Fukuchiyo Sake Brewery No. 1 Storehouse

The Largest Building of the Brewery

The Fukuchiyo Sake Brewery No. 1 Storehouse (富久千代酒造一号蔵) is a two-storey brewhouse of about 1921 in Hamamachi, Kashima City, Saga Prefecture, and was registered as a Registered Tangible Cultural Property (structure) on November 8, 2004 (Agency for Cultural Affairs).

The Agency records a two-storey timber building with a tiled roof and a building area of 522 square meters; registration number 41-0045.

One Roof from Mash to Shipping

The Fukuchiyo Sake Brewery No. 1 Storehouse stands near the middle of the west side of the site, its ridge running east to west (Agency for Cultural Affairs). It is 14 by 8 bays, which the Japan Cultural Heritage Information site gives as roughly 25 by 15 meters, under a Yosemune-zukuri hipped roof of Sangawara-buki tiles, with a lean-to 2.5 bays deep along the south side.

Inside, the No. 1 Storehouse is divided by task. The ground floor is the fermenting hall where the mash is set, the west end is the pressing room, the upper floor is storage, and the south lean-to holds finished sake (Agency for Cultural Affairs). Kashima City's historic character plan lists the same four uses.

Why It Was Registered

The Agency notes the vertical board cladding of the No. 1 Storehouse and treats it as the core of the row of brewery buildings along the west edge of the site; it was registered for its contribution to the historic landscape, together with the rice mill abutting it to the east and the koji room to the north.

The Agency dates the No. 1 Storehouse to about 1921, slightly earlier than the company's stated founding year of 1923; no source we found explains how the two dates relate.

What to Look For

From outside, the scale of the roof is what to look for: the hipped roof of the No. 1 Storehouse runs 14 bays, and at its east end the rice mill continues the line. The vertical boards are Yakisugi charred cedar, the same finish as the rice mill and koji room (Agency for Cultural Affairs).

The Japan Cultural Heritage Information site reports that one corner of the No. 1 Storehouse has been fitted out as a tasting room reserved for overnight guests of the company's auberge.

Visiting

The Fukuchiyo Sake Brewery No. 1 Storehouse is a working brewhouse and its interior is not open to the public. The Kashima City Tourism Association notes that the company offers no tours or tastings, so the building is seen from the street. No official guidance on photography was found.