What the Masujin Sake Shop Storehouse is
The Masujin Sake Shop Storehouse (益甚酒店土蔵, Masujin Saketen Dozō) is an earthen-walled storehouse built around 1892 in Omachi, Murakami City, Niigata Prefecture, and registered as a Registered Tangible Cultural Property on January 31, 2003.
The Masujin storehouse stands at the back of the plot, southeast of the brewery, with its ridge running east to west. It measures 4 ken by 3.5 ken, about 7.3 by 6.4 meters, and is a 2-storey building under a gabled roof of pan tiles, with a building area of 46 square meters. It is the smallest of the three registered buildings at Masujin Sake Shop.
According to the Agency for Cultural Affairs, this was a dōgugura, a storehouse for equipment. It held the tools of sake making rather than rice or the finished sake.
A storehouse that changed hands with the brewing gear
The Agency's description of the Masujin Sake Shop Storehouse carries a piece of family history. In 1909, it says, the head of the household, Masuda Jintarō, bought this storehouse together with the main house and a full set of brewing equipment.
House, storehouse and equipment passed as a single package, which reads very much like taking over a going brewing business. As the tool store, the Masujin storehouse worked as a unit with the main house and the brewery. According to the present owner, Masujin went on brewing until 1945.
A tall boarded base and an exposed-post upper wall
The first thing to notice on the Masujin Sake Shop Storehouse is the lower half of its walls. The Agency describes a tall wainscot of vertical boards, with the wall above finished in a Shinkabe manner. Boarding protects the earthen wall from rain and splashing mud, and here it is carried unusually high.
Shinkabe means a wall in which the posts are left showing on the surface. Most earthen storehouses bury their posts under thick plaster, so an upper wall marked by the lines of the frame gives this one a different face from the plain white storehouses common in Japanese towns.
The entrance and a window are in the west gable end, and there are further windows on the south side. With the door in the gable, the front of the storehouse is its western triangular end.
Why the Masujin storehouse was registered, and visiting
The Masujin Sake Shop Storehouse was registered as a building that contributes to the historic landscape of the country. With the main house and brewery, it forms part of the merchant compound laid out after the 1892 fire.
The Masujin Sake Shop Storehouse stands at the back of the plot, and no interior opening has been announced. The store at the front can be visited during business hours, but no source confirms whether the storehouse can be seen from the street or the shop floor. The back of the property is private, so ask the staff before expecting to see it. Directions and shop hours are on the Masujin Sake Shop page.
Q&A
- Can I visit the Masujin Sake Shop Storehouse?
- No interior opening of the Masujin Sake Shop Storehouse has been announced. The store at the front is open during business hours, but the back of the property is private, so check with the staff.
- What was the Masujin Sake Shop Storehouse used for?
- According to the Agency for Cultural Affairs, it was a tool storehouse for sake-making equipment.
- When was the Masujin Sake Shop Storehouse built?
- Around 1892. In 1909 Masuda Jintarō is said to have bought it along with the main house and a full set of brewing equipment.
- How big is the Masujin storehouse in Murakami, and what does it look like?
- It is a 2-storey building of 4 by 3.5 ken with a building area of 46 square meters. A tall boarded base supports an upper wall with exposed posts, and the entrance is in the west gable end.
- Why is the Masujin Sake Shop Storehouse a Registered Tangible Cultural Property?
- It was registered on January 31, 2003, as a building that contributes to the historic landscape of the country.
Basic Information
| Name | Masujin Sake Shop Storehouse |
|---|---|
| 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 46 m² |
| Owner | Unknown (not listed in the Agency for Cultural Affairs database) |
| Public Access | No interior opening announced |
References
- Agency for Cultural Affairs, Database of National Cultural Properties: Masujin Sake Shop Storehouse (Japanese)
- https://kunishitei.bunka.go.jp/bsys/maindetails/101/00003080
- Cultural Heritage Online: Masujin Sake Shop Storehouse (Japanese)
- https://online.bunka.go.jp/heritages/detail/187810
- Things: Masujin Saketen, a local sake shop in Murakami (Japanese)
- https://things-niigata.jp/other/masujinsaketen/
Last verified: 2026.10.21
