What Is the Former Azumaya Sake Brewery Pawn Storehouse?
The Former Azumaya Sake Brewery Pawn Storehouse (旧東屋酒造店質蔵, Kyū Azumaya Shuzōten Shichigura) is a two-storey Dozo-zukuri storehouse from the end of the Edo period in Motomachi, Miyako City, Iwate Prefecture, registered as a Registered Tangible Cultural Property on March 29, 2019.
It stands in the northwest corner of the Azumaya lot with its front facing south. The Agency for Cultural Affairs dates the Former Azumaya Sake Brewery Pawn Storehouse to the end of the Edo period (1830 to 1868); it is roofed in metal sheeting and covers 136 square meters.
Inside, the building is divided in two. The western part is the pawn store, where goods left as security were kept, and the eastern end is a bunkogura, the kind of strongroom a merchant family typically used for account books, documents and household valuables.
Why the Former Azumaya Sake Brewery Pawn Storehouse Was Registered
The Former Azumaya Sake Brewery Pawn Storehouse is registration number 03-109, listed for its contribution to the historic landscape. The agency credits it with giving the compound the solid, weighty presence of a wealthy merchant's house.
It is a two-storey building under a Kirizuma-zukuri gabled roof, with a lean-to Geya running along the south front. The walls are finished in white Shikkui lime plaster above a dado of Namako-kabe tiles set in raised plaster joints. Standing on the corner of the lot, it anchors the compound when seen from outside.
What to Look for at the Former Azumaya Sake Brewery Pawn Storehouse
Two walls tell the story. The west gable, facing the street, has horizontal Shitami-itabari boarding around its base instead of the tiled dado used elsewhere, so the side the public saw was finished differently.
On the south front, under the lean-to and toward the east, the doors of the pawn store and the bunkogura stand side by side. Two doors mean two rooms; counting them from outside tells you how the interior is divided.
White plaster, the diagonal grid of namako tiles and weathered timber all meet on this one building. The joint where boarding gives way to plaster on the west gable of the Former Azumaya Sake Brewery Pawn Storehouse is worth a close look.
Visiting the Former Azumaya Sake Brewery Pawn Storehouse
The storehouse is privately owned, and public access to the interior could not be confirmed. The west gable is visible from the street, and that is where you can see the boarded base under the plaster wall.
Because the south front faces into the lot, it is not certain whether the paired doors can be seen from the road. Please do not enter the property, and keep photography to the exterior from the street.
The sake storehouse on the same lot is open on Cinema de Aeru screening and event days. The Former Azumaya Sake Brewery Pawn Storehouse is about a 12-minute walk from Miyako Station.
Q&A
- When was the Former Azumaya Sake Brewery Pawn Storehouse built?
- The Agency for Cultural Affairs dates the Former Azumaya Sake Brewery Pawn Storehouse to the end of the Edo period (1830 to 1868), the same era as the sake storehouse and older than the late-Meiji shop-house.
- Is the Former Azumaya Sake Brewery Pawn Storehouse a Registered Tangible Cultural Property, and since when?
- Yes. The Former Azumaya Sake Brewery Pawn Storehouse was registered as a Registered Tangible Cultural Property on March 29, 2019, under number 03-109.
- How is the Former Azumaya Sake Brewery Pawn Storehouse divided inside?
- It has two rooms: the pawn store on the west and a bunkogura strongroom at the east end. The doors to both stand side by side on the south front of the Former Azumaya Sake Brewery Pawn Storehouse.
- Can visitors see the Former Azumaya Sake Brewery Pawn Storehouse?
- The Former Azumaya Sake Brewery Pawn Storehouse is privately owned, and interior access could not be confirmed. Its west gable can be seen from the street.
- What is unusual about the walls of the Former Azumaya Sake Brewery Pawn Storehouse?
- The walls are lime plaster over a namako tile dado, except on the street-facing west gable, where the base is clad in horizontal boarding instead.
Basic Information
| Name | Former Azumaya Sake Brewery Pawn Storehouse |
|---|---|
| Location | Motomachi 15 and others, Miyako City, Iwate Prefecture |
| Designation | Registered Tangible Cultural Property (Building) |
| Year Designated | 2019 |
| Quantity | 1 building |
| Dimensions | Two-storey earthen storehouse, building area 136 m² |
| Owner | Private individual |
| Public Access | Exterior only (no confirmed public access to the interior) |
References
- Agency for Cultural Affairs database: Former Azumaya Sake Brewery Pawn Storehouse
- https://kunishitei.bunka.go.jp/bsys/maindetails/101/00012676
- Cultural Heritage Online: Former Azumaya Sake Brewery Pawn Storehouse
- https://online.bunka.go.jp/heritages/detail/451320
- Miyako City: National and prefectural cultural properties list (PDF, Japanese)
- https://www.city.miyako.iwate.jp/material/files/group/39/2kunikennitirann.pdf
Last verified: 2026.10.03
