Fukubijin Sake Brewery No. 4 Storehouse North Building

A Showa-Era Storehouse on the East Side of Daikoku-gura

Fukubijin Sake Brewery No. 4 Storehouse North Building (福美人酒造四号蔵北棟, Fukubijin Shuzō Yongō-gura Kitatō) is an early Showa sake storehouse (1926 to 1945) 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 toward the north on the east side of the compound, its ridge running north to south. Together with the South Building just beyond it, it makes up the No. 4 Storehouse. The walls are Dozo-zukuri, two storeys high, under a gabled slate roof, and the building covers 406 square metres.

Higashihiroshima City dates it to 1937, which sits comfortably inside the early Showa range given by the national database.

A Western Truss and a Double-Beamed Lean-To

The roof of Fukubijin Sake Brewery No. 4 Storehouse North Building is carried on a King post truss, a Western framing system in which a central post and angled members form a rigid triangle. It spans a wide interior without internal posts. Most Saijo breweries used traditional Japanese roof framing, so this is one of relatively few examples, along with the No. 2 Storehouse at Ebisu-gura.

On the west side, a lean-to is framed with double beams, adding working space to the main hall.

The north wall is clad in boards, and its windows are fitted with lattices coated in Shikkui plaster. Covering even the window bars in plaster makes the openings read as solid as the wall around them.

The national record values the building for its part in a distinctive scene: brewing halls packed edge to edge across the site. On 21 February 2024 Higashihiroshima City designated Daikoku-gura as part of the Saijo Sake Brewery Group, and the North Building is among its components.

What to Look For

Look at the north face. White plastered window lattices punctuate the dark board wall, a contrast quite different from the plain white expanse of the neighbouring No. 3 Storehouse.

Compare it with the South Building and the two halves of the No. 4 Storehouse turn out to be different animals: the north half uses a king-post truss, the south half rafters on inclined beams. The difference is a clue that the two may not have been built at the same time.

Visiting

The Daikoku-gura compound is closed to the public and the brewery does not accept visitors, so there is no access to Fukubijin Sake Brewery No. 4 Storehouse North Building or its interior.

You can see only what is visible from outside the site. Because the north wall faces outward, the streets on the north side are the most likely place to catch the plastered window lattices. The part of Fukubijin open to visitors is the Ebisu-gura compound.