About the Bitchuya Koso Sake Brewery Main House
The Bitchuya Koso Sake Brewery Main House (備中屋高祖酒造主屋, Bitchūya Kōso Shuzō Shuoku) in Ushimado, Setouchi City, Okayama Prefecture, is a 2-story timber residence of a sake-brewing family built in the mid-Meiji period, registered as a Registered Tangible Cultural Property in 2007.
It stands on the northeast corner of the brewery's founding site in the Sekimachi quarter, its front turned to the road on the south. The building area is 170 square meters. The main roof is an Irimoya-zukuri hip-and-gable form in heavy Hongawarabuki tiling, with a lower pent roof, or Geya, running around all four sides. A board fence enclosing a small garden is included in the registration.
The Agency for Cultural Affairs dates the house simply to the mid-Meiji period. The company is more specific: it says the house was remodeled around 1892, some six decades after the family took up brewing.
Why the Main House Was Registered
The Bitchuya Koso Sake Brewery Main House was registered under the criterion of contributing to the historic landscape of the country. The Agency's description singles out its dignified street front, the kind of house a successful brewer would build.
The plan tells the same story. Inside, an earth-floored passage runs along the east side, and six rooms, including an 8-mat Zashiki reception room, fill the west. Kouso Shuzo describes the layout as a regular six-room plan developed from the four-square farmhouse type: from the through passage, the shop room, living room, zashiki, storeroom and inner zashiki follow one after another toward the back.
The company also compares it with the "lower house," a mid-Edo townhouse nearby, and presents the Main House as the step up from a combined shop-and-home to a large family residence. That shift, from merchant townhouse to brewer's mansion, is what makes the building worth a look.
What to Look For
Stand in front of the Bitchuya Koso Sake Brewery Main House and compare the two floors. The ground floor has projecting wooden lattices that let in light while screening the rooms from the street. The upper floor is finished in Namako-kabe: flat tiles fixed to the wall, their joints built up in white plaster, framed by bands of black plaster.
A small discrepancy is worth knowing about. Setouchi City's page calls the front lattice flat, while the Agency's record says it projects. This article follows the Agency; on site you can judge for yourself whether the lattice stands proud of the wall.
Look up, too. Because the pent roof runs all the way around beneath the big tiled roof, the eaves read as two stacked lines. From the far side of the road both the layered roofs and the black-and-white upper wall fit into one view, and the low board fence sets the boundary between street and garden without closing it off.
Visiting the Main House
The Bitchuya Koso Sake Brewery Main House is a private company residence and the interior is not open to the public. It is seen from the road on its south side, where the whole facade, from the lattices up to the roof ridge, can be taken in at once.
Photograph only from the road, and do not step into the entrance or behind the fence. As of September 25, 2026, no special openings had been announced.
- 📍 Plan Your Visit to Okayama
- Find tours, activities & transport passes near Bitchuya Koso Sake Brewery Main House
- [ Kurashiki Bikan District & Korakuen Garden Tours ]
Q&A
- Can you go inside the Bitchuya Koso Sake Brewery Main House?
- No. It is a private residence owned by Kouso Shuzo and the interior is closed. The facade can be seen from the road to the south.
- When was the Bitchuya Koso Sake Brewery Main House built?
- The Agency for Cultural Affairs dates it to the mid-Meiji period. The company says it was remodeled around 1892.
- How do you pronounce the name of the Bitchuya Koso Sake Brewery Main House?
- Bitchūya Kōso Shuzō Shuoku. The family name 高祖 is read Kōso, not Takaso.
- Why is the Bitchuya Koso Sake Brewery Main House a Registered Tangible Cultural Property?
- It was registered in 2007 for contributing to the historic landscape, with its formal brewer's-house front cited in the official description.
- What are the main features of the Bitchuya Koso Sake Brewery Main House exterior?
- Projecting ground-floor lattices, a namako-kabe upper wall with black plaster, and a tiled hip-and-gable roof ringed by a lower pent roof.
Basic Information
| Name | Bitchuya Koso Sake Brewery Main House |
|---|---|
| Location | 3097-1 Ushimado, Ushimado-cho, Setouchi City, Okayama Prefecture |
| Designation | Registered Tangible Cultural Property (Building) |
| Year Designated | 2007 (registered) |
| Quantity | 1 building |
| Dimensions | Building area 170 m², 2-story timber |
| Owner | Kouso Shuzo Co., Ltd. |
| Public Access | Interior closed; exterior visible from the road |
References
- Agency for Cultural Affairs, Database of National Cultural Properties: Bitchuya Koso Sake Brewery Main House
- https://kunishitei.bunka.go.jp/bsys/maindetails/101/00006413
- Cultural Heritage Online: Bitchuya Koso Sake Brewery Main House
- https://online.bunka.go.jp/heritages/detail/182626
- Kouso Shuzo Co., Ltd.: About the Brewery (Japanese)
- https://www.kouso-senju.co.jp/about.html
- Setouchi City: Bitchuya Koso Sake Brewery (Japanese)
- https://www.city.setouchi.lg.jp/soshiki/23/1875.html
Last verified: 2026.09.25
