A Timber Shell Around a Brick Chamber
Umegae Sake Brewery Former Muro (梅ヶ枝酒造旧むろ, Umegae Shuzō kyū-muro) is a late Edo-period one-story building of brick and timber toward the south of the Umegae Sake Brewery compound in Jomacho, Sasebo City, Nagasaki Prefecture; altered in the late Meiji period, it became a Registered Tangible Cultural Property on February 14, 2002. It stands between the two-story wing of the bottling plant to the east and the former brewing storehouse to the west.
What you see from outside is a timber building with a gabled Kirizuma-zukuri roof of Sangawara-buki pantiles. Inside it, though, is a muro, an enclosed chamber built of brick. It is a room built inside a building, and the Umegae Sake Brewery Former Muro is the only one of the seven registered structures made this way.
It measures 8.3 meters by 8.9 meters, almost square and slightly deeper than it is wide, with a building area of 74 square meters. On a site full of long, narrow sheds, that compact footprint stands out.
What Is a Muro?
In sake making, muro usually means the koji-muro, the room where koji mold is grown on steamed rice. Koji needs steady warmth and humidity, so these rooms are built with thick walls and ceilings to shut out the weather.
The Agency for Cultural Affairs, however, does not say what the muro at the Umegae Sake Brewery Former Muro was used for. Its description mentions only a brick muro laid in a distinctive bond, and no published source confirms that it was a koji room.
The dating also leaves questions. The database records a late Edo building altered in the late Meiji period, but whether the brick chamber was there from the start or added during the Meiji work is not known. The timber shell and the brick room may not be the same age.
What to Look For at the Umegae Sake Brewery Former Muro
Outside, watch the roofline. The roof of the Umegae Sake Brewery Former Muro is finished so that it reads as one with the roof of the brewing storehouse to the west. Seen from the south, the two separate buildings look like a single long shed.
Its south face forms part of the lane-like passage the Agency calls typical of sake breweries. With the taller bottling plant rising to the east, the one-story muro drops the roofline between higher neighbors and gives the passage its rhythm.
If you ever get a look inside, study the brickwork. The Agency went out of its way to call the bond distinctive, and only the real wall will show how.
Visiting the Umegae Sake Brewery Former Muro
The interior of the Umegae Sake Brewery Former Muro is not advertised as open. Its south face can be seen from the passage along the southern edge of the site, but that area is close to the working bottling plant, so view it on a brewery tour and follow your guide. Ask before taking photographs.
Directions and tour booking details are on the Umegae Sake Brewery page.
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Q&A
- What is the Umegae Sake Brewery Former Muro?
- A timber gabled building with a brick muro chamber built inside it. Constructed in the late Edo period and altered in the late Meiji period, it became a Registered Tangible Cultural Property in 2002.
- Was the Umegae Sake Brewery Former Muro a koji room?
- Muro in sake making usually means a koji room, but the Agency for Cultural Affairs does not state its use, and no published source confirms it.
- How big is the Umegae Sake Brewery Former Muro?
- It is nearly square, 8.3 meters by 8.9 meters, with a building area of 74 square meters.
- What is distinctive about the roof of the Umegae Sake Brewery Former Muro?
- It is finished to read as one with the roof of the brewing storehouse next door, creating a lane-like frontage on the south side.
- Can I go inside the Umegae Sake Brewery Former Muro?
- Its interior is not advertised as open.
Basic Information
| Name | Umegae Sake Brewery Former Muro |
|---|---|
| Location | 317 Jomacho, Sasebo City, Nagasaki Prefecture |
| Designation | Registered Tangible Cultural Property (Building) |
| Year Designated | Registered February 14, 2002 (Heisei 14) |
| Quantity | 1 building |
| Dimensions | 8.3 meters by 8.9 meters; building area 74 square meters |
| Owner | Umegae Sake Brewery Co., Ltd. |
| Public Access | Interior not advertised as open |
References
- Agency for Cultural Affairs, Database of National Cultural Properties: Umegae Sake Brewery Former Muro
- https://kunishitei.bunka.go.jp/heritage/detail/101/00002730
- Agency for Cultural Affairs, Database of National Cultural Properties: Umegae Sake Brewery Former Brewing Storehouse
- https://kunishitei.bunka.go.jp/heritage/detail/101/00002731
Last verified: 2026.09.19
