Kamebishi Workshop
East of the main house and north of the former detached parlor stands the workshop. It is a two-story timber building of about 15 by 7 meters, gabled and tiled in sankawara, with only its eastern end rising to three stories. The upper floor was used for heating and pasteurizing soy sauce, while the third level is said to have vented the heat.
Founded in 1753 by the Okada family, Kamebishi has brewed soy sauce in Hikita for more than two hundred and seventy years. In an age when koji-making was almost entirely mechanized, it alone held to the mushiro-koji method and is now the last brewery in the country to use it.
Its base is a two-story gabled building in sankawara tile, but the eastern end steps up to a third story in an irregular composition. On the upper floor the pressed soy sauce was heated to pasteurize it, and the heat and steam this raised were vented from the topmost third level. It is the tallest building on the site.
Why It Matters
Its distinction is having housed the pasteurizing stage, near the end of soy sauce production, in a three-story vertical arrangement. Raising the eastern end to let heat and steam escape upward is a rational design in which the practical work of brewing set the form of the building. As the only three-story structure here, its position is legible from a distance.
The heart of Kamebishi's craft is the mushiro-koji method, in which koji is grown on hand-woven mats rather than in machines. The mats draw off excess water and even out the temperature, and the koji that results carries a character the family regards as the source of its flavor.
What to Notice
Kamebishi is known for the deep red of its walls. The family has painted the buildings in bengara, a red-ochre finish, so that a continuous red frontage runs along the street beneath the grey tiles, a scene particular to this brewery.
Look for the tallest point on the site, the three-story eastern end. That top floor, made to vent the heat of the pasteurizing work, gives the building its distinctive vertical silhouette. Its height is a reminder that each stage of brewing took place in its own building.
At the on-site shop you can sample and purchase soy sauce and moromi, and try soy-flavored treats; a small tea house offers udon dishes. As an operating brewery and private property, the compound keeps most buildings closed to visitors, with hours varying by season, so checking in advance is recommended.
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Q&A
- What is the Kamebishi Workshop?
- 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 late Taisho period and served as a three-story workshop used for pasteurizing the soy sauce.
- 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 contributing to the historic landscape of the nation. The listing recognizes it as part of the historic brewery compound whose red-ochre walls define the Hikita streetscape.
Basic Information
| Name | Kamebishi Workshop (かめびし作業場) |
|---|---|
| Location | 2174 Hikita, Higashikagawa, Kagawa Prefecture |
| Designation | Registered Tangible Cultural Property (structure), No. 37-0168 |
| Registered | Registered 19 September 2003 |
| Criterion | Contributing to the historic landscape of the nation |
| Date | late Taisho period |
| Structure | three-story timber structure, tiled roof, building area 105 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/101/00003611
- 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