What Is the Yokoya Sake Brewery Front Storehouse?
The Yokoya Sake Brewery Front Storehouse (横屋酒造正面蔵, Yokoya Shuzō Shōmengura) is a two-storey earthen-walled storage building in Senmaya, Ichinoseki City, Iwate Prefecture, built in 1902 and registered as a Registered Tangible Cultural Property in 2003.
It lies east to west across the northern side of the brewery, about 41 metres long and 12 metres deep. On its south side it meets the Brewing Storehouse at the western end and the East Storehouse toward the east, so that the three buildings form a U. The Shōmengura is the base of that U.
Why It Was Registered
The Agency for Cultural Affairs describes the Front Storehouse as the storage partner of the Brewing Storehouse: sake mashed next door was moved here to rest. The two stand wall to wall for exactly that reason.
With a building area of 638 square metres, it is the largest of the 20 registered structures of the Yokoya Sake Brewery and Sato Family Residence. It went up in 1902 together with the Brewing and East storehouses, and the three together create the heavy, whitewashed brewery landscape for which they were registered, under the criterion of contributing to the historic landscape of the country. Its registration number is 03-0045.
What to Look For
From outside it reads as a traditional kura: lime-plastered walls under a gabled roof of interlocking pantiles. The surprise is overhead. The roof frame is a truss, a triangulated Western-style structure spanning about 12 metres, evidence that Meiji brewers in rural Iwate were already borrowing imported building methods.
Inside, a partition divides the storehouse into east and west halves. Because the Front Storehouse sits at the hinge of the U, the joints where it meets its neighbours show how mashing, storage and filtering were planned as one continuous workplace.
Visiting
The Yokoya Sake Brewery Front Storehouse stands at the back of the brewery, on the north side. Its exterior can be seen from the grounds 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
- Find tours, activities & transport passes near Yokoya Sake Brewery Front Storehouse
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Q&A
- Can you visit the Yokoya Sake Brewery Front Storehouse?
- You can see the outside from the grounds, free of charge, on opening days. The interior is not regularly open, so check with the operator in advance if you hope to go in.
- What was the Yokoya Sake Brewery Front Storehouse used for?
- Storage. Sake made in the adjoining Brewing Storehouse was moved here to rest; inside, a partition divides it into east and west halves.
- What is unusual about the structure of the Yokoya Sake Brewery Front Storehouse?
- It looks like a traditional plastered kura with a tiled gable roof, but the roof is carried on Western-style trusses.
- When was the Yokoya Sake Brewery Front Storehouse built and registered?
- It was built in 1902 and registered as a Registered Tangible Cultural Property on January 31, 2003.
- How big is the Yokoya Sake Brewery Front Storehouse?
- It is about 41 metres long and 12 metres deep, two storeys high, with a building area of 638 square metres, the largest of the registered buildings on the site.
Basic Information
| Name | Yokoya Sake Brewery Front Storehouse (横屋酒造正面蔵) |
|---|---|
| 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 638 square metres (about 41 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 Front Storehouse, Database of National Cultural Properties (Agency for Cultural Affairs)
- https://kunishitei.bunka.go.jp/bsys/maindetails/101/00003034
- 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/
Last verified: 2026.09.25
