The Anchor of the East Storehouses
At 728 square meters, the sake storehouse is the largest of the registered Fujii Honke buildings and the hub around which the working half of the brewery is organized. It stands at the northwest of the grounds, alongside the brewing storehouse, and its plan turns an L. The testing and inspection rooms attach to its west face toward the south, and on the north side sits the kamaba, the kettle room where rice is steamed for brewing. Several of the other registered structures, the inspection rooms and the brick chimney among them, connect to or serve this single building.
Built around 1923, it is a two-story dozō, an earthen-walled storehouse on a timber frame, roofed with pantiles over a gabled kirizuma form. Its size and its role as a connector make it the piece that holds the east storehouse group together.
A Storehouse Built to Last
The exterior is plastered solid all the way up to the underside of the eaves, the thorough fireproofing that defines a true dozō and that mattered greatly in a yard full of fire, steam and alcohol. Along the base of the west wall, the plaster gives way to vertical board cladding, a practical skirt that protects the lower wall from splashing and wear. The combination, white plaster above and dark boarding below, gives the long elevation its solid, weighty character.
The Agency for Cultural Affairs registered the building in October 2008 for its contribution to the historical landscape. With the brewing storehouse beside it, the inspection rooms against its flank and the chimney rising nearby, the sake storehouse forms the core of an ensemble that preserves the working face of a Taishō-era brewery.
Taking It In
Fujii Honke, founded in 1831 and known for its Kyokujitsu label, brews with water from the Suzuka mountains and rice grown by local farmers, worked by brewers of the Noto school. Free tours run by reservation, and the sake storehouse, with the tasting that follows, is usually the heart of a visit. It is where the steamed rice begins its way toward the finished bottle.
From the yard, trace the L of the plan and pick out how the smaller buildings dock against it: the inspection rooms on the west, the kettle room to the north, the chimney between the storehouses. Reading the group this way, with the sake storehouse at the center, is the clearest way to understand why these six structures were registered together as one historical landscape.
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Q&A
- What is this storehouse for?
- It is the sake storehouse, the largest of the group, housing the kettle room where rice is steamed and connecting to the inspection rooms. It is the hub of the brewing buildings.
- Why is it plastered up to the eaves?
- That thorough plastering is what makes a true dozō, giving fire resistance that was essential in a yard handling steam, fire and alcohol.
- What is the boarding along the base of the west wall?
- Vertical board cladding, a protective skirt over the lower wall that shields the plaster from splashing and wear.
- How big is it, and when was it built?
- About 728 square meters on an L-shaped plan, two stories, built around 1923 and registered in October 2008.
- Can I visit?
- Yes. Fujii Honke offers free brewery tours by reservation, usually including a tasting. Confirm dates and times in advance.
Basic Information
| Name | Fujii Honke East Storehouse, Sake Storehouse (Fujii Honke Higashigura Seishugura) |
|---|---|
| Location | 601 Nagano, Aishō-chō, Echi District, Shiga Prefecture |
| Category | Registered Tangible Cultural Property (building) |
| Registered | October 23, 2008 |
| Count | 1 building |
| Structure | Two-story earthen-walled storehouse (dozō), gabled pantiled roof, L-shaped plan; floor area approx. 728 m² |
| Date | Built c. 1923 (Taishō) |
| Registration criterion | Contributes to the historical landscape of the nation |
| Access | About 6 min by taxi from JR Inae Station; about 15 min on foot from Aichigawa Station (Ōmi Railway) |
| Owner / operator | Fujii Honke (sake brewery) |
References
- Fujii Honke — official website
- https://www.fujiihonke.jp/
- Agency for Cultural Affairs, National Cultural Properties Database — Fujii Honke Higashigura Seishugura
- https://kunishitei.bunka.go.jp/bsys/maindetails/101/00007369
- Tanoshii Osake — Fujii Honke and its Kyokujitsu sake
- https://tanoshiiosake.jp/5550
Last verified: 2026.07.04