Kawatsuru Sake Brewery Koji Storehouse
Of the five registered buildings at Kawatsuru, the Koji Storehouse is the one still doing the job it was built for. On its upper floor sits a koji muro, the warm, insulated room where koji is cultivated, and more than a century after the building went up it remains in use for exactly that.
Koji is the quiet engine of sake. It is steamed rice on which a cultivated mould, Aspergillus oryzae, is allowed to grow; the mould produces enzymes that break the rice starch into sugars the yeast can then ferment. Without koji there is no sake, and the room where it is raised needs steady warmth and careful handling, which is why brewers gave it a dedicated, well-built space.
The storehouse dates to 1914 and stands north to south, sharing an eaves height of about nine metres with the West Brewery immediately to its west. It is an earthen-walled (dozo) two-storey building of roughly 180 square metres with a slate roof and a gabled form. Kawatsuru itself was founded in 1891 by Kawahito Seizo beside the Saita River, whose groundwater still supplies the brewing.
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, and carries registration number 37-0120.
Its value is partly architectural and partly living. Its northern gable end joins with the West Brewery to form the north face of the brewing yard, a continuous wall that the registration singles out as essential to the compound's appearance. But it is also valued because the koji room upstairs never fell out of use. A cultural property that still performs its original function preserves not only walls and beams but a working practice, and that continuity is unusual among industrial buildings of its age.
What to Look For
From outside, read the Koji Storehouse together with the West Brewery next door. The two share a roofline, and it is that deliberate matching, rather than either building alone, that gives the north frontage its calm order.
Think, too, about what the walls are protecting. The upper-floor koji room needs to hold warmth and to be kept clean and stable, and the thick earthen construction that made dozo useful for fire safety also makes it good at holding an even temperature. The building's form follows the work happening inside it.
The koji room is a working space and is not open to visitors, and the brewing buildings are generally closed to the public. The Kawatsuru Museum nearby keeps regular weekday hours and is the practical place to see how the brewery operates; during occasional events, more of the compound can be seen.
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Q&A
- What is koji, and why does it need its own building?
- Koji is steamed rice grown with a mould that turns starch into fermentable sugars. It needs steady warmth and cleanliness, so brewers build a dedicated insulated room, the koji muro, for it.
- Is the koji room still used?
- Yes. The room on the upper floor has been in continuous use for koji-making since the building was completed in 1914.
- How does it relate to the West Brewery?
- The two stand side by side at the same eaves height, and their gable ends together form the north face of the brewing yard.
- Can visitors go inside?
- No. The koji room is a working space and the brewing buildings are not generally open. The on-site museum is open on weekdays.
Basic Information
| Name | Kawatsuru Sake Brewery Koji Storehouse (Kawatsuru Shuzo Koji-gura) |
|---|---|
| Location | 836 Motodai-cho, Kan-onji, Kagawa Prefecture |
| Classification | Registered Tangible Cultural Property (Structure), registered 21 August 2002; registration no. 37-0120 |
| Built | 1914 (Taisho 3) |
| Structure | Earthen-walled (dozo) two-storey building, slate roof, building area approx. 180 sq m; 1 building |
| Owner | Kawatsuru Sake Brewery Co., Ltd. |
| Access | Working brewery; not generally open. Museum on site open weekdays. |
References
- National Database of Cultural Properties — Koji Storehouse
- https://kunishitei.bunka.go.jp/heritage/detail/101/00002995
- 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