What Is the Yokoya Sake Brewery Drying Shed?
The Yokoya Sake Brewery Drying Shed (横屋酒造枯し場, Yokoya Shuzō Karashiba) is an open-sided timber shed from the end of the Taisho period in Senmaya, Ichinoseki City, Iwate Prefecture, registered as a Registered Tangible Cultural Property in 2003.
It runs parallel to the East Storehouse, on its east side: 22 metres by 7.5 metres, with a building area of 164 square metres. Karashi means drying out. The shed was built for drying lignite used as fuel, and at the time of registration it was being used to store sake tanks.
Why It Was Registered
Lignite is a low-grade coal that has not fully turned to carbon; across northern Japan it was widely burned in homes and workshops through the Meiji, Taisho and Showa eras. It holds a lot of water and burns far better once dried, so the brewery built this shed to air it.
The Agency for Cultural Affairs presents it as a building that records one part of traditional sake making. Brewing needs a great deal of heat, and the survival of a fuel shed alongside the storehouses and workshops adds to the documentary value of the Yokoya complex. Its registration number is 03-0053.
What to Look For
The Yokoya Sake Brewery Drying Shed has no walls. Every bay is open, so the wind passes straight through, the building's purpose made visible.
Near-round, log-like posts stand along both sides at intervals of 2 Ken, carrying trusses and a gabled sheet-metal roof. Because the posts repeat evenly over 22 metres, the view down its length from one gable end reads like a perspective drawing. Look at it next to the white-plastered East Storehouse: one building sealed tight, the other stripped of walls entirely.
Visiting
The Drying Shed is east of the East Storehouse, on the same lot as the Bottling Factory. Its exterior can be seen from the grounds free of charge on opening days of the Senmaya Sake no Kura Exchange Facility, and because it has no walls, the posts and trusses are easy to study from outside. 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
- What was the Yokoya Sake Brewery Drying Shed used for?
- Drying lignite used as fuel. When it was registered in 2003, it was being used to store sake tanks.
- What does karashiba mean in the Yokoya Sake Brewery Drying Shed?
- Karasu means to dry something out, so a karashiba is a drying place. Here it was lignite that was dried.
- How is the Yokoya Sake Brewery Drying Shed built?
- Log-like posts stand on both sides at intervals of 2 ken, carrying trusses and a gabled sheet-metal roof. Every bay is open; there are no walls.
- Can you visit the Yokoya Sake Brewery Drying Shed?
- You can view it from the grounds, free of charge, on opening days. It has no walls, so the posts and trusses are easy to see from outside.
- How big is the Yokoya Sake Brewery Drying Shed?
- It is a single-storey timber shed 22 metres by 7.5 metres, with a building area of 164 square metres.
Basic Information
| Name | Yokoya Sake Brewery Drying Shed (横屋酒造枯し場) |
|---|---|
| Location | 137-2 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 | Timber, single storey, sheet-metal roof, building area 164 square metres (22 metres by 7.5 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 Drying Shed, Database of National Cultural Properties (Agency for Cultural Affairs)
- https://kunishitei.bunka.go.jp/bsys/maindetails/101/00003042
- Senmaya Sake no Kura Exchange Facility (Senmaya Machizukuri Co., Ltd.)
- https://sakenokura.com/wp/kura/
Last verified: 2026.09.25
