What the Masujin Sake Shop Main House and Sake Brewery is
The Masujin Sake Shop Main House and Sake Brewery (益甚酒店主屋及び酒蔵, Masujin Saketen Shuoku oyobi Sakagura) is a sake merchant's residence and brewery built in 1892 in Omachi, Murakami City, Niigata Prefecture, and registered as a Registered Tangible Cultural Property on January 31, 2003.
The Masujin main house and brewery begin behind the street-front store, east of its 12-mat ground-floor room. The family's living quarters come first, the brewery stands further east, and on the brewery's north side is a Kojimuro, the warm room where rice was cultivated with koji mould for brewing. All three parts are registered together as one property: a 2-storey timber structure with a tiled roof and a building area of 386 square meters, the largest of the three registered buildings at Masujin Sake Shop.
The 1892 fire and carpenter Inagaki Gentarō's ridge tablet
The date of the Masujin Sake Shop Main House and Sake Brewery is known from a Munafuda, the ridge tablet left in the main house at completion. According to the Agency for Cultural Affairs, the master carpenter was Inagaki Gentarō, and the house went up just after the great fire of 1892. It belongs to the rebuilding of Omachi after that fire.
The Agency also records that in 1909 the head of the household, Masuda Jintarō, bought the main house along with a full set of brewing equipment. The Masuda family brewed sake here, and according to the present owner the business continued as a brewery until 1945. The brewery and koji room are what remain of that work.
Why the Masujin main house and brewery were registered
The Masujin Sake Shop Main House and Sake Brewery was registered as a building that contributes to the historic landscape of the country. What the Agency points to in particular is the west gable end of the main house.
The main house turns its gable, the triangular end of the roof, to the west, toward the street. That gable end is 9.5 ken wide, about 17 meters, far wider than the 5.5-ken store in front of it, so the broad gable can be seen from beside the store, standing back behind it. The Agency describes it as part of the townscape of Omachi as it was rebuilt after the fire.
A Showa shopfront at the street edge, and behind it the large roof raised after the Meiji fire: that layering front to back is what shapes the view of Masujin Sake Shop from the street.
Seeing the Masujin Sake Shop Main House and Sake Brewery
The Masujin Sake Shop Main House and Sake Brewery is the private home and former brewery behind the shop, and no interior opening has been announced. Visitors may enter the shop floor, but please treat everything beyond it as private and do not go further in unless the staff invite you.
The part of the Masujin main house that is easiest to see is the one the Agency highlights, the west gable. Look along the side of the store from the street and the gable of the main house appears behind it. Standing a little way off on the opposite side of the street makes it easier to take in how the two roofs overlap. Directions and shop hours are on the Masujin Sake Shop page.
Q&A
- Can I go inside the Masujin Sake Shop Main House and Sake Brewery?
- No interior opening of the Masujin Sake Shop Main House and Sake Brewery has been announced. The store in front is open during business hours, but the main house and former brewery behind it are private.
- When was the Masujin Sake Shop Main House and Sake Brewery built, and by whom?
- Its ridge tablet shows it was built just after the great fire of 1892 by the master carpenter Inagaki Gentarō.
- Where is the best place to see the Masujin main house in Murakami?
- From the street, look along the side of the store: the west gable of the main house stands behind it. This 9.5-ken gable end is the feature the Agency cites in the registration.
- What does the Masujin Sake Shop Main House and Sake Brewery include?
- Three parts: the main house, the brewery to its east and the koji room north of the brewery. They are registered together, with a building area of 386 square meters.
- Why is the Masujin Sake Shop Main House and Sake Brewery a Registered Tangible Cultural Property?
- It was registered on January 31, 2003, as a building that contributes to the historic landscape. The west gable of the main house is valued as part of Omachi's townscape rebuilt after the 1892 fire.
Basic Information
| Name | Masujin Sake Shop Main House and Sake Brewery |
|---|---|
| Location | 194 Omachi, Murakami City, Niigata Prefecture |
| Designation | Registered Tangible Cultural Property (Building) |
| Year Designated | Registered January 31, 2003 |
| Quantity | 1 building |
| Dimensions | 2-storey timber building, tiled roof, building area 386 m² |
| Owner | Unknown (not listed in the Agency for Cultural Affairs database) |
| Public Access | No interior opening announced (west gable visible from the street) |
References
- Agency for Cultural Affairs, Database of National Cultural Properties: Masujin Sake Shop Main House and Sake Brewery (Japanese)
- https://kunishitei.bunka.go.jp/bsys/maindetails/101/00003079
- Cultural Heritage Online: Masujin Sake Shop Main House and Sake Brewery (Japanese)
- https://online.bunka.go.jp/heritages/detail/194079
- Agency for Cultural Affairs, Database of National Cultural Properties: Masujin Sake Shop Storehouse (Japanese)
- https://kunishitei.bunka.go.jp/bsys/maindetails/101/00003080
- Things: Masujin Saketen, a local sake shop in Murakami (Japanese)
- https://things-niigata.jp/other/masujinsaketen/
Last verified: 2026.10.21
