Murai Brewery Stone Warehouse: A Taishō-Era Treasure in Japan's Sake Town
Tucked into the historic streetscape of Makabe in Sakuragawa City, Ibaraki Prefecture, the Murai Brewery Stone Warehouse (Murai Jōzō Ishigura) is a striking long-form stone building from the Taishō era (1912–1925). Officially registered as a Tangible Cultural Property of Japan in December 2000, it stands as one of the most photogenic monuments in a town that boasts more than 100 registered cultural properties. The warehouse continues to play an active role in the production of "Kōmei," the signature sake of Murai Brewery, a family business now in its twelfth generation, founded around 350 years ago.
For travelers seeking a Japan beyond the well-trodden routes of Kyoto and Tokyo, Makabe offers a rare opportunity to walk a near-intact early-modern townscape, and the Murai Brewery's cluster of registered buildings—store, side warehouse, stone warehouse and chimney—forms one of its most evocative chapters.
A Brewery with Three Centuries of History
The Murai family's connection to Makabe stretches back to the Enpō era (1673–1680), when Murai Jūsuke, a merchant from Hino in Ōmi Province (present-day Shiga Prefecture), opened a shop in the castle town to sell soy sauce and miso. This is regarded as the earliest documented case of an Ōmi-Hino merchant establishing a presence in the Kantō region, marking Makabe as a pioneering outpost of Japan's renowned merchant network.
Over the centuries the family business transitioned to sake brewing, taking full advantage of the area's abundant rice and the soft spring water filtered through the granite bedrock of the Mt. Tsukuba mountain range. The flagship sake "Kōmei," whose name is a homophone-inspired tribute to "kome" (rice), has earned numerous awards at the Annual Japan Sake Awards, while newer labels such as "Makabe" and "Shinjō" extend the brewery's range to contemporary tastes.
The Stone Warehouse: Architecture in Detail
The stone warehouse stands directly across the street from the brewery's side warehouse (waki-gura). It is a single-story building with a tiled gable roof, measuring twelve ken (roughly 21.6 meters) along its length and presenting its gable end (tsumairi) to the street. The interior is divided into three rooms, with lower projecting eaves (geya-bisashi) on the south side facing the road and on the east side where the entrance is located.
The structural system is a hybrid that captures the architectural ingenuity of the Taishō period: a timber post-and-beam frame supports the roof using a king-post truss, while the exterior walls are built up with Ōya stone, a soft volcanic tuff quarried in Tochigi Prefecture that became fashionable for warehouse construction in the early 20th century. Visitors familiar with European warehouse architecture will recognize the king-post truss as a Western imported technique, here paired with traditional Japanese carpentry and a distinctly Japanese stone material—a vivid example of the cultural blending that defined the era.
Inside the building today is the kōji-muro, the carefully tempered room where rice is inoculated with the koji mold that drives the fermentation of sake. The thick stone walls provide stable temperature and humidity, qualities that made these warehouses valuable for brewing centuries before modern climate control.
Note: while the Agency for Cultural Affairs database and city tourism records identify the stone as Ōya stone, the brewery's own materials sometimes describe it as locally quarried Makabe granite. Visitors interested in the precise petrology are encouraged to ask during a brewery tour.
Why It Was Designated a Cultural Property
The stone warehouse was registered on the national Tangible Cultural Properties roll on 4 December 2000, together with three other Murai Brewery structures: the Meiji-era store and side warehouse, and the early-Shōwa-era reinforced concrete chimney that rises 22 meters above the brewery yard. The Agency for Cultural Affairs evaluated the stone warehouse as a "fine example of Taishō-era warehouse architecture," singling out its scale, the elegant gabled gable-entry composition, and the combination of king-post truss roofing with Ōya-stone exterior walls.
The designation reflects not only the building's individual qualities but also its role within Makabe's wider cultural landscape. The town's central area was selected as an Important Preservation District for Groups of Traditional Buildings in 2010, recognizing one of the most intact early-modern merchant streetscapes in the Kantō region.
Highlights for Visitors
What makes the Murai Brewery Stone Warehouse especially rewarding to visit is that it is not a museum piece. The building still earns its keep as part of an active sake production facility, and a guided brewery tour brings the structure to life in ways that no signboard could.
- The long, low silhouette of the stone walls against the tiled roof is best appreciated from the street directly in front of the brewery—an excellent photograph point.
- The hand-cut Ōya stone blocks display subtle color variation, and the chisel marks are visible up close, hinting at the craftsmanship of Taishō-era stonemasons.
- The interior kōji room is normally a working space, but during scheduled tours visitors can glimpse the room's atmosphere and learn how sake fermentation begins.
- From early December to mid-February, brewery tours may include a view of the moromi (the bubbling sake mash) during peak production season—an experience few travelers ever forget.
- The neighbouring side warehouse, store, and chimney are all visible from the main entrance, allowing visitors to compare four distinct generations of Japanese industrial architecture in a single yard.
Tasting "Kōmei" and the Sake of Makabe
A visit to the stone warehouse is best paired with a stop at the brewery's tasting space, where the dry-style "Kōmei" and the newer "Makabe" and "Shinjō" labels are available to sample. The brewery polishes its own rice in-house, an unusual practice given that most breweries outsource this stage, and the family's commitment to a clean, food-friendly dry style has been recognized with multiple Gold Awards at the Annual Japan Sake Awards. Bottles can be purchased on site as souvenirs.
