A Storehouse Fifteen Bays Long, Registered in 2021
Former Yamada Main Store (Yamakano Brewery) Former Brewing Warehouse (旧山田本店（ヤマカノ醸造）旧仕込み蔵) stands at 81-1 Terachi Sakurakoji, Toyoma, Toyoma-cho, Tome City, Miyagi Prefecture, entered on the national register of tangible cultural properties on 4 February 2021. The quantity is one building: earth-walled construction, two storeys, sheet-iron roof, with a footprint of 186 square metres. The owner is Yamakano Jozo.
The Agency for Cultural Affairs gives the date as Taisho, 1919 to 1926, a span of eight years.
It stands at the far northwest of the site and was the brewing warehouse from the time when the Yamada household made miso and soy sauce. Fifteen bays along and four deep, it is a large earth-walled store with few openings and a closed character.
A Truss That Is Not Quite a Truss
What catches the eye in the record is the roof frame.
A quasi-truss in the manner of a Western roof frame, with the main beams and posts drawn together by iron straps and bolts.
In the manner of and quasi are layered one on the other. The frame is not a Western truss but something made to resemble one.
A truss sets up triangles so that load is distributed through them. A quasi-truss takes the shape while working differently. That the Agency reached for the word says something about the building.
The fastening is specific: main beams and posts drawn together with iron straps and bolts. Not joinery alone, but metal fittings. Western technique entering an earth-walled store in the Taisho period shows itself here.
The Agency closes: a large earth-walled store built for function, at the heart of the brewery. Function rather than ornament is the axis of the assessment.
Long and Closed
The dimensions and the treatment of openings answer to that function.
Fifteen bays along and four deep: a plan whose long side runs nearly four times its short one. At 186 square metres it is far the largest of the buildings registered under this name.
Few openings and a closed character, the Agency says. A brewing store must hold its temperature and humidity, so keeping windows to a minimum makes sense.
The roof is of sheet iron. The other buildings registered under the same name are all tiled; this one alone is roofed in iron.
The Agency gives no reason, but that iron was chosen for a large, long roof is a fact readable from the record.
Seven Buildings, One Day, Two Sites
Several buildings carry the Yamada Main Store name on the register.
Besides the brewing warehouse there are the front gate, the south store, the north store, the document store and the merchandise store, all entered on 4 February 2021. A parlour store under a related name was registered the same day.
Address and owner, however, are divided. The brewing warehouse alone stands at 81-1 Terachi Sakurakoji and belongs to Yamakano Jozo. The other five stand at 1 Terachi Kokonokamachi and belong to Vital-Net.
Registered under one name, they stand in different places and different hands. Registration is made building by building, which is how such a split arises.
The dates spread widely too: the south store from 1868 to 1882, the north store from 1898 to 1912, the brewing warehouse from 1919 to 1926, and the front gate, document store and merchandise store from 1926 to 1945. Some eighty years of building, one after another.
Visiting
The owner is Yamakano Jozo, a company still trading. Registration leaves owners wide freedom to keep using their buildings.
The Agency records nothing about public access. Opening the interior is not assumed, so check before planning a visit.
Outside, what tells is the scale: fifteen bays of length and a wall with few openings. The sheet-iron roof can be seen from outside as well.
The building is at 81-1 Terachi Sakurakoji, Toyoma, Toyoma-cho, Tome City, Miyagi Prefecture.
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Q&A
- When was the warehouse registered?
- On 4 February 2021, on the national register of tangible cultural properties, as one building of earth-walled construction, two storeys, roofed in sheet iron, with a footprint of 186 square metres, owned by Yamakano Jozo.
- What is a quasi-truss?
- The Agency records a quasi-truss in the manner of a Western roof frame, with the main beams and posts drawn together by iron straps and bolts. In the manner of and quasi are layered, meaning a frame made to resemble a Western truss rather than being one. Metal fittings are used, not joinery alone.
- How large is it?
- Fifteen bays along and four deep, a plan whose long side runs nearly four times its short one. At 186 square metres it is far the largest of the buildings registered under this name, with few openings and a closed character.
- Are there other buildings under the same name?
- The front gate, south store, north store, document store and merchandise store were all registered on 4 February 2021. The brewing warehouse alone stands at 81-1 Terachi Sakurakoji under Yamakano Jozo, while the other five stand at 1 Terachi Kokonokamachi under Vital-Net.
- Can it be visited?
- The Agency records nothing about public access. It belongs to a company still trading and opening the interior is not assumed, so check before planning a visit. From outside, the length and the closed wall are what tell.
Basic Information
| Name | Former Yamada Main Store (Yamakano Brewery) Former Brewing Warehouse (旧山田本店（ヤマカノ醸造）旧仕込み蔵) |
|---|---|
| Location | 81-1 Terachi Sakurakoji, Toyoma, Toyoma-cho, Tome City, Miyagi Prefecture |
| Designation | Registered Tangible Cultural Property (structure); the front gate, south store, north store, document store and merchandise store are separate properties |
| Year Designated | 2021 (4 February), registered |
| Quantity | 1 building |
| Dimensions | Earth-walled construction, 2 storeys, sheet-iron roof, footprint 186 square metres. 15 bays along and 4 deep, a large store with few openings and a closed character. A quasi-truss in the manner of a Western roof frame draws the main beams and posts together with iron straps and bolts. Taisho period |
| Owner | Yamakano Jozo |
| Public Access | Nothing is recorded about public access. It belongs to a company still trading |
References
- Cultural Heritage Online: the former brewing warehouse
- https://bunka.nii.ac.jp/heritages/detail/569172
- Cultural Heritage Online: the south store of the same group
- https://bunka.nii.ac.jp/heritages/detail/541131
- Yamakano Jozo official site
- https://www.yamakano.co.jp/
- Agency for Cultural Affairs: the registration system for tangible cultural properties
- https://www.bunka.go.jp/seisaku/bunkazai/shokai/yukei_kenzobutsu/
Last verified: 2026.09.05