Where the Sake Is Made
The Tanaka Sake Brewery Brewing Storehouse (田中酒造場仕込蔵, Tanaka Shuzōjō Shikomigura) is a Taishō-era (1912–1926) brewery building on the old Inaba Kaidō post town of Ōhara-juku in Furumachi, Mimasaka City, Okayama Prefecture, registered as a Registered Tangible Cultural Property on October 27, 2017.
It stands along the southern half of the east side of the property, its ridge running north to south. The two-storey timber building has a pantile roof (Sangawara-buki) and measures 21.1 meters by 11.3 meters, with a building area of 237 square meters. Of the five registered buildings, this is the one where the core work of brewing, fermenting and pressing, took place.
Against its west wall stands the storage warehouse of 1885. Both are exactly 21.1 meters long, and the dates suggest that the Taishō-era Tanaka Sake Brewery Brewing Storehouse was built alongside the older Meiji building, sharing its wall.
Why It Was Registered
The Tanaka Sake Brewery Brewing Storehouse was registered for contributing to the historic landscape. The Agency for Cultural Affairs describes it as shaping the east side of the property and as the core of the brewery's operations.
The value lies in how the interior is organized. An upper floor covers only the northern half; the southern half is open from the ground to the roof. At the south end of the ground floor is the funaba, the room where fermented mash is pressed; at the north end of the upper floor is the koji-muro, the warm room where rice is inoculated with koji mold. The space between held brewing vats and barrels.
In other words, the building lays out the steps of the process from north to south: making koji, fermenting, pressing. The brewery says it still presses its sake in a fune, a wooden press in which cloth bags of mash are stacked and squeezed slowly, so the funaba named in the registration record shares its name with a tool the brewery still uses.
What to Look For
From outside, the first thing is length: a ridge 21.1 meters long running straight north to south, forming the eastern edge of the compound. Because it sits wall to wall with the storage warehouse, from the back the two tile roofs appear as parallel lines.
Inside, the striking feature is the split between the two halves. If a tour takes you in, look up to see where the upper floor stops and how far the space above the southern half rises. That tall volume was presumably meant to hold tall fermenting vats and the press.
The koji room's position at the north end of the upper floor is telling too. Koji needs close control of warmth and humidity, and an upstairs room away from the busy pressing area makes sense for that. How individual rooms have been used over time is not published, though, so it is unconfirmed if today's arrangement still matches the registration record.
Visiting the Tanaka Sake Brewery Brewing Storehouse
The Tanaka Sake Brewery Brewing Storehouse stands at the back of the property on its east side and cannot be seen from the old road, where the main house and shop storehouse block the view. To see the exterior, go around to the east side of the compound. The interior is not open to the public.
This is a working brewery building, busy during the brewing season. According to the brewery, tours are by advance reservation, for small groups of up to about 10 people, and generally not between November and March. Tours have also been suspended at times, so contact the brewery before counting on a visit inside.
No published photography rules turned up. If you are shown inside, the koji room and fermenting vats are hygiene-controlled spaces; follow your guide on where to stand and when photos are allowed.
- 📍 Plan Your Visit to Okayama
- Find tours, activities & transport passes near Tanaka Sake Brewery Brewing Storehouse
- [ Kurashiki Bikan District & Korakuen Garden Tours ]
Q&A
- When was the Tanaka Sake Brewery Brewing Storehouse built?
- The Agency for Cultural Affairs dates it to the Taishō era (1912–1926). It was registered as a Registered Tangible Cultural Property on October 27, 2017.
- Can you tour the inside of the Tanaka Sake Brewery Brewing Storehouse?
- It is not regularly open. The brewery takes advance reservations for small groups of up to about 10 people, generally not between November and March, and tours are sometimes suspended, so check first.
- How big is the Tanaka Sake Brewery Brewing Storehouse?
- It is a two-storey timber building measuring 21.1 meters by 11.3 meters, with a building area of 237 square meters, the third largest of the five registered buildings after the storage warehouse and the main house.
- How was the Tanaka Sake Brewery Brewing Storehouse used?
- The south end of the ground floor is the funaba pressing room and the north end of the upper floor is the koji room; the rest held brewing vats and barrels. The upper floor covers only the northern half.
- Why was the Tanaka Sake Brewery Brewing Storehouse registered?
- It was registered for contributing to the historic landscape, as the building that shapes the east side of the property and forms the core of the brewery's operations.
Basic Information
| Name | Tanaka Sake Brewery Brewing Storehouse |
|---|---|
| Location | 1655 Yashiki, Furumachi, Mimasaka City, Okayama Prefecture, and other lots |
| Designation | Registered Tangible Cultural Property (Building) |
| Year Designated | Registered 2017/10/27 (Heisei 29) |
| Quantity | 1 building |
| Dimensions | 2-storey timber building, pantile roof, 21.1 meters by 11.3 meters, building area 237 square meters |
| Owner | Not listed in the Agency for Cultural Affairs database (part of the Tanaka Sake Brewery works) |
| Public Access | Exterior partly visible from the east side of the property; interior not open (tours by reservation, check with the brewery) |
References
- Database of National Cultural Properties (Agency for Cultural Affairs): Tanaka Sake Brewery Brewing Storehouse
- https://kunishitei.bunka.go.jp/bsys/maindetails/101/00012036
- Tanaka Sake Brewery: company profile, tours and access
- https://www.musashinosato.com/06_company.html
- Tanaka Sake Brewery: the sake-making process
- https://www.musashinosato.com/04_process.html
Last verified: 2026.09.24
