A Sake Brewer's Shop in Zentsuji
The Okawa Sake Shop (大川酒店) is the two-storey timber shop and home of a sake-brewing family, built in 1901 on Hongo-dori street at Kamiyoshida-cho, Zentsuji City, Kagawa Prefecture, and registered as a Registered Tangible Cultural Property (structure) on July 15, 1997 (Agency for Cultural Affairs, Zentsuji City).
The Agency for Cultural Affairs records two storeys of timber with a tiled roof and a building area of 182 square metres, registration number 37-0008. Zentsuji City lists it as privately owned (Zentsuji City).
Home of Gogaku Sake
According to the Zentsuji City Digital Museum, the Okawa Sake Shop stands solidly on the south side of Hongo-dori and was built around 1901. The family began brewing Gogaku sake here in 1923, and the premises once included a rice-polishing mill and brewing storehouses.
West of the Okawa Sake Shop stands a two-storey timber Western-style house built in 1937 as a reception room (the Okawa Family Residence); the pairing of the Japanese main house and the Western wing shows the business at its height (Zentsuji City). The Western house was registered on the same day (Agency for Cultural Affairs).
Value as a Registered Cultural Property
The Okawa Sake Shop was registered as a structure contributing to the historic landscape of the country. The Agency for Cultural Affairs notes that its tall upper floor and gently bowed roof give it the dignified look of an old family house, and that it is widely known as a sake shop.
What to Look For
The Agency for Cultural Affairs describes the Okawa Sake Shop as a two-storey building with its entrance on the long side facing the street, the upper floor finished in black plaster with the name of the sake brewed since 1923 painted on the front.
Zentsuji City highlights the wave-shaped ridge ornament of the Okawa Sake Shop and the plaster relief pictures (kote-e) on the front and east walls.
Visiting
The Okawa Sake Shop is privately owned, and its business and interior access have not been confirmed; please view it from Hongo-dori. The address is 3-7-20 Kamiyoshida-cho, Zentsuji City, about 13 minutes on foot from JR Zentsuji Station along Hongo-dori, in an area with other old houses (Zentsuji City).
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Q&A
- When was it built?
- In 1901 (Agency for Cultural Affairs, Zentsuji City).
- What sake was made here?
- Gogaku sake, brewed from 1923 (Zentsuji City).
- What does it look like?
- A two-storey shop with a black-plastered upper floor bearing the sake name, a bowed roof, a wave-shaped ridge ornament and plaster relief pictures (Agency for Cultural Affairs, Zentsuji City).
- What is the Western house next door?
- The Okawa Family Residence, built in 1937 as a reception room and also registered (Zentsuji City, Agency for Cultural Affairs).
- When was the Okawa Sake Shop registered?
- On July 15, 1997.
Basic Information
| Name | Okawa Sake Shop (大川酒店) |
|---|---|
| Location | 3-7-20 Kamiyoshida-cho, Zentsuji City, Kagawa Prefecture |
| Designation | Registered Tangible Cultural Property (Structure) |
| Year Designated | Registered 1997/07/15 (Heisei 9) |
| Quantity | 1 building |
| Dimensions | Timber, 2 storeys, tiled roof, building area 182 square metres |
| Owner | Private (per the Zentsuji City list) |
| Public Access | Exterior only (no interior access information) |
References
- Okawa Sake Shop (Database of National Cultural Properties, Agency for Cultural Affairs)
- https://kunishitei.bunka.go.jp/heritage/detail/101/00000273
- Okawa Family Residence (Database of National Cultural Properties)
- https://kunishitei.bunka.go.jp/heritage/detail/101/00000274
- Okawa Sake Shop and Okawa Residence (Zentsuji City Digital Museum)
- https://www.city.zentsuji.kagawa.jp/soshiki/50/digi-m-culture-detail-047-index.html
- Cultural Properties of Zentsuji (Zentsuji City)
- https://www.city.zentsuji.kagawa.jp/soshiki/50/bunkazai.html
Last verified: 2026.10.11