Gate, wall and steps before the shop
Marumoto Sake Brewery Shop Side Gate, Wall and Stone Steps (丸本酒造店脇門・塀及び石段, Marumoto Shuzō-ten Wakimon, Hei oyobi Ishidan) is an early Taisho ensemble of gate, wall and steps at 2485 Yoshimune, Honjo, Kamogata-cho, Asakuchi City, Okayama Prefecture, listed as a Registered Tangible Cultural Property on 1 December 2003.
It lies just south of the Marumoto Sake Brewery Shop and forms its front. The gate is 1.8 metres wide, the wall runs for 12 metres, and the steps cover 16 square metres; the three are registered together as a single property.
The front faces a river. The shop stands a step higher than the riverside, and the gate, wall and steps are what deal with the change in level.
Embankment and wall to the west, steps to the east
The two halves do different jobs. On the west half, a wall is carried around three sides, east, south and west, on top of a dressed-stone Ishigaki embankment, enclosing a raised terrace; the side gate opens in its east face.
On the east half, a flight of dressed-stone steps rises to the shop door, taking visitors from the low riverside to the earth floor of the shop in the same cut stone as the embankment.
The side gate is a Munamon, a simple gate of two posts under a gabled roof, here covered in Hongawarabuki round-and-flat tile. The wall, by contrast, has a Sangawara-buki pantile coping, and its lower part is clad in sasarako shitami: horizontal boards held by vertical battens notched to fit their laps, which gives a fine ribbed shadow.
So within one small group the tile changes, round-and-flat on the gate and pantile on the wall. The gate is given the better finish and the wall the plainer one.
The shop's front
It was registered on 1 December 2003 and gazetted on 25 December, in the thirty-ninth round. The registration number is 33-0069 and the criterion is contribution to the historic landscape of the nation.
The Agency for Cultural Affairs names Marumoto Sake Brewery Shop Side Gate, Wall and Stone Steps as a principal element of the raised shop front facing the river. The shop itself is a two-storey building of only 63 square metres; lifted on this embankment, wall and flight of steps, it gains weight on the south side of the compound.
On their own these pieces are easy to overlook. But they are always in the foreground when you look up at the shop, and the coursing of the stone, the round tiles on the gate and the ribbed boarding on the wall carry the shop's elevation from below. They are best read together with the shop as one front.
Visiting
Marumoto Sake Brewery Shop Side Gate, Wall and Stone Steps stands on the south side of the compound in front of the shop and can be seen from the approach. Follow it from the embankment and three-sided wall on the west, to the gate opening in its east face, to the steps on the east half, and the handling of the change in level becomes clear.
Beyond the side gate is the inner yard, which can only be entered on the brewery's pre-booked tours. As of 25 September 2026 no tour dates were scheduled. No photography policy has been published. 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
- Where can Marumoto Sake Brewery Shop Side Gate, Wall and Stone Steps be seen from?
- From the approach on the south side of the compound, in front of the shop. Passing through the gate into the yard is only possible on the brewery's pre-booked tours.
- What are the dimensions of Marumoto Sake Brewery Shop Side Gate, Wall and Stone Steps?
- The gate is 1.8 metres wide, the wall 12 metres long, and the stone steps cover 16 square metres.
- What type of gate is at Marumoto Sake Brewery Shop Side Gate, Wall and Stone Steps?
- A munamon gate with a round-and-flat tile roof. The wall has a pantile coping and ribbed board cladding on its lower part.
- When was Marumoto Sake Brewery Shop Side Gate, Wall and Stone Steps built?
- The Agency for Cultural Affairs dates it to the early Taisho period, the same period as the shop.
- When was Marumoto Sake Brewery Shop Side Gate, Wall and Stone Steps 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 33-0069.
Basic Information
| Name | Marumoto Sake Brewery Shop Side Gate, Wall and Stone Steps |
|---|---|
| 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 | Timber gate 1.8 metres wide, wall 12 metres long, stone steps 16 square metres |
| Owner | Marumoto Shuzo Co., Ltd. |
| Public Access | Exterior visible from the southern approach. Yard open only on pre-booked brewery tours |
References
- National Cultural Properties Database, Marumoto Sake Brewery Shop Side Gate, Wall and Stone Steps (Agency for Cultural Affairs)
- https://kunishitei.bunka.go.jp/heritage/detail/101/00003698
- Marumoto Shuzo, Okayama Kanko Web (Okayama Tourism Federation)
- https://www.okayama-kanko.jp/spot/detail_11569.html
Last verified: 2026.09.25
