A Thirty-Nine-Metre Wall Along the North Edge
Along the northern boundary of the Kanemitsu Brewery grounds runs a long two-storey storehouse whose ridge stretches some thirty-nine metres. This is the chozogura, the storage building, set directly against the brewing hall to its south. Its main sections were built in the later Meiji years, with a further extension added in the late Taisho period, so the structure grew in step with the brewery's output.
Like its neighbour it is raised in the dozo manner, timber framing sheathed in white-plastered earthen walls, and roofed with clay pantiles over a gabled form. The building reads as two joined parts: a taller east range and a lower west range stepped down beside it. Inside, the ground floor keeps an earthen finish while the upper floor is boarded, and rows of storage tanks stand along the ground level of the west range.
Why It Was Placed on the National Register
The storehouse was registered as a Tangible Cultural Property in April 2020. Japan's registration system, begun in 1996, gathers in buildings that hold the historic feel of a place, and the sheer length of this one along the roadside makes it central to how the brewery compound presents itself. Seen from outside, the plastered flank and low tiled roofline give the northern edge of the site much of its settled, worked-in appearance.
The stepped profile of the two ranges is worth pausing over. Rather than one uniform block, the builders set a lower west range beside the taller east range, a practical response to how the interior was used that also breaks the long mass into a more legible shape from the lane.
Cold Storage and the Freshness of the Sake
Storage is not a passive step at Kanemitsu. The brewery keeps its sake under close low-temperature control from pressing through to shipping, a practice meant to hold the fresh, faintly sparkling character that defines the Kamokinshu label. The tanks lined up inside this building are part of that discipline, guarding the just-made quality the fifth-generation head set out to capture when he returned the brewery to hand production in 2003.
The working interior is not open to visitors, but the long plastered wall is easy to appreciate from the grounds, and the brewery shop nearby lets you taste the result. The medium-hard well water drawn on the site, the local and Hiroshima-grown rice, and this careful cold storage all meet in the glass.
- 📍 Plan Your Visit to Hiroshima
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Q&A
- What is stored here?
- The building holds storage tanks for sake, kept under low temperature. The ground floor of the west range in particular is lined with tanks.
- Why is the building so long?
- Its ridge runs about 39 metres because the storehouse was extended over time, from the later Meiji years into the late Taisho period, as the brewery's production grew.
- What is the stepped shape on the roof?
- The storehouse is made of a taller east range and a lower west range set beside it. This lower attached range is called an ochimune, a stepped-down roof section.
- Can visitors go inside?
- No, the storehouse is in active use. You can view the long plastered exterior from the grounds and buy the sake at the on-site shop.
- How does storage affect the taste?
- Kanemitsu keeps its sake cold from pressing to shipping to preserve a fresh, lightly sparkling quality, so the storehouse is directly tied to the character of the finished sake.
Basic Information
| Name | Kanemitsu Sake Brewery Chozogura (Storage Storehouse) |
|---|---|
| Location | 1364-2 Nomio, Kurose-cho, Higashi-Hiroshima, Hiroshima Prefecture |
| Category | Registered Tangible Cultural Property (Building); registration no. 34-0269 |
| Registered | 3 April 2020 (95th round of registrations) |
| Count and size | 1 building; two-storey dozo construction, tiled roof, building area approx. 315 m2; ridge length about 39 m |
| Period | Later Meiji period, with a late Taisho extension |
| Access | About 10 min by car from Maki IC on the Higashi-Hiroshima Kure Expressway; about 3 min on foot from Nishimonzen bus stop. A brewery shop is on the grounds. |
References
- Agency for Cultural Affairs, National Cultural Properties Database — Registered Tangible Cultural Property record
- https://kunishitei.bunka.go.jp/bsys/maindetails/101/00013327
- Kanemitsu Sake Brewery — official website
- https://www.kamokin.com/
- Higashi-Hiroshima Tourism (Higashiru) — Kanemitsu Brewery
- https://higashihiroshima-kanko.jp/spot/kanemitsu/
Last verified: 2026.07.05