The Great Shop of a Makabe Sake Brewer
The Murai Jozo Shop (村井醸造店舗) is the large plastered shop at the heart of a sake brewery of the early Meiji period in Makabecho Makabe, Sakuragawa City, Ibaraki Prefecture, and was registered as a Registered Tangible Cultural Property (structure) on November 8, 2004 (Agency for Cultural Affairs).
The Agency records a two-storey plastered storehouse-style building with a tiled roof and a building area of 231 square metres; registration number 08-0155.
A Shop Facing the Gate
The Murai family have brewed in the centre of Makabe since around the mid-Edo period (Agency for Cultural Affairs). The shop, of the early Meiji period, is a large plastered building facing the gate from Kamijuku street.
Nine bays by six (eight at the west half), gabled and tiled, it has two storeys with a lower roof over the eastern half. Its walls are white plaster above battened clapboard to waist height (Agency for Cultural Affairs). The Agency describes it as the central building of a sake brewery in the old town.
Why It Was Registered
The Agency registered it for its contribution to the historic landscape.
What to Look For
Look for the white plaster and clapboard walls and the lower roof over the eastern half (Agency for Cultural Affairs).
Visiting
The owner is not listed in the Agency record. These are buildings of a working brewery, and no official information on visits was found. The shop, side storehouse, stone store and chimney are introduced together on the Murai Jozo page.
Q&A
- When was it built?
- In the early Meiji period (Agency for Cultural Affairs).
- How big is it?
- Nine bays by six.
- What are the walls like?
- White plaster over clapboard.
- What role did it play?
- The heart of the brewery.
- When was the Murai Jozo Shop registered?
- On November 8, 2004 (Agency for Cultural Affairs).
Basic Information
| Name | Murai Jozo Shop (村井醸造店舗) |
|---|---|
| Location | 72 Makabecho Makabe, Sakuragawa City, Ibaraki Prefecture |
| Designation | Registered Tangible Cultural Property (Structure) |
| Year Designated | Registered 2004/11/08 (Heisei 16) |
| Quantity | 1 building |
| Dimensions | Two-storey plastered storehouse style, tiled roof, 231 m² |
| Owner | Not listed in the Agency database |
| Public Access | No official information on access |
References
- Murai Jozo Shop (Database of National Cultural Properties, Agency for Cultural Affairs)
- https://kunishitei.bunka.go.jp/heritage/detail/101/00004325
Last verified: 2026.10.28
