The Warehouse the Company Began With
Yamahisa Kita Moromigura (ヤマヒサ北諸味蔵, also written Yamahisa Kita-moromi-gura) is a single-storey wooden soy sauce warehouse in Yasuda, Shodoshima Town, Kagawa Prefecture, built in 1932 (Showa 7) when the Yamahisa brewery was founded, and listed as a Registered Tangible Cultural Property on 31 January 2003.
It occupies the northwest corner of the brewery yard, standing behind and slightly uphill of the older west warehouse. To the south it butts directly onto the Minami Moromigura, a twin-ridged structure, so the two read as one long roofscape from a distance. The frame runs twelve bays along its north-south ridge by five bays across, under a gabled kirizuma roof of sangawara pantiles. The Agency for Cultural Affairs gives the footprint as 220 square metres, making this the larger of the company's two listed buildings.
The exterior is clad in cedar boarding, matching the west warehouse and the local convention. What sets this elevation apart is on the north gable: the mark 山久, read Yamahisa, applied high on the boarding where it can be seen over the neighbouring roofs.
Reading the Gable Mark
Japanese merchant houses identified themselves by a yago, a shop mark, long before modern trademarks. The two characters here are 山 (yama, mountain) and 久 (hisa, long-lasting), and the katakana spelling of the company name, ヤマヒサ, simply transliterates the same sounds. Marks of this type were painted or incised on gable ends, tiles and shipping barrels, and they functioned as signage in a settlement where a dozen brewers all built in the same cedar-boarded manner.
The placement is deliberate. A gable end facing away from the road is not where you would put an advertisement, but it is exactly where you would put an identifying mark for anyone approaching across the roofs from the north, or checking whose barrels were being loaded. The mark is one of the details specifically recorded in the Agency's description of the building.
What the Listing Recognises
Registration number 37-0142 came in the thirty-fifth round of national registrations, gazetted on 26 February 2003, under a single criterion: the building contributes to the historic landscape of the country. Yamahisa Nishi Moromigura, number 37-0141, was listed the same day. Those two are the only Yamahisa buildings on the register; the Minami Moromigura attached to the south side is not listed, despite being physically joined to a building that is.
Registered Tangible Cultural Property status, created in 1996, is deliberately light. Owners notify the authorities before altering the exterior and are otherwise free to keep using the property, which is why Yasuda's listed buildings are working warehouses rather than exhibits. Shodoshima Town counts around ninety registered structures, an unusually dense concentration for a rural municipality, and most of them belong to the soy sauce and tsukudani trades.
Something intangible was added to the picture in 2021. On 30 September that year the brewing methods of the region were entered as Sanuki no Shoyu Jozo Gijutsu (讃岐の醤油醸造技術), one of the first two entries in the newly created Registered Intangible Folk Cultural Property category. Cedar-vat fermentation of the kind carried on inside this warehouse is part of what that entry covers. The building and the practice inside it are now protected under separate headings.
One caution on the name: Kanryo Shoyu in the Umaki district owns a listed warehouse called Kita Moromigura as well, registered on the same day in 2003. Specify the company when searching.
Visiting Yasuda
Yamahisa still brews here, so the warehouse is a workplace rather than an attraction. There is no admission, no opening time for the building and no interpretation on site. The north gable with its mark can be seen from outside, and the shop on the same premises sells the soy sauce, miso and olive products the company makes.
The shop trades from 8:00 to 17:00 and closes on Sundays, public holidays and the second and fourth Saturdays of the month. Brewery visits are possible if arranged beforehand by telephone on 0879-82-0442. Photography inside a food production area should be cleared with staff first.
Yamahisa uses domestic whole soybeans, domestic wheat and sun-dried salt, ferments across two summers, and works with the resident microflora of the timber vats rather than added cultures. It was among the first Japanese breweries to make soy sauce from certified organic ingredients. If you are shown the vat room, the thing to notice is the density of the arrangement: mash vats never need moving, so they are packed far more tightly than miso vats would be.
