Higashimaru Soy Sauce Former Head Office Factory Brewing Storehouse No. 1: A Koji Room Lined with Double Brick Walls
The Higashimaru Soy Sauce Former Head Office Factory Brewing Storehouse No. 1 (ヒガシマル醤油元本社工場仕込蔵一, Higashimaru Shōyu Moto-Honsha Kōjō Shikomigura Ichi) is a mid-Meiji (1883 to 1897) storehouse of a soy sauce works in Ote, Tatsuno-cho, Tatsuno City, Hyogo Prefecture, entered on Japan's register of Registered Tangible Cultural Properties on December 24, 2013. Despite the name, the Agency for Cultural Affairs records that it served as a koji room and its anteroom. Its registration number is 28-0571.
It stands in the southeast of the south lot. The construction is single-storey Dozo-zukuri with a tiled roof, and the building area is 264 square meters. From outside, the Higashimaru Soy Sauce Former Head Office Factory Brewing Storehouse No. 1 reads as two gabled (Kirizuma-zukuri) storehouses set side by side from north to south.
The South and North Halves of the Higashimaru Soy Sauce Former Head Office Factory Brewing Storehouse No. 1
The southern building is the Kojimuro, the koji room. Its inner walls are double brick with an insulating layer between them, and a raised ventilating ridge, a Koshi-yane, sits on top of the roof. The northern building was the koji room's anteroom. The Higashimaru Soy Sauce Former Head Office Factory Brewing Storehouse No. 1 is thus earthen storehouse outside and brick inside.
Koji for soy sauce is made by dusting steamed soybeans and roasted wheat with mould spores and letting the mould grow for a few days. Throughout that time the room has to be held at an even temperature and humidity, while the heat and moisture the mould gives off have to be let out. The double brick walls shut out the swings of the weather; the ventilating ridge draws stale air out through the roof. Each answers one half of a contradictory brief.
The anteroom presumably acted as a buffer, keeping outside air from reaching the koji room directly.
Why the Higashimaru Soy Sauce Former Head Office Factory Brewing Storehouse No. 1 Was Registered
The Agency for Cultural Affairs values the Higashimaru Soy Sauce Former Head Office Factory Brewing Storehouse No. 1 as a building that shows the koji-making stage of soy sauce production particularly well. It was registered as one that contributes to the historic landscape of the country.
Each of the six buildings at the former head office factory handled part of the process, from storing ingredients to setting the mash and pressing it, but this is the only one the Agency identifies as a koji room. Koji is where the aroma and flavour of soy sauce begin, and a building made for that step survives here with its structure intact.
Seeing the Higashimaru Soy Sauce Former Head Office Factory Brewing Storehouse No. 1
The Higashimaru Soy Sauce Former Head Office Factory Brewing Storehouse No. 1 is a factory building, and there is no announced public opening of its interior. The double brick walls are inside and cannot be seen from outside.
The clue to look for is on the roof. Find the ventilating ridge on the southern building and compare it with the roof of the northern one, and the different jobs of the two halves become visible from outside. Stay on the street rather than entering the site.
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Q&A
- What is the Higashimaru Soy Sauce Former Head Office Factory Brewing Storehouse No. 1?
- It is a mid-Meiji storehouse of a soy sauce works in the southeast of the south lot in Ote, Tatsuno City, Hyogo Prefecture. Two gabled buildings stand side by side, the southern one used as a koji room and the northern one as its anteroom. It is single-storey and earthen-walled with a tiled roof and a building area of 264 square meters.
- When was the Higashimaru Soy Sauce Former Head Office Factory Brewing Storehouse No. 1 registered?
- It was registered as a Registered Tangible Cultural Property on December 24, 2013, under number 28-0571. The Agency for Cultural Affairs dates it to the mid-Meiji period (1883 to 1897).
- How was the koji room in the Higashimaru Soy Sauce Former Head Office Factory Brewing Storehouse No. 1 built?
- Its inner walls are double brick with an insulating layer, and a ventilating ridge was added to the roof. The design appears meant to keep the temperature steady while letting out the heat and moisture produced by the koji mould.
- Why is the Higashimaru Soy Sauce Former Head Office Factory Brewing Storehouse No. 1 a Registered Tangible Cultural Property?
- It was registered for its contribution to the historic landscape. The Agency describes it as a building that clearly shows the koji-making stage of soy sauce production.
- Can visitors see the Higashimaru Soy Sauce Former Head Office Factory Brewing Storehouse No. 1?
- There is no announced public opening of the interior, so the visit is to the exterior from the street. No official guidance on photography could be found, so photograph from the street without entering the site.
Basic Information
| Name | Higashimaru Soy Sauce Former Head Office Factory Brewing Storehouse No. 1 (ヒガシマル醤油元本社工場仕込蔵一) |
|---|---|
| Location | 54-1 Ote, Tatsuno-cho, Tatsuno City, Hyogo Prefecture, and other lots |
| Designation | Registered Tangible Cultural Property (building), registration no. 28-0571 |
| Year Designated | Registered December 24, 2013 |
| Quantity | 1 building |
| Dimensions | Earthen-walled storehouse construction, single storey, tiled roof, building area 264 square meters |
| Owner | Higashimaru Shoyu Co., Ltd. |
| Public Access | No announced public opening of the interior (exterior visible from the street) |
References
- Agency for Cultural Affairs, Database of National Cultural Properties: Higashimaru Shoyu Moto-Honsha Kojo Shikomigura Ichi
- https://kunishitei.bunka.go.jp/bsys/maindetails/101/00009813
- Cultural Heritage Online: Higashimaru Shoyu Moto-Honsha Kojo Shikomigura Ichi
- https://bunka.nii.ac.jp/heritages/detail/259962
- Tatsuno City: Higashimaru Shoyu Moto-Honsha Kojo (Former Head Office Factory)
- https://www.city.tatsuno.lg.jp/soshiki/1041/gyomu/5/4/4099.html
Last verified: 2026.09.30