Around the Stone Warehouse
The Makabe historic district packs an extraordinary density of cultural properties into a compact, walkable grid. After visiting the Murai Brewery, consider extending your day with these nearby attractions:
- Nishioka Honten Brewery — Another historic sake producer founded by Ōmi-Hino merchants in 1782, with its own registered store and warehouses, brewing the "Hana no I" label.
- Makabe Townscape Walk — The preservation district contains more than 100 registered cultural properties: shop-front warehouses (mise-gura), gabled gatehouses, and a few Western-style early-modern buildings, all within roughly 17.6 hectares.
- Kotabe Foundry — A traditional bell foundry, said to be the last in the Kantō region still producing temple bells, hand-bells, and ceremonial water basins by classical methods.
- Makabe Castle Ruins — Designated a National Historic Site, the medieval castle that gave its name to the surrounding town.
- Old Tsukuba Railway Cycling Road — A scenic 40-kilometer cycle path along the former railway, with views of the western flank of Mt. Tsukuba.
- Mt. Tsukuba — One of Japan's "100 Famous Mountains," accessible by cable car and ropeway from the eastern side, with sweeping panoramas of the Kantō plain.
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Q&A
- Can visitors go inside the stone warehouse?
- The stone warehouse is an active production facility housing the kōji room, so casual entry is not permitted. However, the building can be viewed during a guided brewery tour, which must be booked in advance through the Murai Brewery website or by telephone. Tours are typically free of charge but subject to staff availability.
- When is the best season to visit?
- Sake production is most active from December to February, and during this period the brewery tour may include a view of the fermenting moromi. Spring (April) is beautiful for cherry blossoms along the brewery grounds and around Makabe, while autumn offers crisp weather ideal for walking the historic district. The annual Makabe Hina Matsuri (Doll Festival) in February is also a popular time to visit the town.
- How do I get to Makabe from Tokyo?
- The most common route is to take the JR Mito Line to Iwase Station, which is roughly 18 minutes by car or taxi from the Murai Brewery. From central Tokyo, the journey takes about 2 to 2.5 hours by train depending on transfers. Renting a car at Mito or Tsukuba is also a comfortable option, particularly for travelers planning to visit several locations in the area.
- Is the stone warehouse made of granite or Ōya stone?
- The official Agency for Cultural Affairs designation describes the exterior as Ōya stone, a soft volcanic tuff quarried in Tochigi Prefecture and widely used for early 20th-century warehouses across Japan. Some local materials refer to Makabe granite, which is the famous building stone of the surrounding area. For an authoritative answer, ask your brewery tour guide—the family is well versed in their own buildings.
- Are there other registered cultural properties on the brewery grounds?
- Yes. In addition to the stone warehouse, the Meiji-era store and side warehouse and the early-Shōwa reinforced concrete chimney were all registered as Tangible Cultural Properties on the same day, 4 December 2000. Together they form a rare ensemble that traces Japanese industrial architecture across three eras.
Basic Information
| Name | Murai Brewery Stone Warehouse (Murai Jōzō Ishigura) |
|---|---|
| Designation | Registered Tangible Cultural Property (Building), Agency for Cultural Affairs, Japan |
| Registered | 4 December 2000 |
| Construction Period | Taishō era (1912–1925) |
| Structure | Stone, single-story, tile roof; building area 145 m² |
| Architectural Features | Twelve-ken long gabled gable-entry style (tsumairi); three interior rooms; lower projecting eaves on south and east sides; timber post-and-beam frame with king-post truss; Ōya stone exterior walls |
| Address | 200-1 Makabe, Makabe-machi, Sakuragawa City, Ibaraki Prefecture (registered location); brewery entrance at 72 Makabe |
| Owner / Operator | Murai Jōzō Co., Ltd. (active sake brewery, brand "Kōmei") |
| Access | Approx. 18 minutes by car from JR Iwase Station (Mito Line) |
| Tours | Brewery tours available by advance reservation via the official website or telephone; subject to availability |
| Setting | Within the Sakuragawa Makabe Important Preservation District for Groups of Traditional Buildings (selected 2010) |
References
- Murai Brewery Stone Warehouse — Cultural Heritage Online (National Institutes for the Humanities)
- https://bunka.nii.ac.jp/heritages/detail/178216
- Makabe and Registered Cultural Properties — Sakuragawa City Tourism Association
- http://www.kankou-sakuragawa.jp/page/page000255.html
- Sakuragawa City Makabe Important Preservation District — Sakuragawa City Official Website
- https://www.city.sakuragawa.lg.jp/education/bunkazai/city_bunkazai/kuni_bunkazai/page003423.html
- Brewery Tours — Murai Jōzō Official Website
- https://www.komei.co.jp/brew-factory.html
- Murai Jōzō — Japanese Wikipedia
- https://ja.wikipedia.org/wiki/村井醸造
- Sakuragawa-Makabe — Council for Important Preservation Districts for Groups of Traditional Buildings
- https://www.denken.gr.jp/archive/sakuragawa-makabe/index.html
Last verified: 2026.05.13