewery: About Us (Japanese)
- https://www.kamoizumi.co.jp/about/index.html
- Higashihiroshima Tourism (Higashiru): Kamoizumi Sake Brewery (Japanese)
- https://higashihiroshima-kanko.jp/spot/kamoizumi/
Last verified: 2026.09.24
