Kawatsuru Sake Brewery Kawatsuru Museum (former Rice Storehouse)
One building at Kawatsuru did not start where it now stands. The Kawatsuru Museum was once a rice storehouse in the residential part of the property, on the north side, and around 1955 it was moved bodily to its present spot by hikiya, the Japanese craft of relocating a whole building intact rather than demolishing and rebuilding it. Today it holds the brewery's collection of old sake-making tools.
It is the smallest of the five registered buildings, an earthen-walled (dozo) two-storey storehouse of about 38 square metres, set east to west near the middle of the southern site. The roof is gabled and laid in formal hongawara tile, and the walls repay a close look: the lower band is finished in namako plasterwork and the upper part in white plaster. Kawatsuru was founded in 1891 by Kawahito Seizo, and the tools shown inside reach back to those founding years.
Because it was built as a residential storehouse, the national register even classifies it under a residential type rather than an industrial one, a small trace of the life it had before it joined the brewery's working line.
Why It Is Registered
The building was registered as a Tangible Cultural Property on 21 August 2002, under the criterion for structures contributing to the historic landscape, with registration number 37-0125.
Two things give it weight. First, the relocation itself is part of its history: a building moved by hikiya carries the record of a decision to keep it rather than replace it, and it now sits at the near-centre of the southern frontage. Second, its role as a museum makes it the one place where the story of Kawatsuru is laid out for visitors, so its cultural value is not only in its walls but in what it now holds and explains.
What to Look For
Start with the namako wall. Namako, literally sea-cucumber, describes a finish of flat tiles laid over the lower wall with the joints packed in raised white plaster, forming a grid of ridged lines. It was used to protect the vulnerable base of a storehouse against rain and damp, and its bold dark-and-white geometry is one of the most satisfying textures in Japanese vernacular building. Here it wraps the lower band while smooth white plaster carries the upper wall.
Inside, the displays run from brewing implements to more homely touches, including tables and stools made from repurposed cask lids and barrels. The tools trace how sake was made from the brewery's earliest years, so a short visit gives real context to the working buildings around it.
This is the most accessible of the five. The museum keeps daytime hours, generally from morning to late afternoon, and is usually closed at weekends and on public holidays, so a weekday visit is safest. For anyone wanting to understand the whole compound, it is the place to begin. Kan-onji itself rewards a longer stay, with the giant Zenigata sand coin and the temple of Kanonji, the 69th stop on the Shikoku pilgrimage, both close by.
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Q&A
- Is this building open to visitors?
- Yes. It is the brewery's museum, open in the daytime, generally from morning to late afternoon, and usually closed on weekends and public holidays. A weekday visit is safest.
- What does "hikiya" mean?
- Hikiya is the craft of moving an entire building intact to a new site. This storehouse was relocated by hikiya from the residential area around 1955.
- What is the namako wall?
- It is a finish of flat tiles set into raised white plaster over the lower wall, protecting it from damp and giving a distinctive ridged grid pattern.
- What can I see inside?
- Sake-making tools dating back to the brewery's early years, along with furniture made from reused cask lids and barrels.
Basic Information
| Name | Kawatsuru Sake Brewery Kawatsuru Museum, former Rice Storehouse (Kawatsuru Shuzo Kawatsuru Shiryokan) |
|---|---|
| Location | 1029-1 Motodai-cho, Kan-onji, Kagawa Prefecture |
| Classification | Registered Tangible Cultural Property (Structure), registered 21 August 2002; registration no. 37-0125 |
| Built | Taisho era (1912-1925); relocated c.1955 |
| Structure | Earthen-walled (dozo) two-storey building, tiled roof, building area approx. 38 sq m; 1 building |
| Owner | Kawatsuru Sake Brewery Co., Ltd. |
| Access | Open as a museum, daytime hours; generally closed weekends and public holidays. |
References
- National Database of Cultural Properties — Kawatsuru Museum (former Rice Storehouse)
- https://kunishitei.bunka.go.jp/heritage/detail/101/00003000
- Kan-onji City — The Kawatsuru Sake Brewery Storehouses
- https://www.city.kanonji.kagawa.jp/soshiki/21/14017.html
- Kawatsuru Sake Brewery — Official Site
- https://kawatsuru.com/
Last verified: 2026.07.10