Naruko Family Residence Sake Brewhouse No. 2

A Brewhouse on the Back Lane

The Naruko Family Residence Sake Brewhouse No. 2 (成子家住宅酒蔵二, Naruko-ke Jūtaku Sakagura Ni) in Ozaki, Hannan City, Osaka Prefecture, is a Taisho-era (1912–1926) two-storey sake brewhouse at the Naniwa Shuzo brewery, registered as a Registered Tangible Cultural Property on 12 October 2001. It has a gabled Kirizuma-zukuri roof of Hongawarabuki tiles and a building area of 193 square metres.

It stands on the north side of the compound, its long flank running parallel to a back lane that heads northwest, just as Brewhouse No. 1 does. It measures 9 bays by 6 and a half, and it shares an eave line with Brewhouse No. 1, so the pair form one continuous wall along the lane.

On this estate the four brewhouses ring the family's house and guest wing from outside. The Naruko Family Residence Sake Brewhouse No. 2 holds the northern side of that ring.

Charred Timber and Streetscape Weight

The outer walls are clad in yakiita, boards whose surface has been deliberately charred to resist rain and insects, fixed vertically and carried right up to the eaves. The black timber runs unbroken to the upper eaves, giving the building a heavy, sombre look quite unlike a white-plastered storehouse.

What the Agency for Cultural Affairs values most here is the brewhouse's effect on the town. Its note says the imposing pair of brewhouses, eaves aligned, is one of the key elements in Ozaki's historic streetscape. Like the other nine structures, it was registered for its contribution to the historic landscape.

If the main house is the estate's face to the front street, Brewhouse No. 2 is its back, and that back is itself counted as part of the townscape. It says something about the scale of a sake brewer's operation.

On dating: the agency places it in the Taisho era, while Naniwa Shuzo describes its brewhouses as timber buildings more than two centuries old. The published record does not resolve the difference.

What to Look For

Stand in the back lane and look along the line of Brewhouses No. 1 and No. 2. The black vertical grain of the charred boards runs across both buildings, capped by a single straight run of tiled roof. Check whether the eave height or the texture of the walls shifts at the join; it is the easiest way to see that these are two buildings, not one.

Charred boards change with the light. On a sunny day with the sun at a low angle, the fine crazing of the carbonised surface comes up sharply.

Seeing the Brewhouse

The exterior of the Naruko Family Residence Sake Brewhouse No. 2 can be seen from the back lane. It is a narrow residential street, so keep out of the way of traffic.

Whether you get inside depends on which brewhouses Naniwa Shuzo's paid, reservation-only tour visits, and published information does not break that down by building, so ask when you book. During the winter brewing season you may see work under way inside. Ask your guide what you may photograph. Directions and booking details are on the Naruko Family Residence page.