What Is the Odagaki Shoten Former Sake Brewery?
The Odagaki Shoten Former Sake Brewery (小田垣商店旧酒蔵, Odagaki Shōten Kyū-sakagura) is a late Edo-period Dozo-zukuri storehouse on the Odagaki Shoten property in Tatemachi, Tamba-Sasayama City, Hyogo Prefecture, registered as a Registered Tangible Cultural Property on October 2, 2007. It stands east of the workshop and shares one continuous roof with it.
The single-storey building measures 6.8 by 11 meters and covers 72 square meters under a tiled roof, and the registration includes a well. The agency dates it to 1751 to 1829, which puts it, with the shop, among the oldest of the ten Odagaki buildings.
Why the Odagaki Shoten Former Sake Brewery Was Registered
The Odagaki Shoten Former Sake Brewery was registered, like the other nine Odagaki buildings, for its contribution to the historic landscape. The agency's description says that, together with the workshop and others, it carried on the core facilities of the family's sake-brewing era.
Odagaki Shoten is known today as a black soybean wholesaler, but according to that description the property once had a period of sake making, and this building is its most direct trace. The company's own history, however, moves from a hardware business founded in 1734 to a seed business in 1868 without mentioning sake. When the family brewed, and under whom, is not recorded in any source we could find.
Inside the Odagaki Shoten Former Sake Brewery
Inside the Odagaki Shoten Former Sake Brewery, two free-standing posts stand in a north to south line near the middle, carrying Nobori-bari, beams that slope with the roof rather than running level. The arrangement spans the 11-meter depth with very few posts.
On the west side, against the workshop, the original earthen wall of the storehouse survives unaltered. When the workshop was built next door and the two were brought under one roof, that outside wall became an interior partition. Left as it was, it marks the seam between the late Edo storehouse and the early Meiji workshop.
The well included in the registration says something too. The description does not explain why the building and well were registered as a pair, but read alongside its role in the sake era, it suggests work that depended on water.
In 2022 the former sake brewery was restored, together with the main shop's storehouse, in the second phase of work designed by New Material Research Laboratory.
Visiting the Odagaki Shoten Former Sake Brewery
The Odagaki Shoten Former Sake Brewery stands at the back of the property, and we found no notice of its interior being open to the public (checked September 2026). The shop and workshop in front operate as the main store, but there is no set arrangement for entering the building behind them.
Odagaki Shoten's occasional reservation-only tour includes a walk through its historic buildings. If you want to see the Odagaki Shoten Former Sake Brewery, confirm what the tour covers when you book. Directions and shop hours are on the Odagaki Shoten page.
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Q&A
- Was the Odagaki Shoten Former Sake Brewery really used for making sake?
- The Agency for Cultural Affairs describes the Odagaki Shoten Former Sake Brewery as carrying on the core facilities of a sake-making era, but the company's own history does not mention brewing, so the period is unknown.
- Can I visit the Odagaki Shoten Former Sake Brewery?
- We found no public opening of the Odagaki Shoten Former Sake Brewery (checked September 2026). Ask what the reservation-only tour covers before booking.
- When was the Odagaki Shoten Former Sake Brewery built?
- The Agency for Cultural Affairs dates it to the late Edo period, 1751 to 1829.
- How is the Odagaki Shoten Former Sake Brewery built inside?
- Two free-standing posts near the middle carry sloping nobori-bari beams, and the old earthen wall survives on the west side facing the workshop.
- When was the Odagaki Shoten Former Sake Brewery registered?
- It was registered on October 2, 2007, as number 28-0285, together with its well.
Basic Information
| Name | Odagaki Shoten Former Sake Brewery |
|---|---|
| Location | 19-5 Tatemachi, Tamba-Sasayama City, Hyogo Prefecture (listed as Sasayama City in the Agency for Cultural Affairs database) |
| Designation | Registered Tangible Cultural Property (building) |
| Year Designated | Registered October 2, 2007 |
| Quantity | 1 building |
| Dimensions | Single-storey dozo-zukuri, tiled roof, building area 72 square meters, with well; 6.8 meters by 11 meters |
| Owner | Not listed in the Agency for Cultural Affairs database |
| Public Access | No public opening of the interior announced |
References
- Agency for Cultural Affairs, Database of National Cultural Properties: 小田垣商店旧酒蔵
- https://kunishitei.bunka.go.jp/bsys/maindetails/101/00006351
- Cultural Heritage Online: Odagaki Shoten Former Sake Brewery
- https://online.bunka.go.jp/heritages/detail/119224
- Odagaki Shoten official site: History
- https://www.odagaki.co.jp/about/history
- Odagaki Shoten official site: Experience Tamba's Black Soybean Heritage tour
- https://www.odagaki.co.jp/news/4237/
Last verified: 2026.09.28
