Nakashima Sake Brewery Storehouse

Three Storehouses in a Row, Across the Road

Nakashima Sake Brewery Storehouse (中島酒造場土蔵, Nakashima Shuzōjō Dozō) is a mid-Meiji storehouse belonging to a sake brewery in Hamamachi, Kashima City, Saga Prefecture, registered as a Registered Tangible Cultural Property on 3 August 2006. A single-storey Dozo-zukuri building of 203 square metres, it stands across the Tara Ōkan road from the brewery's Main House.

Of the five registered Nakashima buildings, this is the only one on the north side of the road. The Main House and the three buildings behind it are grouped on the south side; the Storehouse sits on its own, facing them from the opposite frontage.

There is also a storehouse attached to the west end of the Main House, but that one is registered as part of the Main House. The building registered as the Nakashima Sake Brewery Storehouse is the one across the street.

How It Is Built, and Why It Was Registered

The Agency for Cultural Affairs describes the building as three blocks joined in a row: a north-south block of 10 and a half by 3 bays, a second north-south block of 4 and a half by 3 and a half bays, and an east-west block of 3 and a half by 3 and a half bays. All three have gabled roofs laid with sangawara pantiles.

The Storehouse is set back slightly from the street. Its doorway is in the south gable, sheltered by a tiled pent roof, which means it faces the road and, beyond it, the Main House.

Registration came under the criterion for contribution to the historic landscape. With the Main House on the south side of the road and the Nakashima Sake Brewery Storehouse on the north, the brewery straddles the street, and this stretch of Sakagura-dōri is framed by brewery buildings on both sides.

What to Look For

Watch the roofline change direction. Two of the three blocks run north to south and the third runs east to west, so somewhere along the run the line of the roofs has to turn a corner.

Then look at the south gable with its doorway and pent roof. Because the building stands a little back from the street, standing square in front of it gives a clear view of how the gable and canopy work together.

Visiting the Storehouse

Of the five registered buildings, the Nakashima Sake Brewery Storehouse is the easiest to see. It fronts the old road, so the south gable, the doorway and the pent roof can all be viewed from the street. The interior is not open, and the ground in front of the storehouse should not be entered.

No posted rule on photography was found. Photographing the exterior from the street is straightforward; keep clear of passing traffic. Opening hours and directions for the whole brewery are gathered on the Nakashima Sake Brewery page.