Inoue Sake Brewery

A Hita Sake Brewery Founded in 1804, Known as the Birthplace of Inoue Junnosuke

Inoue Sake Brewery (井上酒造, Inoue Shuzō) is a sake brewery in Ōaza Ōhi, in the Ōtsuru district of Hita City, Oita Prefecture, founded in 1804 and best known for its Kakunoi sake; three of its structures, the store and main house, the wooden storehouse and the brick chimney, were registered together as Registered Tangible Cultural Properties of Japan on August 1, 2016.

According to the company's own history, the business began in what was then Ōtsuru Village in Hita District, making and selling sake. The Kakunoi label (角の井, "the square well") went on sale in 1908, and the name recalls the square-sided well whose water the brewery has used for its mash since its earliest days. Today Inoue Sake Brewery also makes barley and rice shochu and fruit liqueurs, and the Oita Sake Brewers Association notes that it grows some of its own sake rice.

The Agency for Cultural Affairs describes the brewery as the family home where Inoue Junnosuke was born. Born here in 1869, Junnosuke served twice as Governor of the Bank of Japan and as Minister of Finance in three cabinets. As finance minister in the Hamaguchi cabinet he carried out Japan's return to the gold standard in 1930, and in 1932 he was shot dead by a member of the ultranationalist League of Blood while campaigning in an election. In 1991 the company opened the Seikei Bunko, a small display of his belongings inside the family home; Seikei was the pen name he used.

Three Structures from Three Eras

Each of the registered structures at Inoue Sake Brewery belongs to a different period. In order of age, following the Agency for Cultural Affairs database:

• Inoue Sake Brewery Store and Main House: 1914, remodelled in 1943; two storeys, timber, building area 454 square meters
• Inoue Sake Brewery Wooden Storehouse: 1937; two storeys, timber, building area 373 square meters; built as a brewing storehouse
• Inoue Sake Brewery Chimney: around 1953; brick, about 18 meters tall

Together they span roughly forty years: a Taisho-era house that doubled as the shop, a large prewar brewing hall and a postwar brick chimney. Hita City's register of cultural properties dates the main house more precisely to its ridge-raising ceremony in 1914.

The three carry consecutive registration numbers, 44-0220 to 44-0222, and all were registered under the criterion of contributing to the historic landscape of the country. The owner is Inoue Shuzo Co., Ltd. Hita City lists them as a single entry of three items, while Oita Prefecture's register gives each its own line.

The store and main house and the chimney stand at 2299-1 Dosako, and the wooden storehouse at 2219-1 Terada and adjoining lots, so the brewery straddles two neighbouring land divisions. The Agency's description places the chimney at the far western end of the premises.

Visiting Inoue Sake Brewery and Getting There

Inoue Sake Brewery is still a working brewery, and its shop sells sake and shochu on site. Brewery tours are by reservation only; the Oita Sake Brewers Association lists tour hours of 8:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. The company points out that some stages of production are not running in every season and some areas may be closed, so call ahead (0973-28-2211) to arrange a visit.

The Seikei Bunko is also strictly by reservation, open 10:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m., with admission of 300 yen per person (telephone 0973-28-2213). On display are Junnosuke's letters and the overcoat he was wearing when he was shot, and for part of the year the family's hina dolls from four generations, from the Tenpo era to Showa, are set out as well. On the annual brewery open day in April, the Seikei Bunko opens free of charge. No policy on photography is published, so ask when you book.

By public transport, the BRT Hikoboshi Line (the Hitahikosan Line BRT), a bus rapid transit service linking Hita and Soeda stations, passes close to Inoue Sake Brewery. On the map the nearest stop is Hoshiguchi, roughly 200 meters in a straight line south of the store and main house. The company's directions still say "5 minutes by taxi from JR Otsuru Station", but this stretch of the Hitahikosan Line was wrecked in the Northern Kyushu floods of 2017 and has been run as a BRT service since August 28, 2023, so Otsuru is now a BRT stop. Visitors arriving by car can use the brewery's car park.