Kamotsuru Sake Brewery No. 4 Brewhouse Well

The No. 4 well under its own roof

Kamotsuru Sake Brewery No. 4 Brewhouse Well (賀茂鶴酒造四号蔵井戸, Kamotsuru Shuzō Yongōgura Ido) is a stone well from the late Taisho era (1919 to 1926) 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 was built outside the west side of the No. 4 Brewhouse. At 3.4 square meters it is the largest of Kamotsuru's four registered wells, and it is covered by a small well roof.

Hexagonal above, round below

The curb is a hexagon of cut stone 19 centimeters thick, standing 31 centimeters high; below ground the shaft is round and stone-lined. The change of shape from hexagon to circle matches the No. 1 Brewhouse well, and the stone thickness matches the No. 2 west well.

That west well's curb stands 40 centimeters high, so the Kamotsuru Sake Brewery No. 4 Brewhouse Well is 9 centimeters lower. It is also the only one of the four whose description mentions a well roof: an outdoor well, but sheltered.

Why the Kamotsuru Sake Brewery No. 4 Brewhouse Well was registered

It was registered for its contribution to the historic landscape, as a facility essential to brewing that shapes the look of Saijo. With the No. 4 Brewhouse and its chimney, it forms a registered set of brewhouse, chimney and well. The brewhouse stopped brewing in 1995, but the Kamotsuru Sake Brewery No. 4 Brewhouse Well remains with it.

Visiting the Kamotsuru Sake Brewery No. 4 Brewhouse Well

The Kamotsuru Sake Brewery No. 4 Brewhouse Well lies at the back of the brewery grounds; no public access or water drawing is announced, and we could not confirm whether it can be seen from outside.