The house that faced the street
The Former Kimura Brewery Shop and Main House (旧木村酒造場店舗兼主屋, Kyū Kimura Shuzōjō Tenpo-ken-Shuoku) is a 2-storey timber town house in Takeda, Wadayama-cho, Asago City, Hyogo Prefecture, built in the late Meiji period (1898–1912) and listed as a Registered Tangible Cultural Property on 17 November 2015. Of the brewery's six listed structures, this is the one where sake was sold over the counter and where the Kimura family lived.
It stands on the main street of the old castle town, at the eastern foot of the hill that carries the ruins of Takeda Castle. With a building area of 309 square metres it is the largest of the six, and its full-width lattice front and the raised firewalls at each end of the roof are the first things you notice walking down the street.
The national database adds a note: renovated 2013. That year the whole brewery was converted into a hotel, and the interior of the main house was reorganised for its new role. The exterior and the timber frame were kept as they were.
Why it was listed
The Agency for Cultural Affairs describes the Shop and Main House as a large, high-quality Machiya with a heavy structural frame, and calls it the core of the streetscape. The frame is the point: thick posts and beams, used without economy, in a merchant house built to impress.
It was registered under the criterion of contributing to the historic landscape. It brings together a full-width lattice front, a plastered upper storey, a clerestory and firewalls in a single building at the centre of the street, and the street is composed around it.
The plan also shows what kind of household this was. The raised-floor rooms are laid out in two rows beside the earth-floored work area, and at the front right a formal reception room (Zashiki) projects toward the street. Shop, family quarters and a room for receiving guests sit under one roof, an arrangement suited to the main house of a sake-brewing family.
What to look for
The facade of the Former Kimura Brewery Shop and Main House changes character between floors. On the ground floor a lean-to roof (Geya) shelters a row of timber lattices. Above, the walls are Ōkabe, with the posts buried in plaster, pierced by a line of latticed windows. Wood below, white plaster above: that contrast is the face of the building.
Look up and you will see a small raised roof sitting over the earth-floored area only. This Koshi-yane let out smoke and steam from the kitchen and let in light. At the east and west ends of the main roof rise the Udatsu, short plastered firewalls that are also said to have advertised a family's standing.
To see the clerestory and both firewalls together, stand on the far side of the street and a little to one side. Close up, the lean-to roof hides everything above it. From an angle you also get a sense of the projecting reception room on the right; from its corner, the listed Gate and Wall runs to the edge of the lot, finished to match.
Inside, the heavy beams and posts have been left exposed.
Visiting
The exterior of the Former Kimura Brewery Shop and Main House can be seen freely from the street. The interior now serves as the hotel reception and guest rooms; there are no public opening days or interior tours, and only guests and others with business at reception go inside. The operator says the room that once served as the master's place for entertaining visitors is now the reception desk.
According to the operator, the KEYAKI rooms are in the main house, the registered building, and are the closest rooms to reception and the dining room. Booking one of them is the surest way to spend time inside the structure.
No photography restrictions are published for the exterior, and shooting from the street is unproblematic. The entrance side is used by hotel guests, so if you want to take pictures within the compound, let the staff know first.
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Q&A
- Can you go inside the Former Kimura Brewery Shop and Main House?
- There are no public opening days or interior tours. The building is now the hotel reception and guest rooms, so access is limited to guests and visitors using the hotel. The exterior can be viewed freely from the street.
- When was the Former Kimura Brewery Shop and Main House built?
- The Agency for Cultural Affairs dates it to the late Meiji period (1898–1912). It was renovated in 2013 and listed as a Registered Tangible Cultural Property on 17 November 2015.
- What should I look for on the outside of the Former Kimura Brewery Shop and Main House?
- Four things: the timber lattices under the ground-floor lean-to, the plastered upper storey with its latticed windows, the raised clerestory roof over the earth-floored area, and the firewalls at either end of the roof. Stand across the street to see the roof.
- Why is the Former Kimura Brewery Shop and Main House a Registered Tangible Cultural Property?
- It was listed as a large, high-quality town house with a heavy timber frame that anchors the streetscape of the old Takeda castle town. The criterion applied is contribution to the historic landscape.
- How big is the Former Kimura Brewery Shop and Main House?
- It is a 2-storey timber building with a tiled roof and a building area of 309 square metres, the largest of the six registered structures at the brewery.
Basic Information
| Name | Former Kimura Brewery Shop and Main House |
|---|---|
| Location | 363 Kamimachi Nishigawa, Takeda, Wadayama-cho, Asago City, Hyogo Prefecture |
| Designation | Registered Tangible Cultural Property (Building) |
| Year Designated | Registered 2015/11/17 (Heisei 27) |
| Quantity | 1 building |
| Dimensions | 2-storey timber building, tiled roof, building area 309 square metres |
| Owner | Asago City |
| Public Access | Exterior visible from the street; interior used as hotel reception and guest rooms (not open to the public) |
References
- National Cultural Properties Database, Agency for Cultural Affairs: Former Kimura Brewery Shop and Main House
- https://kunishitei.bunka.go.jp/bsys/maindetails/101/00010866
- National Cultural Properties Database: Former Kimura Brewery Gate and Wall
- https://kunishitei.bunka.go.jp/bsys/maindetails/101/00010871
- Takeda Castle Town Hotel EN official site: rooms
- https://www.kazenoheritage.jp/hotels/takeda/rooms/
- Takeda Castle Town Hotel EN official site: exploring Takeda
- https://www.kazenoheritage.jp/hotels/takeda/townscape/
Last verified: 2026.10.01
