What is the Former Sakurai Brewery (Yamakano Brewery) Office?
The Former Sakurai Brewery (Yamakano Brewery) Office (旧櫻井醸造（ヤマカノ醸造）事務所, Kyū Sakurai Jōzō Jimusho) is the 1909 office of a soy sauce brewery 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 two-story timber building with a building area of 58 square meters, registered as one structure under number 04-0211. The Agency for Cultural Affairs dates it to 1909 and notes a remodeling in the early Showa period, roughly the late 1920s to the early 1940s.
The office stands on a corner plot at the southern edge of the old castle town of Toyoma, facing north onto the street. The Agency files it under secondary industry, yet its own description calls the building a Machiya, a Japanese townhouse. That is exactly what it looks like: a merchant's house on the street, which happened to run a brewery.
Why the office was registered
The Former Sakurai Brewery (Yamakano Brewery) Office was registered for contributing to the historic landscape of the country. The Agency's note points to the gable end, where stacked beams and short posts are left on view, and concludes that the townhouse helps form the historic scenery of the area.
When the Council for Cultural Affairs recommended registration in March 2022, it described the office as the brewery's main house and treated it together with the South Storehouse and the Brewing Storehouse across the street. Of the three, the office is the only one with the face of a merchant house; the other two are single-story earthen storehouses.
Projecting eaves and a board-clad upper floor
The roof is a gabled Kirizuma-zukuri form covered in Sangawara-buki pantiles, with its long side turned to the street, the arrangement called Hirairi. The eaves are built in the Degeta-zukuri manner, and the upper floor is clad in overlapping horizontal boards (Shitami-itabari).
In degeta-zukuri, brackets or beams project out from the wall and carry a beam at their tips, which in turn supports deep eaves. Nothing is boxed in, so from the street you can look up and see the timber framing that holds the eaves.
The board cladding is laid in strips that overlap from the top down, so rain running down the wall is shed outward. Tiled roof, open eaves and timber-clad upper story: the front of the office still shows how a brewer presented himself to the street at the end of the Meiji era.
Beams and posts on the gable end
The feature most worth a close look on the Former Sakurai Brewery (Yamakano Brewery) Office is the gable end. According to the Council's summary, the roof frame is built by stacking beams and standing short posts (tsuka) between them, and that framing is exposed on the outside of the gable.
Because the building sits on a corner, the gable can also be seen from the cross street. From a single spot near the crossroads you can take in both the projecting eaves on the front and the beams and posts on the side, which makes this an easy building to read from outside.
Office below, reception rooms above
The Agency's description gives the plan of the Former Sakurai Brewery (Yamakano Brewery) Office in a few words. The ground floor is a single office room. Upstairs there are two zashiki, tatami reception rooms, and the western room has a decorative alcove (Tokonoma) set into its south side.
Working space below and a formal room with an alcove above is a common pattern in Japanese townhouses. The interior is not open to the public, and apart from a photograph of the ground-floor room in the Agency's database, there is little published record of what it looks like inside.
Visiting the Former Sakurai Brewery (Yamakano Brewery) Office
The interior of the Former Sakurai Brewery (Yamakano Brewery) Office is not open to visitors. The Agency records Yamakano Brewery Co., Ltd. as the owner, and a Miyagi Prefecture business directory lists the office plot, 15 Teraike Kanaya, among the company's factory addresses.
The exterior can be seen from the public road. The eaves and board-clad upper floor are best viewed from the street in front, to the north, and the beams on the gable from the cross street. There is no official guidance on photography; if you take pictures, keep staff and vehicles out of the frame, and do not step onto the premises.
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Q&A
- Can I go inside the Former Sakurai Brewery (Yamakano Brewery) Office?
- No. The interior is not open to the public, but the exterior can be seen from the road. For questions about visiting, contact the owner, Yamakano Brewery (tel. 0220-52-2511), in advance.
- When was the Former Sakurai Brewery (Yamakano Brewery) Office built?
- The Agency for Cultural Affairs dates it to 1909, with a remodeling in the early Showa period. It is a two-story timber building with a building area of 58 square meters.
- What should I look for on the outside of the Former Sakurai Brewery (Yamakano Brewery) Office?
- The projecting degeta-zukuri eaves and board-clad upper floor on the front, and the stacked beams and posts exposed on the gable end. Both sides can be seen from near the crossroads.
- What is on the upper floor of the Former Sakurai Brewery (Yamakano Brewery) Office?
- Two tatami reception rooms, with an alcove on the south side of the western room. The ground floor is a single office room.
- When did the Former Sakurai Brewery (Yamakano Brewery) Office become a Registered Tangible Cultural Property?
- It was registered on June 29, 2022, under number 04-0211, as a townhouse that forms part of the area's historic landscape. The South Storehouse and the Brewing Storehouse were registered on the same day.
Basic Information
| Name | Former Sakurai Brewery (Yamakano Brewery) Office |
|---|---|
| Location | 15 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 58 square meters (two-story timber building) |
| Owner | Yamakano Brewery 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) Office
- https://kunishitei.bunka.go.jp/bsys/maindetails/101/00014225
- Cultural Heritage Online: Former Sakurai Brewery (Yamakano Brewery) Office (Japanese)
- https://bunka.nii.ac.jp/heritages/detail/555235
- 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
- Miyagi Prefecture OEM directory: Yamakano Brewery Co., Ltd. (Japanese)
- https://www.pref.miyagi.jp/site/miyagi_oem/jigyosha/detail50.html
Last verified: 2026.10.03
