A Soy Sauce Brewhouse of About 1904
The Former Nozawa Toyogoro Brewery Soy Sauce Storehouse (旧野澤豊五郎醸造醤油蔵, Kyū Nozawa Toyogorō Jōzō Shōyugura) is a soy sauce storehouse of about 1904 in Shioya, Murakami City, Niigata Prefecture; it was enlarged in 1917 and was registered as a Registered Tangible Cultural Property (structure) on August 1, 2016 (Agency for Cultural Affairs).
The Agency records a single-storey timber building with a tile roof and a building area of 440 square metres; registration number 15-0443. It is the largest of the three registered buildings of the Former Nozawa Toyogoro Brewery.
Because the brewery traded under the name Marumasu, it is also known locally as the former Marumasu soy sauce storehouse (Niigata Prefecture, Murakami Regional Development Bureau).
A Broad Gable on the Street
The Soy Sauce Storehouse faces a side street a short way east of the main street through Shioya (Agency for Cultural Affairs). Its gabled Kirizuma-zukuri roof is laid with Sangawara-buki pantiles, and toward the street it shows a wide gable end clad in Shitami-itabari clapboard.
Inside is one large earth-floored Doma space. The Wagoya roof frame, built with naturally curved timbers as beams, is left open with no ceiling beneath it (Agency for Cultural Affairs). The front storehouse joins it on the south and the lower storehouse on the east, which puts the Soy Sauce Storehouse at the centre of the brewery.
Why It Was Registered
The Former Nozawa Toyogoro Brewery Soy Sauce Storehouse was registered for contributing to the historic landscape of the country. The Agency presents it as a building that shows the brewing trade carried on in the area.
It is also a component property of the Japan Heritage story on the ports of call and shipowners' settlements of the kitamaebune, the merchant ships that traded along the Sea of Japan coast. The Japan Heritage council and Murakami City describe it as the brewhouse of the Nozawa family, who brewed in Shioya and sold soy sauce to Hokkaido by kitamaebune.
After the Brewing Stopped
According to the Murakami City Tourist Association, soy sauce was made here from the early Meiji era until the business closed in 2003.
In 2006, says the Murakami Regional Development Bureau, the local Shioya Revitalization Council turned the interior into a stage and café space, and the storehouse has hosted many events since. In July 2015 it was also a location for the film Tono, Risoku de Gozaru! (Murakami City Tourist Association).
What to Look For
Start in the street, facing the gable of the Soy Sauce Storehouse. The clapboarded gable wall is unusually wide, and it gives a sense from outside of a building with 440 square metres of floor.
If you get the chance to go in, look up at the curved beams spanning the roof frame. Citing the Shioya guidebook, the Murakami City Tourist Association notes that the fune press used to squeeze soy sauce, an old boiler and tall six-shaku casks are still in place, so the hall keeps the look of a working brewhouse.
Visiting
The Former Nozawa Toyogoro Brewery Soy Sauce Storehouse is opened for events and similar occasions (Murakami City Tourist Association). No regular opening hours or admission fees are announced, so check event dates if you want to see inside. Enquiries go to the Shioya Revitalization Council, whose office is at Nozawa Shokuhin Kogyo (tel. 0254-66-5507).
There is no official guidance on photography. On days without events, stay off the property and view the gable from the street.
Q&A
- When was the Former Nozawa Toyogoro Brewery Soy Sauce Storehouse built?
- In about 1904, and it was enlarged in 1917 (Agency for Cultural Affairs).
- Why is the Former Nozawa Toyogoro Brewery Soy Sauce Storehouse called the Marumasu storehouse?
- Marumasu was the trade name of the brewery, so locally it is known as the former Marumasu soy sauce storehouse (Niigata Prefecture).
- Can I go inside the Former Nozawa Toyogoro Brewery Soy Sauce Storehouse?
- It is opened for events and similar occasions (Murakami City Tourist Association). There are no regular opening hours; contact the Shioya Revitalization Council (tel. 0254-66-5507).
- How is the Former Nozawa Toyogoro Brewery Soy Sauce Storehouse linked to the kitamaebune ships?
- The Nozawa family sold soy sauce to Hokkaido by kitamaebune, and the storehouse is a component property of the Japan Heritage story on kitamaebune ports (Japan Heritage Kitamaebune Council).
- When was the Former Nozawa Toyogoro Brewery Soy Sauce Storehouse registered?
- On August 1, 2016 (Agency for Cultural Affairs).
Basic Information
| Name | Former Nozawa Toyogoro Brewery Soy Sauce Storehouse (旧野澤豊五郎醸造醤油蔵) |
|---|---|
| Location | 1146 Shioya Kosenjiwaki, Murakami City, Niigata Prefecture |
| Designation | Registered Tangible Cultural Property (Structure) |
| Year Designated | Registered 2016/08/01 (Heisei 28) |
| Quantity | 1 building |
| Dimensions | Single-storey timber building, tile roof, 440 m² |
| Owner | Not listed in the Agency database |
| Public Access | Opened for events (no regular opening hours) |
References
- Former Nozawa Toyogoro Brewery Soy Sauce Storehouse (Database of National Cultural Properties, Agency for Cultural Affairs)
- https://kunishitei.bunka.go.jp/heritage/detail/101/00011101
- Shioya Revitalization Council receives a minister's award (Niigata Prefecture, Murakami Regional Development Bureau, Japanese)
- https://www.pref.niigata.lg.jp/sec/murakami_kikaku/1356871156744.html
- Former Marumasu Soy Sauce Storehouse (Murakami City Tourist Association, Japanese)
- https://www.sake3.com/spot/7085
- Murakami City, Niigata: Kitamaebune Ports of Call (Japan Heritage Kitamaebune Council, Japanese)
- https://www.kitamae-bune.com/travel/%E6%96%B0%E6%BD%9F%E7%9C%8C-%E6%9D%91%E4%B8%8A%E5%B8%82/
- Murakami City Plan for the Preservation and Use of Cultural Properties (Murakami City, Japanese)
- https://www.city.murakami.lg.jp/uploaded/life/94388_226289_misc.pdf
Last verified: 2026.11.02
