The Room Where Koji Was Grown
The Kobayashi Sake Brewery Koji Making Room (小林酒造製麹室) is a brick building for making koji of 1922 in Nishiki, Kuriyama Town, Yubari District, Hokkaido, and was registered as a Registered Tangible Cultural Property (structure) on October 18, 2006 (Agency for Cultural Affairs).
The Agency records a two-storey brick building with a sheet-iron roof and a building area of 282 square metres; registration number 01-0087.
The Koji Building at the West End
The Kobayashi Sake Brewery Koji Making Room stands west of the No. 6 Storehouse, its ridge running north to south. It is a two-storey brick building, 15 and a half ken by 5 and a half ken, under a gabled sheet-iron roof (Agency for Cultural Affairs).
Koji is steamed rice on which a mould has been grown, and it turns the starch in rice into sugar for fermentation. Here the koji chamber occupies the northwest corner of the ground floor, and the entrance is toward the south of the west wall (Agency for Cultural Affairs).
Why It Was Registered
The Agency registered the Kobayashi Sake Brewery Koji Making Room for its contribution to the historic landscape, describing it as plain, with little decoration.
Built in 1922, it is the latest of the Taisho-era brick buildings among the registered stores and workshops, and it closes the west end of the north row.
What to Look For
Count the upper-floor windows: four along the long side and one in the north gable (Agency for Cultural Affairs), in contrast to the closed ground floor. In the Kobayashi Sake Brewery Koji Making Room, the koji chamber sits in the northwest corner, where warmth and humidity could be held.
At the west end of the row, note how the stone of the No. 6 Storehouse gives way to the brick of the koji room.
Visiting
The storehouses are not open year round. The brewery shows their interiors to groups of 10 or more by reservation, and opens them to everyone at its sake festival on the second Saturday and Sunday of April. The Kobayashi Sake Brewery Koji Making Room is at the west end of the north row, and its west entrance can be seen from the grounds.
Q&A
- What was the Kobayashi Sake Brewery Koji Making Room used for?
- Making koji for sake; the koji chamber is in the northwest corner of the ground floor.
- When was the koji making room built?
- In 1922 (Agency for Cultural Affairs).
- What should I look for at the koji making room?
- The plain brick walls, the upper-floor windows and the change from stone to brick next door.
- Can I go inside the koji making room?
- Only on reserved tours for groups of 10 or more, or during the April sake festival (brewery information).
- When was the Kobayashi Sake Brewery Koji Making Room registered?
- On October 18, 2006 (Agency for Cultural Affairs).
Basic Information
| Name | Kobayashi Sake Brewery Koji Making Room (小林酒造製麹室) |
|---|---|
| Location | 3-109 Nishiki, Kuriyama Town, Yubari District, Hokkaido |
| Designation | Registered Tangible Cultural Property (Structure) |
| Year Designated | Registered 2006/10/18 (Heisei 18) |
| Quantity | 1 building |
| Dimensions | Two-storey brick, sheet-iron roof, 282 m² |
| Owner | Not listed in the Agency database |
| Public Access | Exterior viewable on the grounds (interior on group tours and at the April sake festival) |
References
- Kobayashi Sake Brewery Koji Making Room (Database of National Cultural Properties, Agency for Cultural Affairs)
- https://kunishitei.bunka.go.jp/heritage/detail/101/00005726
- Registered Cultural Properties in Hokkaido (Hokkaido Board of Education, Japanese)
- https://www.dokyoi.pref.hokkaido.lg.jp/hk/bnh/bun-hogo-tourokuitiran.html
Last verified: 2026.10.19
