A postwar reception wing built for guests and a garden
Attached to the west side of the main house, the New Zashiki of Kamoizumi Shuzo was built around 1953, in the middle of the Showa period. It is a timber, two-storey building under a tile roof, covering about 229 square metres, and it was made for one purpose above all: receiving guests.
A broad veranda wraps the rooms and opens toward a garden laid out to the south by Shigemori Mirei, one of the leading garden designers of twentieth-century Japan. The layout answers the view. Three rooms run east to west on the east side, two run north to south on the west, and each carries sukiya-style alcove fittings and finely worked ceilings.
Why it carries cultural-property status
The wing was registered as a Tangible Cultural Property on 1 August 2016 for its part in the historic landscape of the district. Though younger than the Meiji and Taisho buildings around it, it shows how a prosperous brewing house of the mid-twentieth century still invested in refined guest architecture in the sukiya manner, the restrained teahouse-derived style prized in Japanese domestic design.
Its real distinction is the pairing of building and garden. Shigemori's composition to the south was conceived together with the wide engawa that frames it, so the architecture and the designed landscape were meant to be read as one.
What to notice on a visit
The New Zashiki is a private part of a working brewery and is not generally open for interior viewing. Its interest lies in understanding the whole compound: the reception wing, the garden, and the storehouse walls that were later reworked to serve as the garden's backdrop all belong to a single planned setting.
Visitors are welcome at the brewery shop and at the Shusenkan cafe nearby, a wooden Western-style building of 1929 that once housed a prefectural brewing station. JR Saijo Station is about ten minutes away on foot.
- 📍 Plan Your Visit to Hiroshima
- Find tours, activities & transport passes near Kamoizumi Sake Brewery New Tatami Room
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Q&A
- Can I see inside the New Zashiki?
- The wing is a private guest space within the working brewery and is not generally open. The brewery shop and the Shusenkan cafe nearby do welcome visitors.
- Who designed the garden?
- The garden to the south was created by Shigemori Mirei, a major modern Japanese garden designer. The wing's wide veranda was planned around the view of it.
- What does sukiya style mean?
- Sukiya is a refined residential style derived from the teahouse, marked by restraint, natural materials and carefully composed alcoves and ceilings.
- When was it built and registered?
- It was built around 1953 and registered as a Tangible Cultural Property in 2016.
Basic Information
| Name | Kamoizumi Shuzo New Zashiki (New Reception Wing) |
|---|---|
| Location | 944 area, Kamiichi-machi, Saijo, Higashihiroshima, Hiroshima |
| Category | Registered Tangible Cultural Property (building) |
| Registration date | 1 August 2016 (registration no. 34-0179) |
| Count / structure | 1 building; timber, two storeys, tile roof, floor area approx. 229 m2 |
| Period | Mid-Showa period (around 1953) |
| Owner | Kamoizumi Shuzo Co., Ltd. |
| Access | About 10 min on foot from JR Saijo Station; interior not generally open |
References
- National Database of Cultural Properties, Agency for Cultural Affairs — Kamoizumi Shuzo New Zashiki
- https://kunishitei.bunka.go.jp/bsys/maindetails/101/00011186
- Kamoizumi Shuzo Co., Ltd. official site
- https://www.kamoizumi.co.jp/
- Higashihiroshima Tourism — Kamoizumi Shuzo
- https://higashihiroshima-kanko.jp/spot/kamoizumi/
Last verified: 2026.07.03