Higashi Brewery Back Entrance

Higashi Brewery Back Entrance: A Small Gate on the North Side

The Higashi Brewery Back Entrance (東酒造場勝手口, Higashi Shuzōjō Katteguchi) is a small wooden gate built in 1948 at the middle of the north side of the Higashi sake brewery in Noda-machi, Komatsu City, Ishikawa Prefecture, and it was listed as a Registered Tangible Cultural Property on January 8, 2009.

Standing between the main house and the Tool Storehouse, it is a Yakuimon-style gate just 1.7 meters wide, with a gabled roof of pantiles whose ridge runs east to west. The Agency for Cultural Affairs classes it as a structure other than a building, and walls extend from both sides.

Katteguchi means a kitchen or service entrance. Where the Main Gate on the east forms the formal front, the Higashi Brewery Back Entrance handled the everyday comings and goings on the north side.

Why the Back Entrance Was Registered

The Higashi Brewery Back Entrance was registered under the criterion for structures that contribute to the historic landscape of the country.

The Agency for Cultural Affairs points to its light Japanese design, set deliberately against the Western-flavored Tool Storehouse. Next door, the Tool Storehouse shows stone walls, round arches and carvings; the Back Entrance keeps to timber and tile, giving the north side a change of pace.

The wing walls on either side are built of cut stone stacked high. On top, the east wall carries an earthen wall and the west wall a board fence, and together they run 8.6 meters. The different finishes left and right are part of the interest.

What to Look For at the Higashi Brewery Back Entrance

Stand in front of the gate and compare its two sides. Both walls start from tall courses of cut stone, but the upper part is earth to the east and timber boards to the west.

The earthen wall faces the Tool Storehouse, and the board fence faces the main house. The layout suggests each finish was chosen to suit its neighbor, and it gathers a surprising mix of materials around a very small gate.

The gate itself is 1.7 meters wide, enough for a person to pass, with a restrained roof. Set beside the 4.7-meter opening of the Main Gate, it shows how a sake maker's household graded its gates between front and back.

Seeing the Higashi Brewery Back Entrance

The Higashi Brewery Back Entrance is on the north side of the compound, so seeing it together with the main house and Tool Storehouse means going inside the property. How much you can see depends on the reserved tour offered by the brewery.

Ask about photography when you book. Directions and booking details are on the Higashi Brewery page.