What is the Former Sakurai Brewery (Yamakano Brewery) South Storehouse?
The Former Sakurai Brewery (Yamakano Brewery) South Storehouse (旧櫻井醸造（ヤマカノ醸造）南蔵, Kyū Sakurai Jōzō Minamigura) is a soy sauce brewing storehouse built in 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 thick earthen walls finished in plaster, registered as one structure under number 04-0212. Its building area of 174 square meters makes it the largest of the three brewery buildings registered that day.
The storehouse stands on the corner plot across the street to the west of the brewery office. The Agency for Cultural Affairs dates it to Meiji 45. That year ended at the end of July, when the era name changed to Taisho, so the South Storehouse belongs to the very last months of the Meiji period.
Why the South Storehouse was registered
The Former Sakurai Brewery (Yamakano Brewery) South Storehouse was registered for contributing to the historic landscape of the country. The Agency's note calls it a long, large storehouse that helps shape the historic scenery from its corner position. Sheer length, on a building only one story high, is the core of the case.
The Council for Cultural Affairs, recommending registration in March 2022, singled out three things: a thick plaster band under the eaves, a pitched roof, and a roof frame built to imitate Western-style trusses. Two of these you can see from the street; the third is hidden inside.
A separate roof and a heavy plaster band
The gabled roof (Kirizuma-zukuri) is covered in sheet metal and built as an Okiyane, a roof set on top of the storehouse as a separate structure. The body of the storehouse is sealed in earth and plaster on its own, and the roof sits above it. The arrangement is generally said to help the storehouse survive if the roof itself catches fire.
The walls are finished in white Shikkui lime plaster, and a Hachimaki runs along the top of the walls just below the eaves. This is a band of plaster built out thicker than the wall below, and on the South Storehouse it is heavy enough to read as a strong horizontal line between the long white wall and the roof. Seen from across the road, the building reads in three layers: wall, band, roof.
A lean-to (gedaya) is attached to the east side. That is the side facing the office, so if you look across from the front of the office, the lean-to is the part of the storehouse nearest to you.
An imitation Western roof frame
Inside, according to the Agency, the Former Sakurai Brewery (Yamakano Brewery) South Storehouse is a single undivided room with an earthen floor. The roof frame uses diagonal members to imitate a Yōgoya, a Western-style roof structure.
A true Western roof carries its load through triangulated trusses, which make it easier to span wide spaces without posts. The South Storehouse borrows the look of that system by adding diagonal braces. Across the crossroads, the Brewing Storehouse of the same brewery uses a traditional Wagoya frame of beams and short posts. At the end of the Meiji era, in other words, one brewer was roofing neighboring storehouses in two different ways.
The 174-square-meter undivided floor and the braced roof frame are best understood together, as one answer to the problem of roofing a large open workspace.
Visiting the Former Sakurai Brewery (Yamakano Brewery) South Storehouse
The interior of the Former Sakurai Brewery (Yamakano Brewery) South Storehouse is not open, so the imitation truss cannot be seen in person. The Agency's database includes one photograph of the interior that shows the framing. The owner is Yamakano Brewery Co., Ltd.
The exterior can be seen from the public road. Because the storehouse stands on a corner, it is worth walking around the crossroads to see the long banded wall and the east lean-to from different angles. There is no official guidance on photography. If you take pictures, be considerate of people and vehicles coming and going, and do not enter the premises.
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Q&A
- Can I go inside the Former Sakurai Brewery (Yamakano Brewery) South Storehouse?
- No. The interior is not open, 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) South Storehouse built?
- The Agency for Cultural Affairs dates it to 1912 (Meiji 45). The era name changed to Taisho at the end of July that year, so it is one of the last buildings of the Meiji period.
- How big is the Former Sakurai Brewery (Yamakano Brewery) South Storehouse?
- It is a single-story earthen storehouse with a building area of 174 square meters, the largest of the three brewery buildings registered together.
- What are the structural features of the Former Sakurai Brewery (Yamakano Brewery) South Storehouse?
- A separate gabled roof in sheet metal, a thick plaster band at the top of the plastered walls, a lean-to on the east side, and inside a single earthen-floored room under a roof frame that imitates Western trusses with diagonal members.
- When did the Former Sakurai Brewery (Yamakano Brewery) South Storehouse become a Registered Tangible Cultural Property?
- It was registered on June 29, 2022, under number 04-0212, on the same day as the office and the Brewing Storehouse.
Basic Information
| Name | Former Sakurai Brewery (Yamakano Brewery) South Storehouse |
|---|---|
| Location | 14-3 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 174 square meters (single-story earthen storehouse) |
| 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) South Storehouse
- https://kunishitei.bunka.go.jp/bsys/maindetails/101/00014226
- Cultural Heritage Online: Former Sakurai Brewery (Yamakano Brewery) South Storehouse (Japanese)
- https://bunka.nii.ac.jp/heritages/detail/584846
- 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
- 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
Last verified: 2026.10.03
