Nishio Family Residence Storehouse Gallery: A Meiji Sake Store Turned Exhibition Hall
South of the main hall, running roughly east to west, is the largest of the five registered structures on the Nishio family grounds at Oyamagami in Tamba-Sasayama, Hyogo. Built in the late Meiji period, between the 1890s and the 1900s, it is an earthen-walled storehouse (dozo) of eight bays by five, single storey with a partial second floor, roofed in tile with a gabled ridge. Its floor area, 156 square metres, sets it well apart from the smaller storehouses nearby.
The Nishio ran the Homei brewery, founded in 1797, and this building stood among their sake stores. It was raised the way the other brewery stores were: a base of stacked granite, a lower wall faced in vertical boarding, and above that a plaster finish carried all the way up into the eaves, so the surface reads as one continuous skin from footing to roofline.
From store to museum
The building now serves as the family's own reference museum, with the eastern half given over to an exhibition gallery. That change of use is why it carries the name storehouse gallery, and it lets a visitor walk inside a working brewery store rather than only past it.
Why the Storehouse Was Registered
The storehouse gallery entered the Registered Tangible Cultural Property list in July 2004, under the criterion recognising a building that contributes to the historic landscape of the country. Unlike the higher ranks of Important Cultural Property (juyo bunkazai) and National Treasure (kokuho), which are formally designated and closely controlled, registration is a lighter framework, introduced in 1996 to keep everyday historic buildings in use.
The store as landscape
What the criterion points to is visible from the street. Along the eastern edge of the grounds the Nishio stores line up and form a long stretch of brewery frontage, the kind of view that once told a passer-by exactly what trade a household followed. The gallery is one wall of that frontage. Its plastered surfaces, granite footing and tile roof repeat the vocabulary of the other stores, so the group holds together as a single stretch of built history rather than a scatter of separate buildings.
What to Look For on a Visit
Start at the base. The granite plinth is not decoration; it lifts the earthen wall clear of ground damp, the first line of defence for a store meant to hold goods dry. Follow the wall upward and the finish shifts from timber boarding to plaster, and the plaster keeps going over the eaves. That continuous plastering is a mark of care, and of fire resistance, since a smooth clay skin gives flame little to catch on.
Inside, the single-storey volume opens up under its partial upper floor, and the eastern gallery uses that space for display. The scale surprises after the tighter storehouses across the yard. This was built to hold the stock of a brewery, and the room still reads at that size.
See it as part of the walk rather than on its own. Standing at the east edge, the gallery, the sake store beside it and the other tile roofs make one long line, the frontage that gave the compound its public face on the old highway through Sasayama.
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Q&A
- When was the storehouse gallery built?
- In the late Meiji period, between the 1890s and the 1900s. It was registered as a Tangible Cultural Property in July 2004.
- What is a dozo?
- A Japanese storehouse built with thick earthen walls finished in plaster, a form valued for keeping goods dry and for resisting fire. This one stands eight bays by five, with a granite base.
- Can I go inside?
- The building is used as the family's reference museum, and the eastern half is an exhibition gallery. Access follows the opening hours of the Horoyoi Jokagura brewery site, which is worth checking before a visit.
- Why is it larger than the other storehouses here?
- At 156 square metres it was a brewery store, built to hold stock, while the smaller storehouses on the grounds served household storage. The difference in scale reflects the difference in purpose.
- Is this the same as an Important Cultural Property?
- No. It is a Registered Tangible Cultural Property, a lighter category created in 1996. Important Cultural Property and National Treasure are the higher, legally designated ranks.
Basic Information
| Name | Nishio Family Residence Storehouse Gallery (Nishio-ke Jutaku Dozo Gallery) |
|---|---|
| Location | 699 Oyamagami, Tamba-Sasayama City, Hyogo Prefecture |
| Category | Registered Tangible Cultural Property (Building) |
| Registration date | 23 July 2004 (gazetted 17 August 2004) |
| Registration number | 28-0181 |
| Period | Late Meiji period (1868–1911) |
| Structure | Earthen-walled store, single storey with partial second floor; tile roof; floor area 156 sq m |
| Count | 1 building |
| Registration criterion | Contributes to the historic landscape of the nation |
| Ownership | Private (Nishio family / Homei brewery) |
References
- Agency for Cultural Affairs, National Cultural Properties Database — Nishio Family Residence Storehouse Gallery
- https://kunishitei.bunka.go.jp/bsys/maindetails/101/00004279
- Cultural Heritage Online — Nishio Family Residence Sake Storehouse
- https://bunka.nii.ac.jp/heritages/detail/189010
- Tamba-Sasayama City Tourism — Horoyoi Jokagura brewery tour
- https://tourism.sasayama.jp/course/course-145/
Last verified: 2026.07.09