Furusawa Brewery Kōji Room, Inspection Room and Workshop
At the center of the Furusawa brewery grounds, running north to south, stands the building where the whole process starts: the kōji room, inspection room, and workshop. It dates to around 1892 (Meiji 25), the brewery's founding year, with an extension added in the mid-1950s and remodeling in 1961. Under a single gabled roof it joins an earthen-walled kōji room and workshop with a timber-framed inspection room.
Why It Is Protected
Kōji, the mold-inoculated grain that drives fermentation, needs warmth and steady humidity, and this room is built for exactly that. Its inner walls and ceiling are lined with boards, and rice husks are packed behind them for insulation. Glass windows, two on the west face and one on the east, let in measured daylight, while a single vent in the ceiling releases heat and moisture. The Agency for Cultural Affairs registered the building on November 2, 2018 as a Registered Tangible Cultural Property, counting it among the facilities essential to traditional brewing.
What to Look For
Furusawa still makes its kōji by hand. Cultured rice is tended on trays, and the temperature is coaxed down by cracking a small skylight rather than running a machine. The inspection room next door is where the brewers gauge and check the spirit.
The fifth-generation head brewer, Furusawa Masako, learned this craft from those before her and keeps to it season after season: barley, rice, and buckwheat from May, sweet potato from October.
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Q&A
- What is a kōji room?
- It is where grain is inoculated with kōji mold, the first step in making shochu. Furusawa still tends its kōji by hand on trays in this room.
- Why are the walls packed with rice husks?
- Rice husks work as insulation, helping the room hold the warm, steady conditions that kōji needs. Glass windows and a ceiling vent let the brewers fine-tune the climate.
- What is the inspection room for?
- The timber-framed inspection room is where brewers measure and check the shochu. It sits under the same roof as the kōji room and workshop.
- Can I watch kōji being made?
- Kōji-making follows a working production schedule and is not a public exhibit. If you hope to see it, contact the brewery ahead of time; the shop is open during business hours.
Basic Information
| Name | Furusawa Brewery Kōji Room, Inspection Room and Workshop |
|---|---|
| Location | 4748 Ōdōtsu 4-chōme, Nichinan, Miyazaki (registered); brewery office at Ōdōtsu 4-10-1 |
| Designation | Registered Tangible Cultural Property (Structures) |
| Registered | November 2, 2018 |
| Quantity | 1 building |
| Structure | Earthen-walled and single-story timber construction, tiled roof, floor area 116 m² |
| Period | circa 1892 (Meiji 25); extended mid-1950s, remodeled 1961 |
| Owner | Furusawa Jōzō Gōmei Kaisha |
| Access | Shop open 8:00–17:00, irregular closures; about 10 min on foot from Ōdōtsu Station |
References
- Agency for Cultural Affairs, National Cultural Properties Database — Furusawa Brewery Kōji Room, Inspection Room and Workshop
- https://kunishitei.bunka.go.jp/bsys/maindetails/101/00012668
- Furusawa Jōzō Gōmei Kaisha — official site
- https://nichinan-yaezakura.jp/
- Nichinan City Tourism Association — Furusawa Jōzō
- https://www.kankou-nichinan.jp/tourisms/792/
Last verified: 2026.07.03