A rice store built after the fire
Southeast of the main house stands the kokugura, the storehouse for sake rice, set on a north-south axis. Unlike the earthen-walled kura around it, this is a two-story building in wood-frame concrete (mokkotsu concrete), about eight ken by four, gabled and roofed in pantile, with a footprint of about 141 square meters.
A lean-to roof eight shaku wide runs the full length of the west face.
Why it was registered
Registered in July 2004 (number 08-0139), the kokugura was recognized as not easily reproduced. Its outer surface is finished in artificial-stone wash (jinzo-seki araidashi), with the joints cut to read as stonework.
The building is valued in the register as a record of the construction methods adopted after the great fire of 1929 (Showa 4).
A new material in an old yard
The fire pushed local builders toward more fire-resistant methods, and the kokugura shows that shift inside a yard otherwise built of timber and earth. Among the older dozo storehouses, its washed-stone surface marks the moment when concrete entered the brewery.
Built to keep sake rice dry and safe, it reads at a glance as the newest of the older structures on the site.
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Questions and Answers
- What is the kokugura made of?
- Wood-frame concrete (mokkotsu concrete), two stories, with a footprint of about 141 square meters, finished in artificial-stone wash.
- Why was it registered?
- It was recognized as not easily reproduced and as a record of construction after the great fire of 1929.
- What was it used for?
- It stored sake rice for the brewery.
- How does it differ from the other storehouses?
- The others are earthen-walled dozo; the kokugura is wood-frame concrete with a washed artificial-stone surface.
- When was it built?
- In the early Showa period, after the 1929 fire.
Basic Information
| Name | Fuchu Homare Kokugura (Rice Storehouse) |
|---|---|
| Designation | Registered Tangible Cultural Property (building) |
| Registration No. | 08-0139 |
| Registered | 23 July 2004 (gazetted 17 August 2004) |
| Period | Early Showa period (around 1926-1930s) |
| Structure | Two-story wood-frame concrete (mokkotsu concrete); pantile roof |
| Floor area | approx. 141 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/101/00004206
- Fuchu Homare Co., Ltd. (official site)
- https://www.huchuhomare.com/
Last verified: 2026.06.25