Registered Tangible Cultural Properties · Kagawa

Yamasan Soy Sauce Pressing Shed

Yamasan Soy Sauce Pressing Shed: Log Framing Under a Taisho Roof

The Yamasan Soy Sauce Pressing Shed on Shodoshima is an early Taisho work building with log framing and a roof ventilator, where mash was pressed. Listed 2003.

Designation Registered Tangible Cultural Properties

Location Kagawa

About the Yamasan Soy Sauce Pressing Shed

The Yamasan Soy Sauce Pressing Shed (ヤマサン醤油槽場, funaba) is an early Taisho-era, single-story timber work building at the Yamasan brewery in Umaki, Shodoshima-cho, Kagawa Prefecture, listed as a Registered Tangible Cultural Property in 2003.

It stands toward the north of the works, between the three-story brewery and the North Soy Sauce Storehouse, with its ridge running east to west. It measures 25 by 10 meters, a building area of 245 square meters, under a gabled (Kirizuma-zukuri) pantile roof (Sangawara-buki) with a raised ventilator near the west end.

In soy sauce brewing, the fune is the press, and a funaba is the place where the pressing happens. Matured mash was packed into cloth bags, stacked, and squeezed under pressure to draw off the raw soy sauce.

Why the Pressing Shed Was Listed

The Yamasan Soy Sauce Pressing Shed was listed for its contribution to the historic landscape. Placed between the storehouse and the brewery building, it shows the sequence of production in the layout itself: mash matured in the North Storehouse, was pressed here, and moved on to the next stage.

Five other Yamasan buildings were listed alongside it in 2003: the mashing room and boiler room, the rice storehouse, the operations shed, the barrel shed and the Western-style house. Together with the four listed the year before, they cover nearly every building that made up the brewery.

What to Look For at the Yamasan Pressing Shed

Inside the Yamasan Soy Sauce Pressing Shed, the thing to see is the log framing. Posts, heavy transfer beams (ushibari), the long ridge beam below the roof (jimune) and short struts are all made from barked logs, used with their natural curves intact. Unlike a roof built from squared lumber, every member here differs in thickness and bend, yet together they carry a heavy tiled roof.

Those big beams exist to span wide spaces. They let the builders keep a 10-meter-wide work floor largely free of posts, the kind of open floor that heavy pressing work calls for.

Outside, look for the small raised roof near the west end. It is a ventilator for letting out steam and heat, and it gives the long roofline an odd little bump at one end.

Visiting the Yamasan Soy Sauce Pressing Shed

The Yamasan Soy Sauce Pressing Shed sits deep inside the brewery between the three-story building and the North Storehouse. Visits are by Yamasan's reserved tour.

The log framing can only be seen from inside, so ask when you book whether the tour enters the pressing shed. Ask about photography at the same time.

📍 Plan Your Visit to Kagawa: Find tours, activities & transport passes near Yamasan Soy Sauce Pressing Shed; [ Naoshima Art Island & Kotohiragu Shrine Visit ]

Q&A

QWhat is the Yamasan Soy Sauce Pressing Shed?: AThe Yamasan Soy Sauce Pressing Shed is an early Taisho-era single-story timber building, 25 by 10 meters, standing between the three-story brewery and the North Soy Sauce Storehouse.

QWhat does funaba mean at the Yamasan Soy Sauce Pressing Shed?: AFunaba means "press place." At the Yamasan Soy Sauce Pressing Shed, the name refers to the stage where matured mash was squeezed to extract soy sauce.

QWhen was the Yamasan Soy Sauce Pressing Shed registered?: AThe Yamasan Soy Sauce Pressing Shed was registered as a Registered Tangible Cultural Property on September 19, 2003.

QWhat should I look for inside the Yamasan Soy Sauce Pressing Shed?: AInside the Yamasan Soy Sauce Pressing Shed, look for the framing of posts, transfer beams, ridge beam and struts made from natural logs. Outside, note the ventilator near the west end of the roof.

QCan visitors go inside the Yamasan Soy Sauce Pressing Shed?: AVisits to the Yamasan Soy Sauce Pressing Shed are through Yamasan's reserved tour. Ask when booking whether the interior is included.

Basic Information

Name	Yamasan Soy Sauce Pressing Shed
Location	140-2 Ishii-ko, Umaki, Shodoshima-cho, Shozu-gun, Kagawa Prefecture
Designation	Registered Tangible Cultural Property (Building)
Year Designated	Registered 2003
Quantity	1 building
Dimensions	Building area 245 m² (single-story timber frame)
Owner	Not listed in the Agency for Cultural Affairs database
Public Access	Grounds shown on guided tours by reservation