Rear Grain Bin at the Takeshige Honke Brewery
The Rear Grain Bin is a single-storey timber structure of about 27 square metres under a tiled roof, dating to the Taisho years (1912 to 1925). It runs north from the gable end of the front grain bin and bends east at its far end, giving it an L-shaped plan.
Built in the same manner as the front bin, with a sangawara tiled gable roof, it turns the elbow of the L into a storeroom. The pairing of front and rear bins shows how storage was extended as the business grew.
The brewery traces its start to 1868, the first year of Meiji, when Takeshige Tokuzaemon gained a brewing licence for the family seat at Motai. The Takeshige line had lived here since the early 1600s, their ancestors once vassals of the Takeda. Motai grew up on the Nakasendo as a stopping place between the post towns of Mochizuki and Ashida. Two sake houses anchor the village, their long white walls giving the lane much of its character.
Why It Is Listed
The register singles the bin out under the criterion that it would not be easy to recreate. Purpose-built granaries of this kind, sized and shaped to a particular yard and a particular trade, are hard to reproduce once the knowledge and the need have passed.
As a store for raw rice, the bin sits at the head of the brewing process, and its growth in two stages marks the stages by which the brewery itself expanded.
Registered on the national list as something difficult to recreate, it forms one part of a rare survival. The registration of 26 September 2000 placed some thirty buildings of the working brewery on the national list of Registered Tangible Cultural Properties. Brewing here follows the old kimoto process, in which wild lactic-acid bacteria are coaxed into the yeast starter over time. Soft water from the slopes of Mt. Tateshina and the cold Saku winters suit the slow method.
Seeing It Today
The bin rewards a second look for the logic of its shape. The bend is not a flourish but a response to the space available, and reading the plan on the ground is a small lesson in how a working yard grows piece by piece.
The wandering poet Wakayama Bokusui praised the house label, Misonotake, and a stone bearing three of his tanka stands at the front of the compound, raised in 1967.
This is a working, family-run brewery rather than a museum, so the interiors are not generally open. The grounds open once a year, around the spring equinox on 21 March, for a cellar day with tastings. For a fuller visit, pair the walk past these walls with the Osawa Sake Brewery close by, which has a gallery and offers tastings any day.
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Q&A
- What was stored in the Rear Grain Bin?
- Raw rice, the principal ingredient of sake. It served as granary space at the start of the brewing process.
- Why is its shape unusual?
- It runs north from the front bin and turns east, forming an L. The corner of the L was used as a storeroom.
- Can I see inside?
- No. It is part of the working brewery. The grounds open once a year, around 21 March, for the cellar day.
- Why was it registered?
- Under the criterion that it would be hard to recreate, as a purpose-built granary tied to the growth of this particular brewery.
Basic Information
| Name | 武重本家酒造及び武重家住宅奥穀ビツ (Rear Grain Bin) |
|---|---|
| Location | 長野県佐久市茂田井字東町2179, on the old Nakasendo highway |
| Designation | Registered Tangible Cultural Property (registered 26 September 2000) |
| Count / Scale | 1棟; 木造平屋建、瓦葺、建築面積27㎡ |
| Period | 大正期 (1912-1925) |
| Owner | 武重本家酒造株式会社 |
| Access | Private working brewery; interiors not generally open. Grounds open around 21 March each year for the cellar day. |
References
- National Database of Designated Cultural Properties, Agency for Cultural Affairs — 武重本家酒造及び武重家住宅奥穀ビツ
- https://kunishitei.bunka.go.jp/bsys/maindetails/101/00001806
- Takeshige Honke Brewery — Official site
- https://takeshige-honke.jp/
- Shinshu Tateshina Tourism Association — Takeshige Honke Brewery
- https://shirakabakogen.jp/spot/takeshiga_honke_syuzo/
Last verified: 2026.07.03