What Is the Zaima Brewery Store and Main House?
The Zaima Brewery Store and Main House (財間酒造場店舗兼主屋, Zaima Shuzōjō Tenpo-ken-shuoku) is a late Edo period (1751 to 1830) shop and family home of a sake brewery, standing on the old San'in-dō highway in Nakaza, Tsuwano Town, Shimane Prefecture, and it was registered as a Registered Tangible Cultural Property on August 13, 2012.
One roof covers the sales counter, the office and the family's living quarters, with a building area of 266 m². The Agency for Cultural Affairs describes it as the central building of a large, long-established brewery in a mountain district, and it carries the first of the brewery's five registration numbers, 32-0160.
A Brick Chimney in the Shop
According to the Agency, the Zaima Brewery Store and Main House has its entrance at the center of the facade. To the left as you face it are the office and the shop; to the right is the residence. Standing in the street, you are looking at a building split down the middle between trade and home. The gabled roof is laid with pantiles.
The feature that stops most people is a brick chimney set roughly in the middle of the shop section. The database even adds "with chimney" to its structural description. A masonry stack rising from the shop side of a timber merchant house is unusual, and it gives the house a distinctly industrial note. Published sources do not say when the chimney was built or what it originally served.
The records disagree slightly on height. The database's structure field and the Shimane Prefecture list both describe a single-storey timber building with a partial 2-storey section, while the Agency's explanatory note calls it simply single-storey. This article follows the structure field.
Layers of Time in the Zaima Brewery Store and Main House
The date entry for the Zaima Brewery Store and Main House reads "late Edo, altered in the mid-Meiji period and 1979". The frame goes back to the late Edo period, work was done in the mid-Meiji years (1883 to 1897), and the building was renovated again in 1979. The company dates its founding to 1791, which falls inside the late Edo bracket, but no source says whether this is the original building.
It was registered under the criterion of contributing to the historic landscape of the country, together with the East Storehouse behind it and the Funekura and Hyakkokugura storehouse that continues north along the road.
Visiting the Zaima Brewery Store and Main House
The Zaima Brewery Store and Main House is still the brewery's shop, so visitors can step into the sales area during business hours to buy sake; the company website says it is open every day of the year. The residential half is a private home and is not open.
The whole frontage can be seen from the old San'in-dō. Look for the difference between the left and right halves on either side of the central entrance, and for the position of the brick chimney on the shop side. Nothing is published about photography inside the shop, so ask the staff first. Directions and the museum's opening hours are on the Zaima Brewery page.
Q&A
- When was the Zaima Brewery Store and Main House built?
- The national database dates it to the late Edo period (1751 to 1830), with alterations in the mid-Meiji period (1883 to 1897) and in 1979.
- How is the Zaima Brewery Store and Main House laid out inside?
- The entrance is at the center of the front. The office and shop are on the left as you face the building, and the living quarters are on the right. A brick chimney stands near the middle of the shop.
- Is the Zaima Brewery Store and Main House one storey or two?
- The database structure field and the Shimane Prefecture list say single-storey with a partial 2-storey section; the explanatory note says single-storey. The building area is 266 m².
- When was the Zaima Brewery Store and Main House registered as a cultural property?
- On August 13, 2012, as a Registered Tangible Cultural Property, on the same day as the other four buildings of the Zaima Brewery.
- Can I go inside the Zaima Brewery Store and Main House?
- Yes, the shop section is open while the business is trading, which the company says is every day. The living quarters are private. Ask the staff before taking photographs indoors.
Basic Information
| Name | Zaima Brewery Store and Main House (財間酒造場店舗兼主屋) |
|---|---|
| Location | Nakaza-ro 34, Tsuwano Town, Kanoashi District, Shimane Prefecture |
| Designation | Registered Tangible Cultural Property (Building) |
| Year Designated | Registered August 13, 2012 |
| Quantity | 1 building |
| Dimensions | Timber, single-storey with a partial 2-storey section, tiled roof, building area 266 m², with chimney |
| Owner | Not listed (owner field blank in the Agency for Cultural Affairs database) |
| Public Access | Shop section open during business hours; living quarters private |
References
- Database of National Cultural Properties (Agency for Cultural Affairs): Zaima Brewery Store and Main House
- https://kunishitei.bunka.go.jp/bsys/maindetails/101/00009370
- Shimane Prefecture: List of Registered Tangible Cultural Properties (Buildings)
- https://www.pref.shimane.lg.jp/life/bunka/bunkazai/shimane/tourokubunkazai2.html
- Zaima Sakaba official website
- https://www.zaimasakaba.com/
Last verified: 2026.10.15
