The Main Brewhouse of Imazato Sake Brewery
The Imazato Sake Brewery Honkura (今里酒造本蔵, Imazato Shuzō Honkura, "main brewhouse") is a late Edo-period two-storey timber sake brewhouse in Shukugō, Hasami Town, Nagasaki Prefecture, registered as a Registered Tangible Cultural Property on 2 March 2006. The Agency for Cultural Affairs reads the name Honkura; Nagasaki Prefecture's database gives Motogura.
The Agency describes the Honkura as the heart of the brewery, and the prefectural database goes further, judging it probably the oldest building still standing at Imazato Sake Brewery. The Agency dates it to the late Edo period, a span it gives as 1751 to 1829. No construction year is on record.
Straight Through from the Shop Floor
The Imazato Sake Brewery Honkura runs north to south directly behind the store and residence. The north end of the store's earth-floored passage serves as the Honkura's Kuramae, or forecourt, so the route from the street runs down the doma and arrives at the brewhouse door. The shop counter and the centre of production are joined by a single earthen passage.
It measures 12 Ken (about 22 metres) along the ridge and 6 ken (about 11 metres) across, under a tiled gable roof (Kirizuma-zukuri), with a building area of 283 square metres. Only the central section has an upper floor. The Honkura was registered for contributing to the historic landscape, under number 42-0051.
Doubled Tie Beams and Sloping Rafters
The Roof frame, the timber frame that carries the roof, is the Honkura's most interesting feature. Every 2 ken (about 3.6 metres) a doubled tie beam crosses the building, a second beam laid over the first, and between each pair the carpenters set Nobori-bari, beams that climb with the slope of the roof. Stacked and raking members together carry a roof 6 ken wide.
The Nakagura next door alternates its doubled beams and sloping beams instead. Two brewhouses of the same period, side by side, framed in slightly different ways.
The Agency credits the Imazato Sake Brewery Honkura, together with the main house (the store and residence) and the Nakagura, with forming an imposing riverside landscape. That run of big gable roofs along the Kawatana River is the landscape the registration refers to.
Seeing the Imazato Sake Brewery Honkura
The interior of the Imazato Sake Brewery Honkura is not open, so the roof framing cannot normally be seen. Because the building sits behind the store and residence, it is hard to take in as a whole from the old road. The Agency mentions the riverside view, but where along the Kawatana River the Honkura is visible has not been confirmed.
The grounds open once a year for the brewery's open house; whether visitors can enter the Honkura itself has not been announced. There is no official guidance on photography, so ask staff on the day.
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Q&A
- Is the Imazato Sake Brewery Honkura the oldest building at the brewery?
- Nagasaki Prefecture's database considers it probably the oldest surviving building. The Agency for Cultural Affairs dates it only to the late Edo period, which it defines as 1751 to 1829.
- Is the Imazato Sake Brewery Honkura read Honkura or Motogura?
- The Agency for Cultural Affairs reads it Honkura and Nagasaki Prefecture's database Motogura. This site follows the Agency.
- How big is the Imazato Sake Brewery Honkura?
- It is 12 ken (about 22 metres) long and 6 ken (about 11 metres) wide under a gable roof, with a building area of 283 square metres. Only the central section has an upper floor.
- What is special about the roof frame of the Imazato Sake Brewery Honkura?
- Doubled tie beams cross the building every 2 ken (about 3.6 metres), with sloping nobori-bari beams set between them. The Nakagura next door alternates the two instead.
- Can I go inside the Imazato Sake Brewery Honkura?
- The interior is not open to the public. The grounds open on the annual open-house days, but entry to the Honkura has not been announced.
Basic Information
| Name | Imazato Sake Brewery Honkura (今里酒造本蔵) |
|---|---|
| Location | 596 Shukugo, Hasami-cho, Higashisonogi-gun, Nagasaki Prefecture |
| Designation | Registered Tangible Cultural Property (Building) |
| Year Designated | Registered 2006 |
| Quantity | 1 building |
| Dimensions | Timber, 2 storeys, tiled roof, building area 283 square metres; 12 ken by 6 ken |
| Owner | Not listed in the Agency for Cultural Affairs database (on the premises of Imazato Brewery Co., Ltd.) |
| Public Access | Interior closed to the public (grounds open on the annual open-house days) |
References
- Agency for Cultural Affairs, Cultural Properties Database: 今里酒造本蔵 (Imazato Sake Brewery Honkura)
- https://kunishitei.bunka.go.jp/bsys/maindetails/101/00005383
- Nagasaki Prefecture Cultural Properties Database: Imazato Shuzo
- https://www.pref.nagasaki.jp/bunkadb/index.php/view/419
- Hasami Town: Registered Tangible Cultural Properties
- https://www.town.hasami.lg.jp/kiji0031441/index.html
Last verified: 2026.10.06
