What is the Former Sakurai Brewery (Yamakano Brewery) Brewing Storehouse?
The Former Sakurai Brewery (Yamakano Brewery) Brewing Storehouse (旧櫻井醸造（ヤマカノ醸造）醸造蔵, Kyū Sakurai Jōzō Jōzōgura) is a soy sauce brewing storehouse of the late Meiji period (1898 to 1912) at Teraike Kanaya in Toyoma-machi, Tome City, Miyagi Prefecture, registered as a Registered Tangible Cultural Property of Japan on June 29, 2022.
It is a single-story Dozo-zukuri storehouse with a building area of 125 square meters, registered as one structure under number 04-0213. The Agency for Cultural Affairs notes a remodeling in the early Showa period.
The storehouse stands on the corner plot diagonally across the crossroads, to the northwest of the brewery office. Unlike the office and the South Storehouse, both owned by Yamakano Brewery Co., Ltd., the Agency's database lists its owner as Vital Net Co., Ltd.
Why the Brewing Storehouse was registered
The Former Sakurai Brewery (Yamakano Brewery) Brewing Storehouse was registered for contributing to the historic landscape of the country. Like the South Storehouse, it is described by the Agency as a long, large storehouse that helps shape the historic scenery from its corner plot.
The Council for Cultural Affairs, recommending it in March 2022, described it as a storehouse that secures ventilation through raised roofs and windows, and pointed to the decorative Namako-kabe tiling on its walls. Practical design for brewing and careful finish for the street are both part of its value.
Two raised ventilating roofs
The gabled roof (Kirizuma-zukuri) is covered in sheet metal and topped by two Koshi-yane. A koshi-yane is a small secondary roof raised above the main ridge, leaving a gap beneath it through which warm, damp air can escape.
The Former Sakurai Brewery (Yamakano Brewery) Brewing Storehouse is an earthen storehouse, built to be closed and fire-resistant, yet it breathes through both its roof and its walls. Windows open on the street side, and together with the raised roofs above they let air move through the building, which is what the Council meant by securing ventilation.
From a distance, the silhouette is easy to pick out: a long gabled roof with two little roofs perched on its ridge. Of the three registered buildings, this is the one you can recognize by its roofline alone.
Namako tiles and a plaster band
The walls are finished in white Shikkui plaster with a Hachimaki band at the top. The lower part of the walls and the east gable end are faced with namako-kabe, flat tiles set into the wall with their joints covered by raised ridges of plaster, forming a grid of raised white lines.
Namako-kabe protects the lower walls from rain and splashing, but on the Brewing Storehouse it also covers the whole east gable. That gable faces toward the crossroads and the office, and it is this tiling that the Council had in mind when it spoke of decorative care.
A traditional roof frame over an open floor
According to the Agency, the inside of the Former Sakurai Brewery (Yamakano Brewery) Brewing Storehouse is one undivided room with an earthen floor, roofed with a Wagoya frame. In this traditional Japanese method, beams span the building and short posts stand on them to carry the roof.
The South Storehouse, across the street to the south, uses diagonal members to imitate a Western roof frame. The two storehouses of the same brewery face each other across the crossroads, one framed in the Japanese way and one borrowing a Western idea. The difference is invisible from outside, but it is worth keeping in mind when comparing the pair.
Visiting the Former Sakurai Brewery (Yamakano Brewery) Brewing Storehouse
The interior of the Former Sakurai Brewery (Yamakano Brewery) Brewing Storehouse is not open to the public. Its owner, Vital Net, was formerly Suzuhiko Shoten; according to Yamakano Brewery's company history, Suzuhiko bought brewing works in the town after the war and later spun off its brewing business as Yamakano Brewery.
The exterior can be seen from the public road. The raised roofs are best seen from a little distance, and the namako tiling on the east gable and the street-side windows from near the crossroads. There is no official guidance on photography; be considerate of people and vehicles nearby, and do not enter the premises.
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- Find tours, activities & transport passes near Former Sakurai Brewery (Yamakano Brewery) Brewing Storehouse
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Q&A
- Can I go inside the Former Sakurai Brewery (Yamakano Brewery) Brewing Storehouse?
- No. The interior is not open, but the exterior can be seen from the public road.
- When was the Former Sakurai Brewery (Yamakano Brewery) Brewing Storehouse built?
- The Agency for Cultural Affairs dates it to the late Meiji period (1898 to 1912), with a remodeling in the early Showa period.
- What is special about the roof of the Former Sakurai Brewery (Yamakano Brewery) Brewing Storehouse?
- Its gabled sheet-metal roof carries two raised ventilating roofs (koshi-yane). Together with windows on the street side, they keep air moving through the storehouse.
- How are the walls of the Former Sakurai Brewery (Yamakano Brewery) Brewing Storehouse finished?
- In white plaster with a band at the top. The lower walls and the east gable end are faced with namako-kabe tiles.
- When did the Former Sakurai Brewery (Yamakano Brewery) Brewing Storehouse become a Registered Tangible Cultural Property?
- It was registered on June 29, 2022, under number 04-0213, on the same day as the office and the South Storehouse.
Basic Information
| Name | Former Sakurai Brewery (Yamakano Brewery) Brewing Storehouse |
|---|---|
| Location | 10 Teraike Kanaya, Toyoma, Toyoma-machi, Tome City, Miyagi Prefecture |
| Designation | Registered Tangible Cultural Property (Building) |
| Year Designated | Registered June 29, 2022 |
| Quantity | 1 building |
| Dimensions | Building area 125 square meters (single-story earthen storehouse) |
| Owner | Vital Net Co., Ltd. |
| Public Access | Exterior viewable from the public road (interior not open) |
References
- Agency for Cultural Affairs, Database of National Cultural Properties: Former Sakurai Brewery (Yamakano Brewery) Brewing Storehouse
- https://kunishitei.bunka.go.jp/bsys/maindetails/101/00014227
- Cultural Heritage Online: Former Sakurai Brewery (Yamakano Brewery) Brewing Storehouse (Japanese)
- https://bunka.nii.ac.jp/heritages/detail/521707
- Agency for Cultural Affairs, Database of National Cultural Properties: Former Sakurai Brewery (Yamakano Brewery) South Storehouse
- https://kunishitei.bunka.go.jp/bsys/maindetails/101/00014226
- Agency for Cultural Affairs: Council for Cultural Affairs recommendation on registered tangible cultural properties (buildings), March 18, 2022 (PDF, Japanese)
- https://www.bunka.go.jp/seisaku/bunkazai/shokai/yukei_kenzobutsu/pdf/93681601_01.pdf
- Miyagi Prefecture: Outline of the buildings to be registered (PDF, Japanese)
- https://www.pref.miyagi.jp/documents/38178/20220318touroku_gaiyou.pdf
- Yamakano Brewery: About us (company profile and history, Japanese)
- https://www.yamakano.co.jp/about.html
Last verified: 2026.10.03
