A White Fence Beside the Water
The Takeshige Honke Sake Brewery and Takeshige Family Residence East Wall (武重本家酒造及び武重家住宅東塀) is a fence of about 1909 in the estate of a working sake brewery on the old Nakasendō road in Motai, Saku City, Nagano Prefecture, listed as a Registered Tangible Cultural Property on 26 September 2000. It is of timber with a tiled cap and has a registered length of 30 metres.
It starts at the north-eastern corner of the main house and runs north along the water channel that borders the eastern edge of the estate, toward the brewing cellars. The Agency's commentary gives its length as nine bays, about 16 metres, with a gentle bend after the fourth bay. It is a Shinkabe fence of exposed timber framing and earthen infill, finished in white lime plaster and roofed with a narrow cap of Sangawara-buki pantiles.
The date, around 1909, matches the main house. The Takeshige had been brewing since 1868 and rebuilt the house at the close of the Meiji era; the fence was evidently part of that campaign, tidying the eastern face of the estate from the east storehouse northward.
Why It Is Listed
The register lists the wall under the criterion of contributing to the nation's historic landscape, noting that it orders the eastern face of the estate in continuation of the east storehouse. If the gate house and shop handle the south front on the old Nakasendō, the east storehouse and this fence handle the eastern flank along the water.
Two figures sit side by side in the record. The register itself gives a length of 30 metres, while the commentary describes a fence of nine bays, roughly 16 metres. The two may count different things, the total run including the bend against the principal stretch; rather than guess, this article reports both as the Agency gives them.
The gentle bend in the Takeshige Honke Sake Brewery and Takeshige Family Residence East Wall gives it an expression a straight fence would lack. By turning with the stream, it makes the eastern side of the estate a place where water and wall run together. It is younger than its neighbours, the shrine torii of 1827 and the late-Edo east storehouse, but old cellar and newer fence share the same white.
What to Look For
To see the fence, leave the old Nakasendō and follow the lane along the eastern edge of the estate. The east storehouse stands at the bend where the channel turns north, and the Takeshige Honke Sake Brewery and Takeshige Family Residence East Wall continues beyond it. From the far side of the water, the white plaster and the tiled cap are mirrored in the stream.
About four bays along, the fence eases into its bend. The angle is slight and easy to miss; you notice it because the white surface catches the light a little differently before and after the turn.
Because it is shinkabe construction, the posts and rails show on the surface of the white wall. The plastered cellars hide their timber; this fence lets a wooden grid divide the white. Compare the two on the eastern side of the estate and the difference in wall-making is plain.
Visiting and Getting There
The Takeshige Honke Sake Brewery and Takeshige Family Residence East Wall follows the water channel on the eastern edge of the estate; turn off the old Nakasendō beside the east storehouse and you can see its full length across the water. The lane may not be a through route, so take care not to enter private ground. The brewing yard lies behind the fence and can be seen from inside on the open day.
This is a brewery still making sake, and a private house. There are no regular interior tours. The compound can be entered on weekdays between 8:00 a.m. and 5:00 p.m., when the office and shop are open for sales; it is closed on weekends, national holidays, the New Year period and the old-calendar Bon holiday. The one reliable chance to go inside is the annual open day around the spring equinox, usually 20 or 21 March, with cellar tours and tastings. In 2026 the brewery laid on a chartered bus from Sakudaira Station for the occasion. Reservation-only tasting sessions, sometimes with a walk through the cellars, are announced on the official website.
By public transport, take a Chikuma Bus from JR Sakudaira Station toward Mochizuki and Ashida and get off at Motai-iriguchi, a walk of about two minutes. The buses run only on weekdays, so at weekends allow about 30 minutes by taxi or car from Sakudaira, a distance of some 15 kilometres. Drivers coming off the Joshin-etsu Expressway at the Saku or Yunomaru interchanges should also allow about 30 minutes. You are free to photograph the streetscape from the road; within the grounds, ask the staff during events.
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Q&A
- When was the Takeshige Honke Sake Brewery and Takeshige Family Residence East Wall built?
- Around 1909, the same time as the main house, apparently as part of the rebuilding that tidied the eastern face of the estate.
- What is the east wall made of?
- It is a timber-framed fence with earthen infill finished in white lime plaster and capped with pantiles. The commentary gives its length as nine bays with a gentle bend at the fourth; the register records 30 metres.
- Where is the east wall?
- It runs from the north-eastern corner of the main house north along the water channel on the eastern edge of the estate, toward the brewing cellars, continuing the line of the east storehouse on the corner.
- Can the east wall be seen from outside?
- Yes, from the lane along the eastern edge of the estate, across the water channel. Please stay off private ground.
- Why was the east wall registered?
- It was registered on 26 September 2000 under the criterion of contributing to the nation's historic landscape, for the way it orders the eastern face of the estate in continuation of the east storehouse.
Basic Information
| Name | Takeshige Honke Sake Brewery and Takeshige Family Residence East Wall |
|---|---|
| Location | 2179 Higashimachi, Motai, Saku City, Nagano Prefecture |
| Designation | Registered Tangible Cultural Property (Structure) |
| Year Designated | Registered 26 September 2000 |
| Quantity | 1 structure |
| Dimensions | Timber with tiled cap, registered length 30 metres (commentary: 9 bays, bending at the 4th) |
| Owner | Not recorded in the ACA database (within the Takeshige family estate) |
| Public Access | Not open to the public (working brewery and private home); shop entry weekdays 8:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m.; interiors on the open day around the spring equinox |
References
- Agency for Cultural Affairs, National Cultural Properties Database: 武重本家酒造及び武重家住宅東塀
- https://kunishitei.bunka.go.jp/bsys/maindetails/101/00001809
- Saku City: Motai Ai-no-shuku (Nakasendo rest station)
- https://www.city.saku.nagano.jp/kanko/kanko/spot/nakasendo/motaiainoshuku/motaiainoshuku.html
- Takeshige Honke Sake Brewery, official website
- https://takeshige-honke.jp/
- Shinshu Tateshina Tourism Association: Takeshige Honke Sake Brewery
- https://shirakabakogen.jp/spot/takeshiga_honke_syuzo
Last verified: 2026.09.10