What Is the Zaima Brewery Brewing Storehouse?
The Zaima Brewery Brewing Storehouse (財間酒造場仕込蔵, Zaima Shuzōjō Shikomigura) is a two-storey Dozo-zukuri sake storehouse built in 1924 on the east side of the brewery's plot in Nakaza, Tsuwano Town, Shimane Prefecture, and it was registered as a Registered Tangible Cultural Property on August 13, 2012.
It measures 27.6 meters by 8.56 meters, with a building area of 316 m², and is the newest of the five registered buildings; the Agency for Cultural Affairs calls it a large sake storehouse. Shikomi is the brewer's word for preparing and setting the fermentation, so the name points to its intended role, though no public source describes how the building was actually used.
Staggered Windows on the Zaima Brewery Brewing Storehouse
What the Agency singles out on the Zaima Brewery Brewing Storehouse is the placing of its windows. Instead of running in a single line, the openings in the white plaster walls are staggered up and down in a zigzag, the pattern Japanese builders call chidori after the tracks of a plover. Broken up this way, a large wall loses its heaviness, and the Agency describes the effect as light.
The skirting is of vertical boards, and the gabled roof is laid with pantiles. Compare it with the Funekura and Hyakkokugura on the street, whose windows sit in an even row: the same plaster and timber finish, but a different face, purely from where the windows go.
A Covered Bridge to the East Storehouse
The Zaima Brewery Brewing Storehouse stands parallel to the East Storehouse on its north side, both ridges running east to west. The two are almost twins in size: each is 27.6 meters long, and their widths are 8.56 and 8.6 meters. It looks as though the 1924 building was laid out to match its late Edo neighbor.
At second-floor level a covered bridge reaches across to the East Storehouse, and the database's structural description includes it explicitly. The East Storehouse has upper windows for cooling steamed rice, so the bridge may have served as a route for moving materials between the two upper floors, but no record of its use was found.
The building was altered in the mid-Showa period (1946 to 1965) and again around 2003. It was registered under the criterion of contributing to the historic landscape of the country.
Visiting the Zaima Brewery Brewing Storehouse
The Zaima Brewery Brewing Storehouse is on the east side of the plot, north of the East Storehouse and behind the main house and the long storehouse on the old San'in-dō. Public guides do not say whether its staggered windows or the covered bridge can be seen from the road.
Zaima Sakaba says it welcomes visitors to look around the brewery at any time, so ask in the shop if you would like to see the Zaima Brewery Brewing Storehouse. As a working sake storehouse it may be closed to visitors while brewing is under way, and photography should be checked at the same time. Directions and the museum's opening hours are on the Zaima Brewery page.
Q&A
- When was the Zaima Brewery Brewing Storehouse built?
- In 1924. It was altered in the mid-Showa period (1946 to 1965) and around 2003.
- What is special about the windows of the Zaima Brewery Brewing Storehouse?
- They are staggered in a zigzag (chidori) pattern, which the Agency for Cultural Affairs says gives the large storehouse a light appearance.
- Where does the covered bridge of the Zaima Brewery Brewing Storehouse lead?
- From its second floor to the East Storehouse just to the south. The two storehouses stand side by side with their ridges running east to west.
- When was the Zaima Brewery Brewing Storehouse registered?
- On August 13, 2012, as a Registered Tangible Cultural Property, under the criterion of contributing to the historic landscape of the country.
- Can I go inside the Zaima Brewery Brewing Storehouse?
- The brewery accepts visitors looking around at any time, but whether the Brewing Storehouse itself can be entered should be checked at the shop.
Basic Information
| Name | Zaima Brewery Brewing Storehouse (財間酒造場仕込蔵) |
|---|---|
| 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 | 2-storey dozo-zukuri storehouse, tiled roof, building area 316 m², 27.6 m by 8.56 m, with covered bridge |
| Owner | Zaima Sake Brewery Co., Ltd. (株式会社財間酒造) |
| Public Access | Ask at the shop about looking around the brewery |
References
- Database of National Cultural Properties (Agency for Cultural Affairs): Zaima Brewery Brewing Storehouse
- https://kunishitei.bunka.go.jp/bsys/maindetails/101/00009374
- Database of National Cultural Properties (Agency for Cultural Affairs): Zaima Brewery East Storehouse
- https://kunishitei.bunka.go.jp/bsys/maindetails/101/00009373
- 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
