No. 5 Storehouse at the Takeshige Honke Brewery
The No. 5 Storehouse was added to the north of the No. 3 Storehouse, a dozo earthen-wall building of two storeys some seven and a half ken in length under a tiled gable roof. Outwardly it reads as one with the No. 3 Storehouse, and a kasuba, a room for the sake lees, was built on further to the north.
An ink inscription on the underside of the ridge beam fixes its date precisely: the frame was raised in the third month of Taisho 11, that is, March 1922. On its east side it connects to the west gable of the No. 4 Storehouse, knitting the row of cellars together.
A former Takeda vassal household that had farmed Motai for generations, the Takeshige turned to brewing in 1868 under their twelfth head, Tokuzaemon, and the trade has continued in the same buildings ever since. Motai sits on the old Nakasendo highway between the post towns of Mochizuki and Ashida, functioning as an aidonoshuku, an informal rest stop between official stations. White plaster walls run for the better part of two kilometres along its lanes.
Why It Is Listed
The register lists it as a model of its form. The precise dating from the beam inscription, together with the way it extends and links the existing storehouses, makes it a clear example of how a brewing cellar was added to and integrated over time.
Read alongside its neighbours, the storehouse shows the brewery not as a fixed design but as something built up cellar by cellar as the trade required more room.
Registered on the national list as a model of its form, it forms one part of a rare survival. Some thirty buildings here carry the Registered Tangible Cultural Property designation granted on 26 September 2000, a rare case of a listed complex that remains in daily production. Soft groundwater from Mt. Tateshina feeds a brewing regimen built on kimoto, an early technique that relies on airborne lactic-acid bacteria in the cellar to build the starter. Few breweries still work this way.
Seeing It Today
The dated beam is the quiet highlight here. Few buildings announce their own age so plainly, and the March 1922 inscription lets a visitor place this cellar exactly within the growth of the compound.
Three tanka by the travelling poet Wakayama Bokusui are carved on a monument at the entrance. He wrote fondly of the brewery's Misonotake sake, and a second label, Bokusui, now carries his name.
Because production continues year-round, the listed buildings are normally viewed only from the street. The one regular chance to step inside comes at the annual cellar opening held around 21 March. The neighbouring Osawa Sake Brewery keeps a small museum and offers year-round tastings, and the walk along Motai's walled lane rewards an unhurried pace.
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Q&A
- How do we know when the No. 5 Storehouse was built?
- An ink inscription on the underside of the ridge beam records that the frame was raised in March 1922, the eleventh year of Taisho.
- How does it relate to the other storehouses?
- It was added north of the No. 3 Storehouse, reads as one with it externally, and connects on its east to the No. 4 Storehouse.
- What is the kasuba to its north?
- A room built on for handling sake lees, the residue left after the fermented mash is pressed.
- Can I go inside?
- No. It is a working cellar. The grounds open around 21 March each year for the annual cellar day.
Basic Information
| Name | 武重本家酒造及び武重家住宅五号蔵 (No. 5 Storehouse) |
|---|---|
| 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; 土蔵造2階建、瓦葺、建築面積121㎡ |
| Period | 大正11 (1922) |
| 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五号蔵
- https://kunishitei.bunka.go.jp/bsys/maindetails/101/00001803
- 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