A Brewer's Rice Storehouse
Of the three Nishioka brewery buildings registered together in 2001, the rice storehouse is the largest and sits at the southeast corner of the grounds. It once held the brown rice that fed the brewing year; today its thick plastered walls shelter a gallery instead of grain.
The storehouse occupies the southeast corner of the Nishioka brewery site at 6-1 Ta in Makabe, Sakuragawa City. Built as a dozo, a clay-walled storehouse, it is mainly single-story with a partial upper level and is roofed in clay pantile. The floor area is about 126 square meters, the largest of the brewery's three registered buildings.
The plan runs eight bays north to south by three bays deep, under a gabled roof. The southern two bays rise to a low intermediate floor, a chu-nikai, and along the western front a lean-to one and a half bays deep forms a kuramae, the sheltered working space before a storehouse. Local records date the building to the late Meiji period.
Registration and the Street Corner
The rice storehouse was placed on the national register of Tangible Cultural Properties on August 28, 2001. Registration is Japan's lighter heritage category, distinct from the stricter designation given to National Treasures and Important Cultural Properties; it protects the broad stock of more recent buildings that shape a historic town.
What the listing values is partly the building itself and partly its place in the scene. Standing with the neighboring side storehouse, the rice storehouse helps form the kind of street corner that marks an old sake-brewing house, the sort of view that gives Makabe its character.
What to See
The storehouse has been converted into a gallery and exhibition space, and it is one of the parts of the brewery where visitors are usually welcomed. Exhibitions and events are held inside, so the interior can often be seen in a way that many of Makabe's storehouses cannot.
From outside, the deep plastered walls and the low kuramae lean-to show how a working storehouse was built for both protection and the daily handling of goods. The local granite marker in front confirms its status as a registered property, and the brewery's retail counter nearby carries the Hananoi sake.
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Visitor Questions
- What was this building used for?
- It served as the brewery's brown-rice storehouse, holding the unmilled rice used in sake making. The thick clay walls helped keep the contents cool and protected from fire.
- Can I go inside?
- The storehouse has been refitted as a gallery and exhibition space and is used for displays and events, so its interior is often open to visitors, unlike many storehouses in the district.
- How is it different from the side storehouse next to it?
- The rice storehouse held brown (unmilled) rice and is the larger of the two, while the neighboring side storehouse was used for milled white rice. Together they frame the brewery's street corner.
- Is the Hananoi sake sold here?
- A retail counter on the brewery grounds sells the Hananoi label and changes its seasonal displays; tours of the brewing rooms can be arranged by advance reservation.
- How do I reach the site?
- Makabe has no railway today. Visitors usually come by car, around 20 to 25 minutes from the Sakuragawa-Chikusei interchange, or by local bus from JR Iwase Station.
Basic Information
| Name | Nishioka Honten Rice Storehouse (西岡本店米蔵) |
|---|---|
| Location | 6-1 Ta, Makabe-machi, Sakuragawa City, Ibaraki Prefecture |
| Category | Registered Tangible Cultural Property (Building) |
| Registered | August 28, 2001 (gazetted September 14, 2001) |
| Count | 1 building |
| Structure | Clay-walled storehouse (dozo), mainly single story with partial upper floor, pantile roof |
| Floor area | Approx. 126 m2 |
| Period | Meiji period (1868-1911); late Meiji per local records |
| Access and viewing | Used as a gallery and exhibition space, generally open to visitors; on-site sake shop; brewing tours by reservation |
References
- Agency for Cultural Affairs, National Database of Cultural Properties: Nishioka Honten Rice Storehouse
- https://kunishitei.bunka.go.jp/bsys/maindetails/101/00002207
- Kabushiki-gaisha Nishioka Honten (Hananoi), official site
- https://hananoi.jp/
- Sakuragawa City Tourism Association: Makabe and its registered cultural properties
- https://www.kankou-sakuragawa.jp/page/page000255.html
Last verified: 2026.06.25