Shioya Brewery Soy Sauce Storehouse

What the Shioya Brewery Soy Sauce Storehouse Is

The Shioya Brewery Soy Sauce Storehouse (塩屋醸造醤油蔵, Shioya Jōzō Shōyugura) is an early Meiji storehouse at 537 Oaza Suzaka, Suzaka City, Nagano Prefecture, standing at the west end of the street front of the Shioya miso and soy sauce brewery, and was listed as Registered Tangible Cultural Property on 15 May 2007. It is a single-storey building in the thick-walled Dozo-zukuri method with a gabled pantile roof, and covers 162 square metres.

It stands on the city road directly west of the uwamise and measures 11 and a half by 4 bays. The entrance is on its long east side, the ridge runs north to south, and it turns its gable end to the street.

This is where the soy sauce mash, matured next door in the Moromi Storehouse, is pressed. The head of the family says the press has been repaired again and again and kept in use since the Meiji era. The rear part of the building also serves today as an events and rental space.

Why It Was Listed

The Shioya Brewery Soy Sauce Storehouse was listed for its contribution to the historic landscape. The Agency for Cultural Affairs singles out its large gable facing the street, the big latticed window opened at the centre of that wall and the lintel above it shaped like a curved tie-beam, Kōryō, which together give it an imposing presence on the street.

Storehouses are meant to keep their openings small. This one opens a large latticed window in the middle of its street gable. It is a building that knows it is on show, and it carries the brewer's sign in its own architecture.

At 11 and a half bays long it is second only to the 14-bay Miso Storehouse among the ten listed buildings. From the street you see only the gable; the body of the building runs a long way back behind it.

What to Look For

Stand across the road and look at the window in the middle of the gable. On the Shioya Brewery Soy Sauce Storehouse the latticed opening is large for the wall, and the lintel above it is shaped into a gentle arch like the curved beams of temple architecture. It is careful work to bring that temple curve to the window of a plastered storehouse.

Inside, it is clear that this is where soy sauce making ends. Koji is made from soybeans and wheat, mixed with brine and left for one to two years to become mash; the mash is then pressed here. A press in use since Meiji tells you how much of a working building this still is.

The owners rent out the rear space for about 100 people, with a loft and a sink. It has hosted dance events, exhibitions and antique fairs. The family's view is that a storehouse left shut decays faster, and that letting people in keeps the air moving and the building alive.

Visiting

The Shioya Brewery Soy Sauce Storehouse is one of the two main stops on the brewery's free tour of about 30 minutes. You can see the pressing stage and the press itself while the guide explains the process.

The exterior can be seen from the city road at any time. The latticed window and the arched lintel are best viewed straight on from the opposite side of the street.

We found no statement on photography in the official information (checked 27 September 2026). On the tour, ask the guide before taking pictures.

Directions, shop hours and how to book the brewery tour are covered on the Shioya Brewery page.