The largest fermentation store, on higher ground
Marumoto Sake Brewery East Storehouse (丸本酒造東蔵, Marumoto Shuzō Higashigura) is a two-storey fermentation store built in 1913 and extended in the early Showa period, at 2485 Yoshimune, Honjo, Kamogata-cho, Asakuchi City, Okayama Prefecture, listed as a Registered Tangible Cultural Property on 1 December 2003.
It stands east of the Marumoto Family Residence Reception Wing, on higher ground in the north-east of the compound. At 747 square metres it is the largest of the eleven listed structures. In a compound where most buildings are dated only to the early Taisho period, it is also unusual in having a firm year: 1913.
The Agency for Cultural Affairs records its structure as two-storey timber and describes it in the text as Dozo-zukuri, an earth-walled store. There is no contradiction: dozo-zukuri walls are thick layers of clay packed onto a timber frame, so structurally the building is timber.
Twin stores, an old koji room and a frame of round logs
The plan is two east-west stores of almost the same span set side by side, with two rows of Kirizuma-zukuri gabled, Sangawara-buki pantiled roof. It is the same approach as the West Storehouse, repeating equal bays to cover a large floor, but on a much bigger scale.
Attached north of the eastern store is the former koji room, the closed chamber where steamed rice is inoculated with koji mould and kept at a steady temperature and humidity. It is described as former, suggesting that koji-making has since moved elsewhere.
What sets Marumoto Sake Brewery East Storehouse apart is its timber. Posts, beams, rafters and even floor joists are all round logs, barked but not squared. The West and South storehouses use trusses; here the frame is built the old way, from whole logs. Storehouses of the same Taisho generation were framed on quite different principles.
The north-east corner of the compound
It was registered on 1 December 2003 and gazetted on 25 December, in the thirty-ninth round. The registration number is 33-0073 and the criterion is contribution to the historic landscape of the nation.
The Agency describes Marumoto Sake Brewery East Storehouse as plain but large, set on high ground, and indispensable to the landscape of the north-east of the compound. Two rows of tile roof raised on a higher terrace define that corner of the property.
According to the brewery's history, in 1914, the year after the store was built, the second head of the house opened a branch in Taiwan. Building the East Storehouse in 1913 belongs to a period when the business was looking outward and expanding.
With the East Storage Shed next door it makes a double line along the east side of the site. This corner, with a fermentation store beside a storage shed, gives the clearest sense of how large the brewery once was.
Visiting
As a working fermentation store, the East Storehouse is not normally open. From outside, look for the two gabled roofs side by side on their higher ground and for the former koji room attached to the north.
The interior is closed, and because the brewery's pre-booked tours follow the brewing process, which stores are shown depends on the work that day. As of 25 September 2026 no tour dates were scheduled. No photography policy has been published, so ask when booking. Directions and visiting conditions for the whole site are on the Marumoto Family Residence and Marumoto Sake Brewery page. Details were checked on 25 September 2026.
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Q&A
- Can you go inside Marumoto Sake Brewery East Storehouse?
- It is a working fermentation store and is not normally open. The brewery runs pre-booked tours, but as of 25 September 2026 no tour dates were scheduled.
- How big is Marumoto Sake Brewery East Storehouse?
- Its footprint is 747 square metres, the largest of the eleven listed structures at the Marumoto compound. Two east-west stores of equal span stand side by side, with a former koji room attached to the north.
- When was Marumoto Sake Brewery East Storehouse built?
- The Agency for Cultural Affairs dates it to 1913, with an extension in the early Showa period.
- What is structurally distinctive about Marumoto Sake Brewery East Storehouse?
- It is a two-storey earth-walled store framed in round logs, down to the rafters and joists, in contrast to the trussed roofs of the West and South storehouses.
- When was Marumoto Sake Brewery East Storehouse registered as a cultural property?
- It is a Registered Tangible Cultural Property (structure), registered on 1 December 2003 and gazetted on 25 December of that year in the thirty-ninth round, with registration number 33-0073.
Basic Information
| Name | Marumoto Sake Brewery East Storehouse |
|---|---|
| Location | 2485 Yoshimune, Honjo, Kamogata-cho, Asakuchi City, Okayama Prefecture |
| Designation | Registered Tangible Cultural Property (structure) |
| Year Designated | Registered 2003/12/1 (Heisei 15) |
| Quantity | 1 building |
| Dimensions | 2-storey timber (dozo-zukuri) storehouse, tiled roof, footprint 747 square metres |
| Owner | Marumoto Shuzo Co., Ltd. |
| Public Access | Interior closed (working fermentation store). Stands on higher ground in the north-east of the compound |
References
- National Cultural Properties Database, Marumoto Sake Brewery East Storehouse (Agency for Cultural Affairs)
- https://kunishitei.bunka.go.jp/heritage/detail/101/00003702
- Marumoto Shuzo, Okayama Kanko Web (Okayama Tourism Federation)
- https://www.okayama-kanko.jp/spot/detail_11569.html
Last verified: 2026.09.25
