A Brick Store with Hollow Walls
The Sekinoichi Sake Brewery Former Bottling Store and Koji Room (世嬉の一酒造場旧びん詰貯蔵庫・麹室) is a brick store with hollow double walls of 1919 in Tamuracho, Ichinoseki City, Iwate Prefecture, and was registered as a Registered Tangible Cultural Property (structure) on August 23, 1999 (Agency for Cultural Affairs).
The Agency records a single-storey brick building with a slate roof and a building area of 138 square metres; registration number 03-0022.
Hollow Walls for a Koji Room
The Sekinoichi brewery stands by the Iwai River, on part of the former quarter of the middle and lower samurai of the Ichinoseki domain (Agency for Cultural Affairs). Sato Tokuzo of Surisawa Village bought the Kumabun brewery and rebuilt it, to designs by his cousin Obara Yusuke, a pupil of Tatsuno Kingo.
The former bottling store and koji room, of 1919, is a warehouse-like brick building set against the back of the former rice store and mill, sharing a partition wall with it (Agency for Cultural Affairs). Because it includes a room for growing koji mould, its brick walls are built hollow, with two skins.
It is now joined to the rice store and mill under a single gabled roof and used for brewing the company's craft beer (Agency for Cultural Affairs).
Why It Was Registered
The Agency registered it as a structure that would not be easy to reproduce.
What to Look For
At the former bottling store and koji room, look for the hollow double brick walls built for the koji room (Agency for Cultural Affairs).
Visiting
They are owned by Sekinoichi Shuzo Co., Ltd. (Agency for Cultural Affairs). According to the company, the Sake Folk Culture Museum in the former brewing storehouse opens from 9:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m., with admission of 300 yen (200 yen for elementary and junior high school students). The other buildings are in use by the brewery. The 7 buildings are introduced together on the Sekinoichi Sake Brewery page.
Q&A
- When was it built?
- In 1919 (Agency for Cultural Affairs).
- How is it built?
- Of brick, single-storey.
- What marks the walls?
- They are hollow, with two skins.
- How is it used now?
- For brewing craft beer.
- When was the Sekinoichi Sake Brewery Former Bottling Store and Koji Room registered?
- On August 23, 1999 (Agency for Cultural Affairs).
Basic Information
| Name | Sekinoichi Sake Brewery Former Bottling Store and Koji Room (世嬉の一酒造場旧びん詰貯蔵庫・麹室) |
|---|---|
| Location | 14 Tamuracho, Ichinoseki City, Iwate Prefecture |
| Designation | Registered Tangible Cultural Property (Structure) |
| Year Designated | Registered 1999/08/23 (Heisei 11) |
| Quantity | 1 building |
| Dimensions | Single-storey brick, slate roof, 138 m² |
| Owner | Sekinoichi Shuzo Co., Ltd. |
| Public Access | The museum in the former brewing storehouse is open |
References
- Sekinoichi Sake Brewery Former Bottling Store and Koji Room (Database of National Cultural Properties, Agency for Cultural Affairs)
- https://kunishitei.bunka.go.jp/heritage/detail/101/00001224
- Museum and Literature Hall (Sekinoichi Shuzo, in Japanese)
- https://sekinoichi.co.jp/museum/
- Sekinoichi Sake Brewery Former Rice Store and Mill (Database of National Cultural Properties, Agency for Cultural Affairs)
- https://kunishitei.bunka.go.jp/heritage/detail/101/00001223
Last verified: 2026.10.30
