A Shop and Family Home from the Brewery's First Years
Kato Sake Brewery Store and Main House (加藤酒造店舗兼主屋, Katō Shuzō Tenpo-ken-shuoku) is an early Meiji-era Machiya townhouse in Omisaki, Ariake-cho, Shimabara City, Nagasaki Prefecture, and it was listed as a Registered Tangible Cultural Property on October 23, 2008. It holds the sake brewer's shop and the family's living quarters under one roof, with a building area of 266 square meters.
The Kato Sake Brewery Store and Main House is a large townhouse entered from the long side (Hirairi) and faces north onto the street. According to the Agency for Cultural Affairs, it has a hip-and-gable (Irimoya-zukuri) roof of interlocking pantiles (Sangawara-buki) over a timber frame with a low upper storey of the Tsushi-nikai type. The ridge over the western half sits slightly higher, and a wing (Tsunoya) projects from the back toward the east.
The agency's structural summary lists the building as single-storey, while its descriptive notes call it a tsushi two-storey house. Nagasaki Prefecture gives the building area as 272 square meters including a connecting corridor, which does not match the agency's 266 square meters; this article follows the agency.
Why It Was Registered as a Model of Design
The Kato Sake Brewery Store and Main House carries registration number 42-0074 and was listed as a model of design. The gate, the two earthen walls and the well, registered the same day, were all listed for their contribution to the landscape; only the house was singled out for its form.
The prefecture explains that a two-tier roof with a deeply lowered lower eave (Geya), a garden in front of the reception rooms and walls enclosing it are features peculiar to townhouses on the Shimabara road. Kato Shuzō's house is cited as a typical example of the local type.
Reading the Floor Plan of the Kato Sake Brewery Store and Main House
The agency describes the interior of the Kato Sake Brewery Store and Main House as an earth-floored area (Doma) on the west side and a raised-floor section, with three rooms, including a reception room and a Buddhist altar room, lined up at the east end. The prefecture fills in the detail. Through the large front door you step onto the earthen floor, with the shop to the right. Up from the doma is a 10-mat front room, the Omote, and behind it an 8-mat storage room (nando) and a 4-mat living room.
A thick central pillar, 263 millimeters across, stands at the boundary between the Omote and the earthen floor.
East of the Omote come an older reception room (the ko-zashiki) and the altar room, and the rear wing holds a 10-mat reception room. The prefecture says this plan is the result of successive additions. The section from the Omote to the doma is built with traditional wrought nails and is thought to date from the founding of the brewery in 1877. The roof framing shows that the ko-zashiki and altar room were added later, in the late Meiji era. The reception room in the rear wing, with slender posts of about 12 centimeters (4 sun) and a moulded ceiling cornice, is said to be Taishō-era work.
The agency likewise records additions in the late Meiji, Taishō and early Shōwa eras: over half a century the house grew back and eastward from its 1877 core.
The Formal Alcoves
What the prefecture singles out for design is the formal alcove arrangement (Zashiki-kazari) in both reception rooms, and the agency also notes the high quality of the alcove work in the Kato Sake Brewery Store and Main House.
The built-in writing desk (Tsukeshoin) in the older room has the same moulded detailing as the newer one. According to the prefecture, when the new reception room was added in the Taishō era, carpenters also reworked the writing desk and the veranda edge of the older room, which is why two rooms of different dates share the same hand.
Visiting the Kato Sake Brewery Store and Main House
The Kato Sake Brewery Store and Main House is a private residence, and no public opening of the interior could be confirmed. No open days for viewing the pillar or the alcoves were found.
The street front can be seen from the road. Stand on the opposite side to read the slightly higher western ridge and the two-tier roof with its deep lower eave. The prefecture recorded that part of the building was still used as a liquor shop when it was registered; even if the shop is open, stay out of the living quarters and keep photography to the exterior from the street.
- 📍 Plan Your Visit to Nagasaki
- Find tours, activities & transport passes near Kato Sake Brewery Store and Main House
- [ Gunkanjima Island Landing & Glover Garden Tours ]
Q&A
- When was the Kato Sake Brewery Store and Main House built?
- The Agency for Cultural Affairs dates it to the early Meiji era, with additions in the late Meiji, Taishō and early Shōwa eras. Nagasaki Prefecture believes the section from the front room to the earthen floor was built when the brewery was founded in 1877.
- Why is the Kato Sake Brewery Store and Main House a Registered Tangible Cultural Property?
- It was registered as a model of design. Its two-tier roof with a deep lower eave and its garden enclosed by walls in front of the reception rooms are considered typical of townhouses on the Shimabara road.
- Can I go inside the Kato Sake Brewery Store and Main House?
- It is a private home, and no public opening of the interior could be confirmed. The exterior can be seen from the street.
- What should I look for at the Kato Sake Brewery Store and Main House?
- Inside, the 263-millimeter central pillar and the formal alcoves of the two reception rooms; from outside, the slightly higher western ridge and the two-tier roof.
- How big is the Kato Sake Brewery Store and Main House?
- The agency gives a building area of 266 square meters. Nagasaki Prefecture lists 272 square meters including a connecting corridor.
Basic Information
| Name | Kato Sake Brewery Store and Main House (加藤酒造店舗兼主屋) |
|---|---|
| Location | 1216-1 Nishikawa, Omisaki Bo, Ariake-cho, Shimabara City, Nagasaki Prefecture |
| Designation | Registered Tangible Cultural Property (building), registration no. 42-0074 |
| Year Designated | Registered October 23, 2008 (Heisei 20) |
| Quantity | 1 building |
| Dimensions | Wooden, single storey (described by the agency as tsushi two-storey), hip-and-gable pantile roof, building area 266 square meters |
| Owner | Private owner |
| Public Access | Not open to the public (exterior visible from the street) |
References
- Agency for Cultural Affairs, Database of National Cultural Properties: Kato Shuzo Tenpo-ken-shuoku
- https://kunishitei.bunka.go.jp/bsys/maindetails/101/00007411
- Nagasaki Prefecture Cultural Property Database: Kato Shuzo Store and Main House, Well, Gate and Earthen Walls (in Japanese)
- https://www.pref.nagasaki.jp/bunkadb/index.php/view/270
Last verified: 2026.10.02
