What Is the Yokoya Sake Brewery Brewing Storehouse?
The Yokoya Sake Brewery Brewing Storehouse (横屋酒造造り蔵, Yokoya Shuzō Tsukurigura) is a two-storey earthen-walled brewery building in Senmaya, Ichinoseki City, Iwate Prefecture, built in 1902 and registered as a Registered Tangible Cultural Property in 2003.
It runs north to south along the western edge of the old brewery grounds, right against the road: about 44 metres long and 12 metres deep, with a building area of 525 square metres. At its northern end it joins the Front Storehouse, and with the East Storehouse the three great kura form a U. This is where the sake itself was made.
Why It Was Registered
A partition wall splits the interior in two. Roughly the southern third was the moto-ba, the room where the yeast starter (shubo, or moto) was grown; the rest, to the north, was the brewing floor where the main mash was laid down. The order of work, starter first and mash second, is written straight into the floor plan of the Tsukurigura.
The Agency for Cultural Affairs registered it for contributing to the historic landscape of the country, and its commentary singles out the road-facing side for creating an imposing brewery streetscape. Of the three big storehouses built in 1902, this is the one that shows its face to the town. Its registration number is 03-0044.
What to Look For
Start with the west wall. It is finished in white lime plaster above a stone-clad base, with small windows set at even intervals along its whole length. Up close the pattern is hard to take in. Cross the road, and the repetition becomes the point: a disciplined wall nearly 44 metres long.
The roof is gabled and laid with interlocking pantiles, its ridge running north to south. At the north end the Brewing Storehouse merges directly into the earthen wall of the Front Storehouse, a seam that shows how brewing and storage sat wall to wall.
The building is older than the business that gave it its name. Yokoya Sake Brewery was founded in 1912, when a branch of the Sato family split from the head Yokoya house and took over an existing brewer's premises here; Tama no Haru sake was then made inside these walls.
Visiting
The west face of the Yokoya Sake Brewery Brewing Storehouse can be seen from the public road at any time, and the grounds are open free of charge on opening days of the Senmaya Sake no Kura Exchange Facility. The operator's website does not describe regular public access to the brewery interiors, so plan on seeing the outside; if you hope to go in, contact Senmaya Machizukuri Co., Ltd. (tel. 0191-53-2070) beforehand. Directions, opening days and hours are on the page for the Yokoya Sake Brewery and Sato Family Residence.
- 📍 Plan Your Visit to Iwate
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Q&A
- Can you visit the Yokoya Sake Brewery Brewing Storehouse?
- Yes, from outside. The grounds are open free of charge on opening days, and the road-facing west wall is visible from the street at any time. The interior is not regularly open, so check with the operator in advance if you hope to go in.
- When was the Yokoya Sake Brewery Brewing Storehouse built and registered?
- It was built in 1902 and registered as a Registered Tangible Cultural Property on January 31, 2003.
- What sake was made in the Yokoya Sake Brewery Brewing Storehouse?
- Tama no Haru, the Yokoya label. After Yokoya stopped brewing, the brand passed to Iwate Meijo of Oshu City, which used the storehouses as its plant.
- What was the Yokoya Sake Brewery Brewing Storehouse used for?
- Sake production. A partition divides it into a moto-ba for growing yeast starter in the southern third and a brewing floor for the main mash in the north.
- How big is the Yokoya Sake Brewery Brewing Storehouse?
- It is a two-storey earthen-walled storehouse about 44 metres long and 12 metres deep, with a building area of 525 square metres.
Basic Information
| Name | Yokoya Sake Brewery Brewing Storehouse (横屋酒造造り蔵) |
|---|---|
| Location | 134-1 Kitakata, Senmaya, Senmaya-cho, Ichinoseki City, Iwate Prefecture |
| Designation | Registered Tangible Cultural Property (Building) |
| Year Designated | Registered 2003/1/31 (Heisei 15) |
| Quantity | 1 building |
| Dimensions | Earthen-walled storehouse (dozo-zukuri), 2 storeys, tiled roof, building area 525 square metres (about 44 metres by 12 metres) |
| Owner | Ichinoseki City |
| Public Access | Exterior viewable free of charge from the grounds on opening days; interior not regularly open |
References
- Yokoya Sake Brewery Brewing Storehouse, Database of National Cultural Properties (Agency for Cultural Affairs)
- https://kunishitei.bunka.go.jp/bsys/maindetails/101/00003033
- Senmaya Sake no Kura Exchange Facility (Senmaya Machizukuri Co., Ltd.)
- https://sakenokura.com/wp/kura/
- About the Tama no Haru plant (Suisen Shuzo)
- https://suisenshuzo.jp/blog/suisen/post_1.html
Last verified: 2026.09.25
