A Big Brewing Shed from 1959
Machiya Club (Former Nishikatsu Sake Brewery) North Brewing Storehouse (まちや倶楽部（旧西勝酒蔵）北仕込蔵) is a sake brewing storehouse built in 1959 in Suwaichō Naka, Omihachiman, Shiga Prefecture, and registered as a Registered Tangible Cultural Property on 17 February 2022. It is a two-storey building of reinforced concrete and timber with a tiled roof, and at 163 square metres it is the largest of the Nishikatsu buildings whose size is recorded.
It stands north of the south brewing storehouse and passage storehouse and fills the northern part of the site. Like its southern neighbour, it housed the main fermentation, where koji, steamed rice and water were added to the yeast starter to make the mash.
Evidence of a Growing Brewery
The Agency for Cultural Affairs calls it a modern building, with a trussed roof and mortar walls, and reads it as a sign of increasing production. The Meiji-era south brewing storehouse was no longer enough, so after the war the brewery built a much bigger one to the north. The Machiya Club north brewing storehouse pins down the moment Nishikatsu scaled up.
The official description also credits it with shaping the northern part of the site. Registration generally requires a building to be at least 50 years old; this one was 63 when it was listed, for its contribution to the historic landscape.
Concrete Below, Timber Above
The roof is a gable with the long side toward the entrance (Hirairi), covered in pantiles, its ridge running east to west. The walls are finished in mortar, a very different surface from the lime-plastered kura around it.
The structure is hybrid: reinforced concrete on the ground floor, timber on the upper floor. A heavy base under heavy fermentation vats, a lighter frame above.
The roof is carried on queen-post trusses. Where a King post truss has a single post at the centre, a queen-post truss uses two posts set apart, leaving the middle of the roof space open. The south brewing storehouse holds up its roof with one freestanding post; here the same job is done by engineering, and the difference spans about a century.
Visiting the North Brewing Storehouse
The exterior can be seen from the lane through the site. Look north from the lime walls of the south brewing storehouse and the mortar and two-storey bulk of this building make the contrast plain. Machiya Club has not announced any public access to the interior.
There is no published photography policy. Directions are on the Machiya Club (Former Nishikatsu Sake Brewery) group page. Information checked on 25 September 2026.
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Q&A
- Can I visit the Machiya Club (Former Nishikatsu Sake Brewery) North Brewing Storehouse?
- You can see the exterior from the lane through the site. No public access to the interior has been announced.
- When was the Machiya Club North Brewing Storehouse built?
- In 1959. It was registered as a Registered Tangible Cultural Property on 17 February 2022.
- How is the Machiya Club North Brewing Storehouse built?
- The ground floor is reinforced concrete and the upper floor is timber. The walls are finished in mortar and the roof rests on queen-post trusses.
- Why was the Machiya Club North Brewing Storehouse registered?
- As a large, modern brewing storehouse that records the brewery's growing output and shapes the northern part of the site, under the criterion of contributing to the historic landscape.
- How big is the Machiya Club North Brewing Storehouse?
- Its footprint is 163 square metres, the largest of the Nishikatsu buildings whose size is recorded.
Basic Information
| Name | Machiya Club (Former Nishikatsu Sake Brewery) North Brewing Storehouse |
|---|---|
| Location | 15-1 Suwaicho Naka, Omihachiman City, Shiga Prefecture |
| Designation | Registered Tangible Cultural Property (Building) |
| Year Designated | Registered 2022/2/17 (Reiwa 4) |
| Quantity | 1 building |
| Dimensions | Building area 163 square metres |
| Owner | Not listed in the Agency for Cultural Affairs records |
| Public Access | Exterior visible from the lane through the site. No public interior access has been announced |
References
- Agency for Cultural Affairs, Database of National Cultural Properties: Machiya Club (Former Nishikatsu Sake Brewery) North Brewing Storehouse
- https://kunishitei.bunka.go.jp/heritage/detail/101/00014180
- Cultural Heritage Online: Machiya Club (Former Nishikatsu Sake Brewery) North Brewing Storehouse
- https://bunka.nii.ac.jp/heritages/detail/592550
- Agency for Cultural Affairs, Council for Cultural Affairs report of 19 November 2021 on Registered Tangible Cultural Properties (Buildings)
- https://www.bunka.go.jp/seisaku/bunkazai/shokai/yukei_kenzobutsu/pdf/93601801_02.pdf
Last verified: 2026.09.24
