The building where the brewery kept its grain and its ledgers
The Yamayoshi Soy Sauce Raw Materials Storehouse and Counting House (山吉醤油原料蔵及び帳場, Yamayoshi Shōyu Genryōgura oyobi Chōba) is the grain store and office of the former Yamayoshi soy brewery at Imasaka in the Noma district of Shōdoshima-chō, Kagawa Prefecture; built in 1908, it was registered as a Registered Tangible Cultural Property on February 9, 2005, under number 37-0260.
It stands north of the mash warehouse, on the far side of the watercourse that crosses the property, with its ridge running north to south. The plan is close to square, about 8.2 metres by 7.7, and the building rises two storeys under a gabled pantile roof with a lean-to eave along the eastern face. The registered building area is 74 square metres, the smallest figure of the four Yamayoshi entries and the only one with an upper floor.
Two functions share that compact footprint. One is storage of the raw materials: soybeans and wheat. The other is the choba, the counting house, the desk where orders were written down, deliveries recorded and accounts settled. Production and bookkeeping under one roof is the normal arrangement of a family brewing business, and this building is where the commercial side of Yamayoshi Shoyu was conducted.
An island that had to import its beans
Shodoshima made soy sauce for four centuries without growing much of what goes into it. The island had salt, made there since early times. It had a mild, dry climate with long hours of sun, which suits koji cultivation. What it lacked was arable land for soybeans and wheat, and those came in by sea.
That is the reason a raw-materials store matters here. Grain arriving by boat had to be kept dry and free of pests until it was needed, and an upper floor gives better ventilation and separation from ground damp than a single-storey shed. The building was put up in 1908, two decades after the mash warehouse and pressing house, and in the same year as the brewery's boiler house.
The commercial context was substantial. According to the Shōdoshima soy sauce cooperative, island soy was shipped in the Meiji era not only to Kyoto, Osaka and Kobe but to Hiroshima, Kochi, Ehime and Kyushu. A brewery of this period was a shipping and credit business as much as a fermentation workshop, and the ledgers kept at the chōba desk were the instrument that held it together.
Reading the wall
Registration was granted under the criterion that the building contributes to the historic landscape of the country, with register number 37-0260, in the 45th round.
The Agency for Cultural Affairs entry singles out one feature in particular: the exterior treatment matches the mash warehouse across the water channel. Vertical charred cedar boarding around the lower wall, white lime plaster above. Two buildings of different date, different height and different purpose, finished the same way so that they read as one property from the lane. This is not accidental. Brewing families in Hishio-no-Sato built over decades, and the consistency of the black-and-white wall is what gives the quarter a coherent face rather than a collection of sheds.
The lean-to eave on the eastern side shelters the working strip along the wall, and it also marks the entrance side, the face that faced the traffic of the yard. On a two-storey building of this size, the eave line also breaks up what would otherwise be a rather tall blank wall.
Visiting
The Yamayoshi Soy Sauce Raw Materials Storehouse and Counting House stands north of the watercourse and is used by Shokin Shoyu. We found no public opening; if you hope to see inside, contact the company before you go.
From outside the grounds, look for the lean-to eave on the east side and the charred-cedar and white-plaster walls that match the moromi storehouse across the water. The site is private, and the working areas are off limits.
- 📍 Plan Your Visit to Kagawa
- Find tours, activities & transport passes near Yamayoshi Soy Sauce Raw Materials Storehouse and Counting House
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Q&A
- What was the counting house in the Yamayoshi Soy Sauce Raw Materials Storehouse and Counting House used for?
- The chōba was the brewery's office, where orders, deliveries and accounts were recorded. Sharing a building with the grain store was usual in family breweries, putting the desk right beside the place where goods arrived.
- How large is the Yamayoshi Soy Sauce Raw Materials Storehouse and Counting House, and when was it built?
- It was built in 1908. The plan is close to square at 8.2 by 7.7 metres, and it rises 2 storeys under a gabled pantile roof, with a registered building area of 74 square metres. It is the smallest of the four Yamayoshi brewery entries and the only one with an upper floor.
- Why does the Yamayoshi Soy Sauce Raw Materials Storehouse and Counting House look like the moromi storehouse?
- Both use the same wall treatment: vertical charred cedar boarding at the base with white lime plaster above. The Agency for Cultural Affairs notes this shared finish, which ties together two buildings put up twenty years apart.
- Can visitors go inside the Yamayoshi Soy Sauce Raw Materials Storehouse and Counting House?
- No. It belongs to a working brewery used by Shokin Shoyu and has no visitor facilities. Contact the company in advance about the interior; the exterior can be seen from outside the grounds.
- Why did the brewery need the Yamayoshi Soy Sauce Raw Materials Storehouse and Counting House?
- Shōdoshima produced salt but very little grain, so soybeans and wheat came in by boat. Shipments arrived in bulk and needed dry, pest-free storage until use, hence a 2-storey store rather than a simple shed.
Basic Information
| Name | Yamayoshi Soy Sauce Raw Materials Storehouse and Counting House (山吉醤油原料蔵及び帳場) |
|---|---|
| Location | 709-2 Ko, Imasaka, Noma, Shōdoshima-chō, Shōzu District, Kagawa Prefecture |
| Designation | Registered Tangible Cultural Property (Structure), register no. 37-0260 |
| Year Designated | Registered 2005/2/9 (Heisei 17) |
| Quantity | 1 building |
| Dimensions | 8.2 metres by 7.7 metres; building area 74 square metres; 2-storey timber, gabled, pantile roof with lean-to eave on the east |
| Owner | Not listed in the Agency for Cultural Affairs database; the buildings are used by Shokin Shoyu Co., Ltd. |
| Public Access | Working brewery; no general admission. Exterior from outside the grounds; ask Shokin Shoyu about the interior |
References
- Agency for Cultural Affairs, Database of National Cultural Properties: Yamayoshi Soy Sauce Raw Materials Storehouse and Counting House
- https://kunishitei.bunka.go.jp/heritage/detail/101/00004668
- Agency for Cultural Affairs, Database of National Cultural Properties: Yamayoshi Soy Sauce Moromi Storehouse
- https://kunishitei.bunka.go.jp/heritage/detail/101/00004666
- Shōdoshima Soy Sauce Cooperative: History of Shōdoshima Soy Sauce (Japanese)
- https://shima-shoyu.com/history/
- Shokin Shoyu Co., Ltd.: Company Profile (Japanese)
- https://shokinshoyu.jp/company/
- Shōdoshima Town: Modern Industrial Heritage of Hishio no Sato (Japanese)
- https://www.town.shodoshima.lg.jp/gyousei/kakuka/shogaigakushuka/2/1/3151.html
Last verified: 2026.09.26
