Fukubijin Sake Brewery No. 3 Storehouse Chimney

The Tallest Brick Chimney in Saijo

Fukubijin Sake Brewery No. 3 Storehouse Chimney (福美人酒造三号蔵煙突, Fukubijin Shuzō Sangō-gura Entotsu) is a brick chimney from the late Taisho era (1919 to 1926) at the Daikoku-gura compound in Saijo Suehirocho, Higashihiroshima City, Hiroshima Prefecture, registered as a Registered Tangible Cultural Property of Japan on 1 August 2016.

It stands at the centre of the compound, attached to the south side of the No. 3 Storehouse, and rises 27 metres. The base is square, 2.2 metres on a side, and the bricks are laid in English bond, English bond. The national record counts it as one structure and classes it as a built work other than a building.

According to the Agency for Cultural Affairs, this is the tallest brick chimney still standing in Saijo. In a town where chimneys serve as landmarks, that makes Fukubijin Sake Brewery No. 3 Storehouse Chimney the highest point on the skyline of the brewery district.

Bricks from Akitsu

Local tradition holds that the bricks were fired in Akitsu, a town on the Seto Inland Sea coast that is now part of Higashihiroshima City. The national record passes this on as tradition rather than documented fact.

A brewery needs a chimney because rice must be steamed, and the fires under the steaming vats had to vent their smoke well above the roofs. Daikoku-gura was built for large-scale production, and its chimney was sized to match.

The Agency for Cultural Affairs dates the chimney to the late Taisho era, 1919 to 1926; Higashihiroshima City gives 1925, the same year it gives for the No. 3 Storehouse, which suggests the two were planned together.

On 21 February 2024 the city designated Daikoku-gura as part of the Saijo Sake Brewery Group, a municipal cultural property, and names this chimney as one of its components.

A Note on Heights

Published heights for Saijo chimneys do not always agree. The national database gives 27 metres for this chimney and 24 metres for the one at Fukubijin's other compound, Ebisu-gura. The company's own website, however, describes the Ebisu-gura chimney as 27 metres and the tallest in Saijo.

This article follows the national record. On the ground, which chimney looks taller depends a good deal on where you stand.

Seeing It

The Daikoku-gura compound is closed to the public and the brewery does not take visitors there, so you cannot walk up to the base of Fukubijin Sake Brewery No. 3 Storehouse Chimney.

At 27 metres, though, it is visible from many of the surrounding streets. The red brick glows best on a clear afternoon under low side light. If you want to stand inside a Fukubijin compound, head to Ebisu-gura, which has its own chimney.