What Is the Zaima Brewery New House?
The Zaima Brewery New House (財間酒造場新宅, Zaima Shuzōjō Shintaku) is a single-storey timber residence built in 1915 in the southwest corner of the sake brewery's plot in Nakaza, Tsuwano Town, Shimane Prefecture, and it was registered as a Registered Tangible Cultural Property on August 13, 2012.
With a building area of 102 m², it is the smallest of the five registered buildings. Where the storehouses and the shop were built for brewing and trade, the Zaima Brewery New House is a dwelling with a guest room and a formal tatami room.
A Roof That Follows the Slope
The Agency for Cultural Affairs spends most of its short description of the Zaima Brewery New House on the roof. Because the house stands on sloping ground, the ridges were set at different heights to step with the terrain, producing an intricate cluster of gables. The roofs are gabled and laid with pantiles, quite unlike the single broad roof of the main house on the street.
The Agency credits these stepped roofs with giving the property a distinctive character. On flat land the house might have needed only one plain gable; on a hillside it gained a staggered run of rooflines instead.
Rooms and Annex of the Zaima Brewery New House
Inside, the Zaima Brewery New House arranges an entrance with an anteroom, a guest room, a formal tatami room and other spaces in a rough four-square grid, the "ta-no-ji" plan named after the Japanese character 田. The pattern is common in farmhouses and townhouses; here it organizes the guest room and tatami room.
An annex projects along the old road to Hatsukaichi that runs past the south side of the plot. Reaching out toward the road, it gives the house a presence on the street.
The word shintaku is used in Japanese for a branch family's house or for a newly built home, but no published source says who lived in the Zaima Brewery New House or how it was used. Its date entry gives 1915 with no recorded alterations. The East Storehouse was repaired in the same year, so 1915 was a busy one for building work at the brewery.
Visiting the Zaima Brewery New House
Neither the Zaima Sakaba website nor the Tsuwano Tourism Association mentions any opening of the Zaima Brewery New House interior (checked on October 16, 2026), so plan on seeing it from outside only.
Standing in the southwest corner of the plot, the Zaima Brewery New House shows its stepped roofs and the annex projecting toward the road to anyone walking along the old Hatsukaichi road. It may still be lived in, so stay off the property and be considerate when taking photographs. Directions are on the Zaima Brewery page.
Q&A
- When was the Zaima Brewery New House built?
- In 1915. The national database records no later alterations.
- Why does the Zaima Brewery New House have such a complicated roof?
- It stands on a slope, so the ridges were set at different heights to follow the ground. The roofs are gabled and tiled.
- What is the floor plan of the Zaima Brewery New House?
- An entrance and anteroom, a guest room and a formal tatami room are arranged in a rough four-square plan, with an annex reaching out along the old Hatsukaichi road. The building area is 102 m².
- When was the Zaima Brewery New House registered?
- On August 13, 2012, as a Registered Tangible Cultural Property, under the criterion of contributing to the historic landscape of the country.
- Can visitors go inside the Zaima Brewery New House?
- No opening of the interior has been announced. It can be seen from the outside, from the old Hatsukaichi road.
Basic Information
| Name | Zaima Brewery New House (財間酒造場新宅) |
|---|---|
| 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 | Single-storey timber building, tiled roof, building area 102 m² |
| Owner | Not listed (owner field blank in the Agency for Cultural Affairs database) |
| Public Access | No interior opening announced (exterior only) |
References
- Database of National Cultural Properties (Agency for Cultural Affairs): Zaima Brewery New House
- https://kunishitei.bunka.go.jp/bsys/maindetails/101/00009371
- Shimane Prefecture: List of Registered Tangible Cultural Properties (Buildings)
- https://www.pref.shimane.lg.jp/life/bunka/bunkazai/shimane/tourokubunkazai2.html
- Tsuwano Tourism Association: Zaima Sakaba
- https://tsuwano-kanko.net/info/zaima/
Last verified: 2026.10.15
