The brewing hall at the center of the yard
Near the middle of the long, narrow brewery plot stands the largest of the seven registered buildings. The shikomigura, the storehouse where sake is brewed, is a two-story earthen-walled structure measuring about 47.5 meters along its length and 20 meters across, with a footprint near 950 square meters.
The roof frame is the Japanese wagoya type. The south end is gabled (kirizuma) and the north end takes the hip-and-gable irimoya form, with plank-clad gable walls (oshibuchi shitami) and windows opening at both ends.
Why it matters
Registered in November 2005 (number 08-0198) for its place in the historic landscape, the shikomigura is the working heart of the brewery and the largest brewing hall on the site. Thick earthen walls hold a steady interior temperature, the condition that fermentation needs.
By tradition the building was put up not long after the brewery opened in 1854, in the same campaign of construction that raised the neighboring kettle room.
Inside a working brewery
This is where the moromi mash ferments in tall tanks through the cold months. The brewery still works with old tools, the wagama kettle, the koshiki steaming vat, the koji-buta trays, pressing its Watari-bune and Taiheikai sake by methods carried down the generations.
The scale of the hall, longer than many a temple building, gives a clear sense of how much a country brewery once produced.
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Questions and Answers
- How big is the brewing storehouse?
- About 47.5 by 20 meters, with a footprint near 950 square meters, the largest of the seven registered buildings.
- When was it built?
- In the early Meiji period; by tradition soon after the brewery opened in 1854.
- What happens inside?
- It is the brewing hall where the moromi mash ferments in tall tanks through the winter.
- Can visitors see it?
- The brewery offers visits by prior inquiry; it is an active workplace rather than a museum.
- Why are the walls so thick?
- The earthen dozo walls keep the interior temperature steady, which fermentation requires.
Basic Information
| Name | Fuchu Homare Shikomigura (Brewing Storehouse) |
|---|---|
| Designation | Registered Tangible Cultural Property (building) |
| Registration No. | 08-0198 |
| Registered | 10 November 2005 (gazetted 5 December 2005) |
| Period | Early Meiji period (1868-1911) |
| Structure | Two-story earthen-walled (dozo); pantile roof |
| Floor area | approx. 950 sqm |
| Number | 1 building |
| Owner | Fuchu Homare Co., Ltd. |
| Location | 5-9-32 Kokufu, Ishioka City, Ibaraki Prefecture |
| Visiting | Working brewery; visits by prior inquiry |
References
- Agency for Cultural Affairs, National Database of Designated Cultural Properties
- https://kunishitei.bunka.go.jp/bsys/maindetails/101/00004910
- Fuchu Homare Co., Ltd. (official site)
- https://www.huchuhomare.com/
Last verified: 2026.06.25