The Smallest Registered Building at Imazato Sake Brewery
The Imazato Sake Brewery Product Storage Area (今里酒造製品置き場, Imazato Shuzō Seihin Okiba) is a Taishō-era two-storey timber outbuilding of a sake brewery in Shukugō, Hasami Town, Nagasaki Prefecture, registered as a Registered Tangible Cultural Property on 2 March 2006.
With a building area of 95 square metres it is the smallest of the six registered buildings at Imazato Sake Brewery. The Agency for Cultural Affairs dates it to the Taishō era, a span it gives as 1912 to 1925, which makes it the only Taishō building among the six, sitting between three late Edo structures and two from the early Shōwa period.
Tucked into the Corner of Two Brewhouses
The Imazato Sake Brewery Product Storage Area is built against the south gable of the Nakagura and the southern part of the Shingura's east wall, filling the corner where the two big brewhouses meet. It is 5 Ken (about 9 metres) long and 3 ken (about 5.5 metres) wide, a two-storey building with its ridge running north to south under a tiled gable roof (Kirizuma-zukuri), and a lean-to roof, or Geya, projecting from its east side.
A Rice Store with the Master Brewer's Room Upstairs
According to the Agency, the building began as a store for brown rice, the raw grain before polishing. Its registered name describes a later use: a place to keep finished product. The building's job moved from holding what went into the sake to holding what came out.
On the upper floor, at the north end, is a room of 15 and a half tatami mats set aside for the toji. The toji is the master brewer who leads the brewing crew, and traditionally lived on the premises through the brewing season. Here his room sat directly above the rice.
The Agency sums up the Imazato Sake Brewery Product Storage Area as small but indispensable to the brewery, and it was registered under number 42-0055 for contributing to the historic landscape. Its presence means the register covers not only the grand brewhouses but also the humbler buildings that held the grain and housed the brewer.
Seeing the Imazato Sake Brewery Product Storage Area
The interior of the Imazato Sake Brewery Product Storage Area is not open, and the toji's room is not part of any tour. The building stands inside the compound against the Nakagura and the Shingura, and whether it can be seen from the old road has not been confirmed.
The grounds open once a year for the brewery's open house, though how close visitors can get to this building depends on the arrangements on the day. If you can see it, notice how it is fitted against the Nakagura's gable and the Shingura's wall, and the low lean-to roof on its east side. There is no official guidance on photography, so ask staff first.
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Q&A
- What was the Imazato Sake Brewery Product Storage Area originally used for?
- According to the Agency for Cultural Affairs, it was originally a store for brown rice, the raw material for sake.
- What is on the upper floor of the Imazato Sake Brewery Product Storage Area?
- At the north end of the upper floor is a room of 15 and a half tatami mats for the toji, the master brewer who leads the brewing crew.
- When was the Imazato Sake Brewery Product Storage Area built?
- The Agency dates it to the Taishō era, which it defines as 1912 to 1925. It is the only Taishō building among the six registered at Imazato Sake Brewery.
- Where is the Imazato Sake Brewery Product Storage Area on the site?
- It is built against the south gable of the Nakagura and the southern part of the Shingura's east wall. It is a two-storey gabled building 5 ken by 3 ken, with a lean-to on the east side.
- Can I go inside the Imazato Sake Brewery Product Storage Area?
- The interior, including the toji's room, is not open to the public. The grounds open on the annual open-house days, but how close you can get depends on the arrangements on the day.
Basic Information
| Name | Imazato Sake Brewery Product Storage Area (今里酒造製品置き場) |
|---|---|
| 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 95 square metres; 5 ken by 3 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: 今里酒造製品置き場 (Imazato Sake Brewery Product Storage Area)
- https://kunishitei.bunka.go.jp/bsys/maindetails/101/00005387
- 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
