Kamotsuru Sake Brewery No. 2 Brewhouse Chimney

The oldest of four registered chimneys

Kamotsuru Sake Brewery No. 2 Brewhouse Chimney (賀茂鶴酒造二号蔵煙突, Kamotsuru Shuzō Nigōgura Entotsu) is a brick chimney from the late Meiji period (1898 to 1912) at the head office of Kamotsuru Sake Brewery in Saijo Honmachi, Higashihiroshima City, registered as a Registered Tangible Cultural Property on June 28, 2017.

It stands west of the No. 2 east-west wing. Of the four registered chimneys at Kamotsuru, belonging to the No. 2, 3, 4 and 8 Brewhouses, it is the oldest and the shortest.

1.4 meters square, 14 meters tall

The shaft is square, 1.4 meters a side at the base and 14 meters tall, laid in English bond, with courses of long faces and short ends alternating.

At the top the brick steps outward in a corbelled cornice that gives the slim shaft a crisp crown. The upper shaft carries the name Kamotsuru alone, whereas the No. 3 and No. 4 chimneys add the brewhouse number to the lettering.

Brewery chimneys generally carried off the smoke from the fires used to steam rice. The Kamotsuru Sake Brewery No. 2 Brewhouse Chimney reaches 14 meters, while the early Taisho No. 3 chimney reaches 23.4 meters, so the later stack is the taller.

Why the Kamotsuru Sake Brewery No. 2 Brewhouse Chimney was registered

It was registered for its contribution to the historic landscape, the agency citing the distinctly Saijo scene it creates. Red brick chimneys rising over white storehouses are what the brewery itself describes as local landmarks.

Visiting the Kamotsuru Sake Brewery No. 2 Brewhouse Chimney

The Kamotsuru Sake Brewery No. 2 Brewhouse Chimney stands inside the working brewery and cannot be approached, but at 14 meters it is visible from outside. Look over the brewhouse roofs from near the head office for the Kamotsuru lettering.