A Brick Chimney over Iwadeyama
Moritami Sake Brewery Chimney (森民酒造店煙突, Moritami Shuzōten Entotsu) is a brick smokestack of the early Shōwa era (1926 to 1945) in Iwadeyama, Osaki City, Miyagi Prefecture, registered as a Registered Tangible Cultural Property on 17 November 2015.
It rises 16 metres from a square base 1.5 metres on each side. The Agency for Cultural Affairs gives its area as 2.1 square metres and includes its brick flue in the registration. Numbered 04-0119, it is the only one of the eight Moritami listings registered as a structure rather than a building.
It stands north of the kamaya, the rice-steaming house, and is fed by a flue from the brick firebox inside that building.
English Bond and a Band of Dark Brick
The shaft is laid in English bond, alternating courses of stretchers and headers, a bond that ties the wall together through its thickness and suits a tall stack.
Partway up, a band of over-fired brick wraps the shaft. Fired at high temperature, these bricks come out much darker, and the band breaks the long red square column into proportions the eye can read. The Agency calls it an accent.
The same record describes Moritami Sake Brewery Chimney as a local landmark that stands for the brewery, and its registration rests on its contribution to the historic landscape.
A Tower for the Kamaya's Fire
The chimney is not ornament. The fire beneath the cauldrons in the kamaya, where rice was steamed, vented here. The kamaya dates from around 1883 and the chimney from the early Shōwa era, a gap that suggests the steaming plant was renewed after 1926.
Look for the height of the dark band, and for the clean square outline from base to top. Sixteen metres on a base of 1.5 metres is slender, and from below the stack seems taller than it is.
Visiting
Moritami Sake Brewery Chimney is an outdoor structure, so there is nothing to stop you looking at it. Its foot, however, is inside a working brewery and cannot be approached.
The surrounding buildings are low, so the upper part of the stack can be seen above the roofs from outside the premises; that visibility is what the Agency means by calling it a landmark.
Directions and shop hours are on the Moritami Sake Brewery page.
Q&A
- How tall is Moritami Sake Brewery Chimney?
- It is 16 metres tall, on a square base 1.5 metres on each side.
- When was Moritami Sake Brewery Chimney built?
- In the early Shōwa era, between 1926 and 1945. The kamaya it serves dates from around 1883.
- How is the brickwork of Moritami Sake Brewery Chimney laid?
- In English bond, with a band of dark over-fired brick wrapped around the shaft partway up.
- What was Moritami Sake Brewery Chimney built for?
- To carry off smoke from the brick firebox in the kamaya, where rice for brewing was steamed.
- Where can Moritami Sake Brewery Chimney be seen from?
- The upper part shows above the low surrounding roofs from outside the premises. Its base is inside the brewery and cannot be approached.
Basic Information
| Name | Moritami Sake Brewery Chimney |
|---|---|
| Location | 15 Kamikawaramachi, Iwadeyama, Osaki City, Miyagi Prefecture |
| Designation | Registered Tangible Cultural Property (Structure) |
| Year Designated | Registered 2015/11/17 (Heisei 27) |
| Quantity | 1 structure |
| Dimensions | Brick, 16 metres high, base 1.5 metres square, area 2.1 square metres, with brick flue |
| Owner | Not listed in the Agency for Cultural Affairs database |
| Public Access | Outdoor structure; exterior only |
References
- Agency for Cultural Affairs, Database of National Cultural Properties: 森民酒造店煙突
- https://kunishitei.bunka.go.jp/bsys/maindetails/101/00010723
- Agency for Cultural Affairs, Database of National Cultural Properties: 森民酒造店釜屋
- https://kunishitei.bunka.go.jp/bsys/maindetails/101/00010720
Last verified: 2026.09.25
