Kamebishi Storeroom
East of the main house, across an inner courtyard, stands what was once a detached reception parlor. It measures about 12 meters along the ridge by 7 meters deep, a single-story building running east-west with a hipped-and-gabled roof of formal hongawara tiles, wrapped by lean-to eaves on the south and west.
The Kamebishi brewery dates to 1753, started by the Okada family in the port town of Hikita. Passed down over eighteen generations across some two hundred and seventy years, it remains the only maker in Japan to keep the traditional mushiro-koji way of preparing koji.
Befitting a guest parlor, the roof is a high-status hipped-and-gabled form in formal tiles. Lean-to eaves run along the south and west to shelter the space beneath. The interior has been much altered for later uses, but the broad tiled roof still recalls its role as part of the merchant family's living quarters.
Why It Matters
Its listing criterion is 'a model of its type', a step beyond mere landscape value. The formal tiled roof of a detached parlor, a key element of the residential wing of a merchant house, is part of the reasoning behind that assessment.
Mushiro-koji spreads the inoculated mix of steamed soybeans and roasted wheat across straw-and-rush mats for several days. Because the mats regulate moisture and keep the temperature even, the koji stays lively in a way machine-made koji does not. Kamebishi is the only brewery in Japan that still works this way.
What to Notice
The buildings share a striking palette: red-ochre bengara walls beneath grey tiled roofs, painted in recent years across the whole site for a unified effect. This band of red gives the streets of Hikita their distinctive character.
The building now serves as a storeroom and is not open inside. From outside, note how it relates to the main house across the courtyard, and the low lean-to eaves along the southwest. It shows how the working spaces of brewing and the parlors of a former home once shared a single site.
Visitors can taste and buy soy sauce at the shop, and the tea house serves udon and moromi soft-serve made with Kamebishi's own soy sauce. Because this is a working brewery on private land, most of the buildings are not open to the public, and opening days shift with the brewing season, so it is wise to confirm ahead.
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Q&A
- What is the Kamebishi Storeroom?
- It is one of eighteen buildings at the Kamebishi soy sauce brewery in Hikita, Higashikagawa, Kagawa Prefecture, all registered as Tangible Cultural Properties in 2003. This building dates to the early Meiji period and served as a former detached reception parlor, now a storeroom.
- What is the mushiro-koji method that Kamebishi keeps?
- It is a way of making koji by spreading inoculated steamed soybeans and roasted wheat on mats woven from rush or rice straw for a few days. The mats regulate moisture and even out the temperature. Kamebishi is the only brewery in Japan that still uses it.
- Can visitors go inside this building?
- This is a working brewery and private company property, and most buildings, including this one, are not open inside. The shop and tea house in other buildings on the site welcome visitors for soy sauce, moromi and udon; hours change with the season, so check before visiting.
- When and why was it designated?
- It was registered as a Tangible Cultural Property on 19 September 2003 under the criterion of serving as a model of its type. The listing recognizes it as part of the historic brewery compound whose red-ochre walls define the Hikita streetscape.
Basic Information
| Name | Kamebishi Storeroom (かめびし資材置場) |
|---|---|
| Location | 2174 Hikita, Higashikagawa, Kagawa Prefecture |
| Designation | Registered Tangible Cultural Property (structure), No. 37-0158 |
| Registered | Registered 19 September 2003 |
| Criterion | Serving as a model of its type |
| Date | early Meiji period |
| Structure | single-story timber structure, tiled roof, building area 85 m2 |
| Count | 1 building |
| Owner | Kamebishi (limited partnership) |
| Access | Working brewery and private property; most buildings not open inside. Shop and tea house on site; hours vary by season. |
References
- 国指定文化財等データベース（文化庁）
- https://kunishitei.bunka.go.jp/bsys/maindetails/101/00003601
- かめびし屋（東かがわ市観光情報サイト）
- https://higashikagawa.net/sightseeing/kamebishiya
- かめびし屋 公式サイト
- https://kamebishi.co.jp/
Last verified: 2026.07.02