The Rice Store Next to the Mill
Ishikawa Sake Brewery Former Rice Storehouse (石川酒造旧米庫, Ishikawa Shuzō Kyū Komeko) is a rice storehouse at a sake brewery in Sakuramachi, Yokkaichi, Mie Prefecture, built in the mid Meiji period (1883 to 1897) and registered as a Registered Tangible Cultural Property of Japan on March 29, 2013. Its registration number is 24-0136.
It stands immediately north of the Former Rice Mill: a single-storey building with a gabled (Kirizuma-zukuri) pantiled roof, 7.3 metres by 5.5 metres and 49 square metres in area. The official record is not consistent about its construction. The structure field in the Agency for Cultural Affairs database calls it clay-walled, while the explanatory note in the same entry calls it timber. Both descriptions are recorded here rather than choosing one.
As the name says, this is where the brewing rice was kept. Its position is deliberate. Rice arrived, was polished in the mill next door, went into this store, and was sent on to the steaming house as needed, all within the single row of buildings on the east side of the property.
Why It Was Registered
The Ishikawa Sake Brewery Former Rice Storehouse was registered for its contribution to the historic landscape. The Agency for Cultural Affairs counts it among the buildings that together make up a long-established brewery.
A lean-to roof (Geya) runs along the west face, and the doorway is framed in black plaster and jinzōseki togidashi, a cement and crushed-stone render ground smooth to look like stone. It is the same treatment as the Former Rice Mill, so the two doorways read as a matched pair. Inside, the traditional roof framing (Wagoya) is left exposed rather than hidden behind a ceiling, opening up the full volume for storage.
By size it is one of the smaller structures on the site. Take it away, though, and the continuous street wall formed by the mill, the rice store and the barn would have a gap in the middle.
What to Look For
On the Ishikawa Sake Brewery Former Rice Storehouse, look first at the artificial-stone and black-plaster surround on the west doorway, then compare it with the mill next door. They look like the work of the same hands.
From the street side to the east, follow the high weatherboarding (Shitami-itabari) as it runs at one level from the rice mill in the south to the barn in the north. The rice store sits right in the middle of that line.
Roof heights are worth a look too. The single-storey store dips between the part two-storey mill and the two-storey barn, putting a small rhythm into the roofline seen from the road.
Visiting the Former Rice Storehouse
The Ishikawa Sake Brewery Former Rice Storehouse stands along the street on the east side, so its exterior can be seen from outside the property. The interior is closed. Its framed doorway faces into the grounds, so from outside you mainly see the street wall and the roof.
Directions and contact details are collected on the Ishikawa Sake Brewery page.
- 📍 Plan Your Visit to Mie
- Find tours, activities & transport passes near Ishikawa Sake Brewery Former Rice Storehouse
- [ Ise Grand Shrine & Shima Bay Cruise Tours ]
Q&A
- What was the Ishikawa Sake Brewery Former Rice Storehouse used for?
- It stored the rice used for brewing, placed right next to the mill where the grain was polished.
- When was the Ishikawa Sake Brewery Former Rice Storehouse built?
- It dates from the mid Meiji period, between 1883 and 1897.
- Is the Ishikawa Sake Brewery Former Rice Storehouse clay-walled or timber?
- The official record disagrees with itself: the structure field says clay-walled, the explanatory note says timber.
- What is the inside of the Ishikawa Sake Brewery Former Rice Storehouse like?
- The roof framing is left exposed to give a tall, open storage space. The interior is not open to visitors.
- Can I see the Ishikawa Sake Brewery Former Rice Storehouse from outside?
- Yes. It stands along the street on the east side, so the street wall and roof are visible from outside the property.
Basic Information
| Name | Ishikawa Sake Brewery Former Rice Storehouse |
|---|---|
| Location | 128 Minamigakiuchi, Sakuramachi, Yokkaichi, Mie Prefecture (and adjoining lots) |
| Designation | Registered Tangible Cultural Property (Building) |
| Year Designated | Registered 2013/3/29 (Heisei 25) |
| Quantity | 1 building |
| Dimensions | Clay-walled, single storey, tiled roof, building area 49 square metres (7.3 metres by 5.5 metres) |
| Owner | Not listed in the Agency for Cultural Affairs database (Yokkaichi City gives the owners of the 15 as Ishikawa Shuzo Co., Ltd. and a private individual) |
| Public Access | Exterior only (it stands along the street on the east side and can be seen from outside; the interior is closed) |
References
- Agency for Cultural Affairs, Database of National Cultural Properties: 石川酒造旧米庫
- https://kunishitei.bunka.go.jp/bsys/maindetails/101/00009484
- Yokkaichi City: Ishikawa Sake Brewery Main House, Great Brewhouse, Artesian Well and 15 structures in all
- https://www.city.yokkaichi.lg.jp/www/contents/1001000002649/index.html
Last verified: 2026.09.25
