Mitani Seito Hane Sanuki Honpo Sugar Boiling House

A Boiling House for Sugar

The Mitani Seito Hane Sanuki Honpo Sugar Boiling House (三谷製糖羽根さぬき本舗砂糖釜屋) is a small timber boiling house of the Taisho period (1912–1925) at a wasanbon sugar works in Umayado, Higashikagawa City, Kagawa Prefecture, and was registered as a Registered Tangible Cultural Property (structure) on August 21, 2002 (Agency for Cultural Affairs).

The Agency records a single-storey timber building with a tile roof and a building area of 30 square metres, measuring 6 metres by 5 metres; registration number 37-0128.

A kamaya is a building that houses a furnace and its pans. In making wasanbon, the juice pressed out of sugar cane is boiled down into a raw sugar called shiroshita-to before it is refined by hand (Kagawa Prefecture Tourism Association).

Smoke Vent, Brick Chimney and Four Pans

The Mitani Seito Hane Sanuki Honpo Sugar Boiling House is attached to the main house just south of the entrance to the pressing room, with its ridge running north to south (Agency for Cultural Affairs). It is a single-storey building with a gabled roof of pantiles.

A raised smoke vent sits on the ridge and a brick chimney rises above the roof. Inside, a brick furnace occupies the east half, with a row of 3 large pans and 1 small pan (Agency for Cultural Affairs).

With a building area of 30 square metres, it is the smallest of the 3 registered buildings on the site.

Why It Was Registered

The registration criterion is that the building contributes to the historic landscape of Japan (Agency for Cultural Affairs). The Agency notes that the smoke vent and brick chimney give the Mitani Seito Hane Sanuki Honpo Sugar Boiling House the characteristic look of a boiling house.

What to Look For

Start with the roof of the Mitani Seito Hane Sanuki Honpo Sugar Boiling House. The small raised roof on the ridge lets smoke out of the furnace room, and the brick chimney stands with it.

The Agency's description places the furnace in the east half, with 3 large pans in a row and 1 small pan beside them. No official source was found that explains how each pan was used.

Visiting

No official information was found on interior access, tours or photography at the Mitani Seito Hane Sanuki Honpo Sugar Boiling House. The shop on the premises is open to customers; directions and opening hours are on the Mitani Seito Hane Sanuki Honpo page.