Kamebishi No. 8 Warehouse
Along the western edge of the western plot stands the No. 8 warehouse. Built on granite footings, running north-south, gabled and tiled in formal hongawara, it is a comparatively long moromi store of about 20.8 by 6.8 meters. Inside stand twenty square vats of concrete lined with wood. With the No. 7 warehouse it forms the core of brewing on the western plot.
The Kamebishi brewery dates to 1753, started by the Okada family in the port town of Hikita. Passed down over eighteen generations across some two hundred and seventy years, it remains the only maker in Japan to keep the traditional mushiro-koji way of preparing koji.
A single-story building running north-south on stacked granite footings, gabled and formally tiled, it stretches about 20.8 meters along the western edge of the plot. Inside, twenty square vats of concrete lined with wood stand in rows, giving space to prepare and age moromi in quantity. At 234 square meters it ranks among the larger of the eighteen registered buildings.
Why It Matters
The long interior lined with twenty square vats gives a plain measure of Kamebishi's brewing scale. The concrete, wood-lined square vats work alongside the wooden ones in aging the mash. Paired with the No. 7 warehouse to form the core of the western plot, it shares the stages of brewing across the road with the preparation and koji-making of the eastern plot.
Mushiro-koji spreads the inoculated mix of steamed soybeans and roasted wheat across straw-and-rush mats for several days. Because the mats regulate moisture and keep the temperature even, the koji stays lively in a way machine-made koji does not. Kamebishi is the only brewery in Japan that still works this way.
What to Notice
The buildings share a striking palette: red-ochre bengara walls beneath grey tiled roofs, painted in recent years across the whole site for a unified effect. This band of red gives the streets of Hikita their distinctive character.
The points to see are its length of about 20.8 meters and the twenty square vats ranged inside. Moromi ages slowly here over two to twenty years, its flavor raised by the yeast and microbes that live in the store. The No. 7 and No. 8 warehouses carry brewing on the western plot, joining with the koji made in the eastern plot's preparation room to yield Kamebishi soy sauce.
Visitors can taste and buy soy sauce at the shop, and the tea house serves udon and moromi soft-serve made with Kamebishi's own soy sauce. Because this is a working brewery on private land, most of the buildings are not open to the public, and opening days shift with the brewing season, so it is wise to confirm ahead.
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Q&A
- What is the Kamebishi No. 8 Warehouse?
- It is one of eighteen buildings at the Kamebishi soy sauce brewery in Hikita, Higashikagawa, Kagawa Prefecture, all registered as Tangible Cultural Properties in 2003. This building dates to the late Taisho period and served as the long core moromi store of the western plot, with twenty vats.
- What is the mushiro-koji method that Kamebishi keeps?
- It is a way of making koji by spreading inoculated steamed soybeans and roasted wheat on mats woven from rush or rice straw for a few days. The mats regulate moisture and even out the temperature. Kamebishi is the only brewery in Japan that still uses it.
- Where is this building, and how does it relate to the rest of Kamebishi?
- It stands on the western plot at 2132 Hikita, across the road from the main compound at 2174. The brewery is split into two plots by the road, with preparation and koji-making concentrated on the eastern side and much of the moromi storage and pressing on the western side.
- When and why was it designated?
- It was registered as a Tangible Cultural Property on 19 September 2003 under the criterion of contributing to the historic landscape of the nation. The listing recognizes it as part of the historic brewery compound whose red-ochre walls define the Hikita streetscape.
Basic Information
| Name | Kamebishi No. 8 Warehouse (かめびし八号蔵) |
|---|---|
| Location | 2132 Hikita, Higashikagawa, Kagawa Prefecture |
| Designation | Registered Tangible Cultural Property (structure), No. 37-0174 |
| Registered | Registered 19 September 2003 |
| Criterion | Contributing to the historic landscape of the nation |
| Date | late Taisho period |
| Structure | single-story timber structure, roofed in tile and partly sheet metal, building area 234 m2 |
| Count | 1 building |
| Owner | Kamebishi (limited partnership) |
| Access | Working brewery and private property; most buildings not open inside. Shop and tea house on site; hours vary by season. |
References
- 国指定文化財等データベース（文化庁）
- https://kunishitei.bunka.go.jp/bsys/maindetails/101/00003617
- かめびし屋（東かがわ市観光情報サイト）
- https://higashikagawa.net/sightseeing/kamebishiya
- かめびし屋 公式サイト
- https://kamebishi.co.jp/
Last verified: 2026.07.02