What Is the Furuhashi Sake Brewery Workshop?
The Furuhashi Sake Brewery Workshop (古橋酒造場作業場, Furuhashi Shuzōjō Sagyōba) is a two-story earthen storehouse (Dozo-zukuri) of around 1921 running along the north side street of the Furuhashi Sake Brewery in Ushiroda, Tsuwano Town, Shimane Prefecture, and was registered as a Registered Tangible Cultural Property of Japan on September 10, 2010, under number 32-0133.
It starts just east of the store and main house on Honmachi-dori and stretches back along the side street. The building is long and narrow, 24 meters by 7.0 meters, with a building area of 165 square meters under a gabled (Kirizuma-zukuri) roof of interlocking pantiles.
Why the Workshop Was Registered
The Furuhashi Sake Brewery Workshop was registered for contributing to the historic landscape of the country. In the Agency for Cultural Affairs' words, its stone-built base, tall clapboard walls and plastered band under the eaves create a solid, weighty streetscape.
Turn the corner from Honmachi-dori into the side street and the shopfront ends almost at once. What follows is the plank wall of the Furuhashi Sake Brewery Workshop, running 24 meters into the block. Its job in the townscape is that long wall. The brewing storehouse picks up where it stops, and together the two buildings hold one whole side of the street.
Walls and Rooms of the Workshop
Read the wall from the ground up. At the bottom is a base of laid stone. Above it, overlapping horizontal boards (Shitami-itabari) climb high up the wall. Only a narrow band near the eaves shows white Shikkui plaster, the Hachimaki. The boards shield most of the earthen wall from rain and wind, and the plaster appears only where the eaves already give cover.
Inside, the Agency records a work room and a storage room on the ground floor and, upstairs, tatami-floored rooms and a yeast room. The yeast room is where the brewery handled the yeast used in brewing. No record we could find says how the tatami rooms were used.
That mix of work space, storage, a yeast room and living-style rooms under one roof sets the Furuhashi Sake Brewery Workshop apart from the brewery's other storehouses, which were built for fermenting and for storing sake.
Seeing the Workshop
The outside of the Furuhashi Sake Brewery Workshop can be seen from the side street along the north edge of the brewery. The three bands of stone, clapboard and white plaster read best from the opposite side of the street. The interior is not normally open, and the brewery does not say whether its tours go inside the workshop, so ask when you book. Directions and tour booking are covered on the Furuhashi Sake Brewery page.
- 📍 Plan Your Visit to Shimane
- Find tours, activities & transport passes near Furuhashi Sake Brewery Workshop
- [ Izumo Taisha Shrine & Adachi Museum Gardens ]
Q&A
- What is the Furuhashi Sake Brewery Workshop?
- A two-story earthen storehouse of around 1921 with a work room and storage room on the ground floor and tatami rooms and a yeast room upstairs.
- When did the Furuhashi Sake Brewery Workshop become a Registered Tangible Cultural Property?
- On September 10, 2010, for contributing to the historic landscape of the country. Its registration number is 32-0133.
- How big is the Furuhashi Sake Brewery Workshop?
- It measures 24 meters by 7.0 meters, with a building area of 165 square meters.
- Where can I see the Furuhashi Sake Brewery Workshop?
- It stands east of the store and main house along the street on the north side of the brewery, and its outside is visible from that street.
- Can I go inside the Furuhashi Sake Brewery Workshop?
- Not normally. The brewery does not publish whether its tours enter the workshop, so ask when you book.
Basic Information
| Name | Furuhashi Sake Brewery Workshop |
|---|---|
| Location | Ushiroda Honmachi Ro 196 and others, Tsuwano Town, Kanoashi District, Shimane Prefecture |
| Designation | Registered Tangible Cultural Property (Building) |
| Year Designated | 2010 (registered) |
| Quantity | 1 building |
| Dimensions | 24 m by 7.0 m; building area 165 m² |
| Owner | Furuhashi Sake Brewery Co., Ltd. (listed as 古橋酒蔵株式会社 in the national database; trading name 古橋酒造株式会社) |
| Public Access | Exterior from the north side street; interior not normally open (tour access not published) |
References
- Database of National Cultural Properties (Agency for Cultural Affairs): Furuhashi Sake Brewery Workshop
- https://kunishitei.bunka.go.jp/bsys/maindetails/101/00008341
- Shimane Prefecture: List of Registered Tangible Cultural Properties (Buildings)
- https://www.pref.shimane.lg.jp/life/bunka/bunkazai/shimane/tourokubunkazai2.html
- Furuhashi Sake Brewery (official): Brewery Tours
- https://uijin.net/?mode=f3
Last verified: 2026.10.04
