A Taishō Home with a Western Room
Moritami Sake Brewery Residence (森民酒造店居宅, Moritami Shuzōten Itaku) is a Taishō-era (1912 to 1926) house with a Western-style room in Iwadeyama, Osaki City, Miyagi Prefecture, registered as a Registered Tangible Cultural Property on 17 November 2015.
It is the family's living wing, reached by a corridor that runs north from the back of the Store and Main House. Timber, single storey with part in 2 storeys and a tiled roof, it covers 67 square metres and carries registration number 04-0113. It was altered around 1965 and in 2006.
The brewery was founded in 1883; this house came about a generation later, when the business could afford proper family quarters behind the shop.
A Hip-and-Gable Porch
Moritami Sake Brewery Residence is built mainly around two-storey living rooms, with its entrance facing east. The porch roof is irimoya, hip-and-gable, with eaves carried around it.
The overall design is Japanese. From outside it reads as a calm tiled house with a traditional porch, and nothing hints at what one room holds.
The North Room
That room is the north room on the ground floor. The Agency for Cultural Affairs records sash windows that slide up and down, a bay window projecting from the wall, and a decorative ceiling medallion.
None of these belonged to Japanese carpentry: sash and bay windows replaced sliding paper screens, and the medallion, set where a lamp would hang, came from the parlours of Western houses. Fitting out a single room of a Japanese home in this manner is regarded as a Taishō-era fashion among merchant and landowning families, and the Agency cites the Residence as a good example.
A further corridor leads north to the Inner Room, which dates from the late Meiji era (1898 to 1912) and is older than the Residence. Read by date, the Residence seems to have been inserted between an existing main house and inner room.
Visiting
Moritami Sake Brewery Residence is part of the family's home, and no interior opening is advertised. Tucked behind the main house, it is hard to see from the street.
If you are shown onto the premises, follow the staff's guidance, including on photography.
Directions and shop hours are on the Moritami Sake Brewery page.
Q&A
- When was Moritami Sake Brewery Residence built?
- In the Taishō era, between 1912 and 1926. It was altered around 1965 and in 2006.
- What are the Western features of Moritami Sake Brewery Residence?
- Sash windows, a bay window and a ceiling medallion in the ground-floor north room of an otherwise Japanese house.
- Can I see inside Moritami Sake Brewery Residence?
- It is part of the family's home and no interior opening is advertised.
- How does Moritami Sake Brewery Residence connect to the other buildings?
- A corridor links it to the back of the Store and Main House, and another corridor runs north to the Inner Room.
- What is the entrance of Moritami Sake Brewery Residence like?
- An east-facing porch under a hip-and-gable irimoya roof, with eaves carried around it.
Basic Information
| Name | Moritami Sake Brewery Residence |
|---|---|
| Location | 15 Kamikawaramachi, Iwadeyama, Osaki City, Miyagi Prefecture |
| Designation | Registered Tangible Cultural Property (Building) |
| Year Designated | Registered 2015/11/17 (Heisei 27) |
| Quantity | 1 building |
| Dimensions | Timber, single storey with part in 2 storeys; tiled roof; building area 67 square metres |
| Owner | Not listed in the Agency for Cultural Affairs database |
| Public Access | Private living quarters; no interior opening advertised |
References
- Agency for Cultural Affairs, Database of National Cultural Properties: 森民酒造店居宅
- https://kunishitei.bunka.go.jp/bsys/maindetails/101/00010717
- Agency for Cultural Affairs, Database of National Cultural Properties: 森民酒造店奥座敷
- https://kunishitei.bunka.go.jp/bsys/maindetails/101/00010718
Last verified: 2026.09.25
