Kamotsuru Sake Brewery No. 1 Brewhouse Well

The well that has served Kamotsuru since its founding

Kamotsuru Sake Brewery No. 1 Brewhouse Well (賀茂鶴酒造一号蔵井戸, Kamotsuru Shuzō Ichigōgura Ido) is a stone well from the early Meiji period (1868 to 1882) on the founding site of Kamotsuru Sake Brewery in Saijo Honmachi, Higashihiroshima City, registered as a Registered Tangible Cultural Property on June 28, 2017.

It lies in the southeast corner of the founding site. The Agency for Cultural Affairs describes it as the well used since Kamotsuru began brewing, and Higashihiroshima City lists it, dated to the early Meiji period, among the components of the No. 1 Brewhouse.

A hexagonal curb over a round shaft

Above ground, the curb is built of cut stone in a hexagon; below ground, the shaft is lined with fieldstone in a circle. The registered structure covers 3.2 square meters.

Saijo sake is brewed with groundwater that falls as rain on Mount Ryuo and filters through the rock; Kamotsuru describes its water as close to soft. Each Saijo brewery has its own wells, and four are registered at Kamotsuru: the Kamotsuru Sake Brewery No. 1 Brewhouse Well, the east and west wells of the No. 2 Brewhouse and the No. 4 Brewhouse well. Three share the hexagonal cut-stone curb; only the No. 2 east well is laid in rounded fieldstone.

Why the Kamotsuru Sake Brewery No. 1 Brewhouse Well was registered

It was registered for its contribution to the historic landscape. The agency notes that besides shaping the look of a brewing town, it carries the brewery's history back to its founding. In 2024 the No. 1 Brewhouse, well included, became part of the Saijo Sake Breweries Historic Site.

Visiting the Kamotsuru Sake Brewery No. 1 Brewhouse Well

No public access to the Kamotsuru Sake Brewery No. 1 Brewhouse Well is announced by the brewery or the city. Visitors often mention a well in front of the No. 1 Brewhouse shop where brewing water can be drawn, but we could not confirm that it is this registered well in the southeast corner. When visiting the shop (10:00 a.m. to 6:00 p.m.), the hexagonal curb is the feature to look for.