What the Former Yamada Main Store (Yamakano Brewery) Document Storehouse is
The Former Yamada Main Store (Yamakano Brewery) Document Storehouse, in Japanese 旧山田本店（ヤマカノ醸造）文庫蔵 (Kyū-Yamada Honten Bunkogura), is an early Showa era (1926 to 1945) earthen storehouse in Teraike Kokonokamachi, Toyoma-machi, Tome City, Miyagi Prefecture, registered as a Registered Tangible Cultural Property on February 4, 2021. A bunkogura held a merchant family's ledgers, papers and valuables; this one stands on the street side of the lot.
It is a 2-storey Dozo-zukuri building with a building area of 20 m², just 3 Ken by 2 ken, the smallest of the five registered buildings on the site. The tiled, gabled roof (Kirizuma-zukuri) runs east to west.
Why the Document Storehouse was registered
The Former Yamada Main Store (Yamakano Brewery) Document Storehouse was registered as contributing to the historic landscape of the country. The Agency for Cultural Affairs notes that its exterior closely resembles the Shop Storehouse next door, and that the two were probably built as one campaign.
What earns the praise is how much modern detailing is packed into so small a building: eaves sheathed in copper, underfloor vents built of stone, and an interior finished mainly in zelkova. With the Shop Storehouse and Front Gate it forms the street frontage of the brewery.
What to look for at the Document Storehouse
Look up, then look down. The eaves are wrapped in copper sheet, and stone vents open at the base of the wall. Both guard against fire and damp, which matters for a building that kept paper.
Interviewed for the Tome City promotion site, Yamakano Brewery's fifth-generation president said the vents at the foot of the street-facing storehouse and the copper around its windows were the latest fire-proofing of their day, adopted after many storehouses in Tokyo and Yokohama burned in the 1923 Great Kanto Earthquake, which suggests a date of around 1926. The article does not name the building, but the features match what the Agency records for the Former Yamada Main Store (Yamakano Brewery) Document Storehouse.
The Agency's photographs also include the second-floor roof framing, carefully built even where no customer would see it.
Visiting the Document Storehouse
Standing on the street side, the Former Yamada Main Store (Yamakano Brewery) Document Storehouse can be seen from the public road. No interior access is advertised. The copper eaves read best from across the street, the stone vents from close up. The building is part of Yamakano Brewery's working head office and factory; keep photography to the street, and contact the company in advance for anything more (phone 0220-52-2511).
Q&A
- When was the Former Yamada Main Store (Yamakano Brewery) Document Storehouse built and registered?
- The Agency dates it to the early Showa era (1926 to 1945); it was registered on February 4, 2021. Yamakano Brewery's president has suggested the street-facing storehouse dates from around 1926.
- How big is the Yamada Document Storehouse?
- A 2-storey earthen storehouse of 20 m², 3 ken by 2 ken: the smallest of the five registered buildings on the lot.
- How is the Yamada Document Storehouse related to the Shop Storehouse?
- The Agency judges from their similar exteriors that they were built as a set. Together with the Front Gate they form the street frontage.
- What fire-proofing can be seen on the Yamada Document Storehouse?
- Copper-sheathed eaves and stone underfloor vents. The Tome City promotion site reports the view that these reflect lessons from the 1923 Great Kanto Earthquake.
- Can I see inside the Yamada Document Storehouse?
- No interior access is advertised. The exterior is visible from the street; ask Yamakano Brewery in advance for anything more.
Basic Information
| Name | Former Yamada Main Store (Yamakano Brewery) Document Storehouse (旧山田本店（ヤマカノ醸造）文庫蔵) |
|---|---|
| Location | 1 Teraike Kokonokamachi, Toyoma, Toyoma-machi, Tome City, Miyagi Prefecture |
| Designation | Registered Tangible Cultural Property (Building) |
| Year Designated | Registered 4 February 2021 |
| Quantity | 1 building |
| Dimensions | 2-storey earthen storehouse, tiled roof, building area 20 m² (3 ken by 2 ken) |
| Owner | Vital-Net, Inc. |
| Public Access | Exterior visible from the street; no interior access advertised |
References
- Agency for Cultural Affairs, Database of National Cultural Properties: Former Yamada Main Store (Yamakano Brewery) Document Storehouse
- https://kunishitei.bunka.go.jp/bsys/maindetails/101/00013481
- Agency for Cultural Affairs, Database of National Cultural Properties: Shop Storehouse
- https://kunishitei.bunka.go.jp/bsys/maindetails/101/00013480
- Tome City promotion site: The secrets of the historic Yamakano miso brewery (Japanese)
- https://tome-pr.jp/2020/02/21/midokoro-yamakano/
- Yamakano Brewery official website (Japanese)
- https://www.yamakano.co.jp/
Last verified: 2026.09.25