Ferries reach Sakate Port from Kobe and Takamatsu-Higashi. Olive Bus services on the Sakate line stop at Yasuda, five minutes on foot from the gate. Within walking distance are Yamaroku Shoyu, whose own warehouses and stone wall are listed, and the Takahashi family and Takahashi Shoten buildings, six of which carry the same status.
- 📍 Plan Your Visit to Kagawa
- Find tours, activities & transport passes near Yamahisa Kita Moromigura
- [ Naoshima Art Island & Kotohiragu Shrine Visit ]
Q&A
- What is the mark on the gable of Yamahisa Kita Moromigura?
- It is the company's yago or shop mark, written 山久 and read Yamahisa. Merchant houses used such marks for identification long before registered trademarks, applying them to gable ends, roof tiles and shipping barrels.
- Can I go inside Yamahisa Kita Moromigura?
- Only by prior arrangement. The building is in daily use for fermenting soy sauce mash. Telephone 0879-82-0442 in advance to ask about a brewery visit. The shop on the same site is open during business hours and needs no booking.
- When was Yamahisa Kita Moromigura built and when was it registered?
- It was built in 1932, the year Yamahisa was founded, and registered as a Tangible Cultural Property on 31 January 2003, with the gazette notice following on 26 February. Its registration number is 37-0142.
- How do I reach Yamahisa Kita Moromigura?
- The address is 243-1 Shinkai-ko, Yasuda, Shodoshima Town, Shozu District, Kagawa Prefecture. Ferries from Kobe and Takamatsu-Higashi arrive at Sakate Port; take an Olive Bus on the Sakate line to the Yasuda stop and walk about five minutes.
- Are all of Yamahisa's warehouses registered cultural properties?
- No. Two are: the north warehouse of 1932 and the west warehouse of 1900, moved to the site in 1949. The south warehouse, which is physically attached to the north warehouse, carries no registration.
Basic Information
| Name | Yamahisa Kita Moromigura (ヤマヒサ北諸味蔵) |
|---|---|
| Location | 243-1 Shinkai-ko, Yasuda, Shodoshima Town, Shozu District, Kagawa Prefecture |
| Designation | Registered Tangible Cultural Property (Structures); registration number 37-0142 |
| Year Designated | Registered 31 January 2003; gazetted 26 February 2003 |
| Quantity | 1 building |
| Dimensions | Twelve bays by five bays; footprint 220 square metres; single storey, timber frame, tiled gabled roof |
| Owner | Yamahisa Co., Ltd. |
| Public Access | Working brewery. Exterior visible from outside; interior visits by prior telephone arrangement. Shop open 8:00-17:00, closed Sundays, public holidays and the second and fourth Saturdays |
References
- National Database of Designated Cultural Properties, Agency for Cultural Affairs — Yamahisa Kita Moromigura
- https://kunishitei.bunka.go.jp/heritage/detail/101/00003149
- Cultural Heritage Online — Yamahisa Kita Moromigura
- https://online.bunka.go.jp/heritages/detail/194149
- Agency for Cultural Affairs — First Registrations of Intangible Folk Cultural Properties
- https://www.bunka.go.jp/koho_hodo_oshirase/hodohappyo/93421601.html
- Shodoshima Town — Sanuki Soy Sauce Brewing Techniques Registered Nationally
- https://www.town.shodoshima.lg.jp/gyousei/kakuka/shogaigakushuka/2/5909.html
- Shodoshima Town — List of Designated and Registered Cultural Properties (PDF)
- https://www.town.shodoshima.lg.jp/material/files/group/26/08_sankou.pdf
- Shodoshima Town Chamber of Commerce — Soy Sauce Breweries and Visitor Information
- https://shokokai-kagawa.or.jp/shoudoshima/sightseeing/
Last verified: 2026.08.09