What Is the Sugita Sake Brewery Brewing Storehouse?
The Sugita Sake Brewery Brewing Storehouse (杉田酒造仕込蔵, Sugita Shuzō Shikomigura) is a two-story earthen brewing house of the late Edo period (1830 to 1868) at the Sugita Sake Brewery in Kamiizumi, Oyama City, Tochigi Prefecture, and has been a Registered Tangible Cultural Property since 2013.
A shikomigura is the storehouse where a brewery sets its sake to ferment. The Agency for Cultural Affairs places the Brewing Storehouse on the west side of the property and gives its size as 18.2 m long and 9.14 m deep, with a building area of 167 m².
Its roof is hipped and laid with pantiles. Among the four registered buildings at Sugita, only the Brewing Storehouse has a hipped main roof; the other three all have gabled roofs.
Why the Sugita Sake Brewery Brewing Storehouse Was Registered
Like the nearby Storage Storehouse, the Sugita Sake Brewery Brewing Storehouse was brought in from elsewhere. Tochigi Prefecture records that it was moved in the mid-Meiji period from the Tanami brewery in Minamikobayashi, another part of Oyama. The national database dates the move to around 1883 to 1897, so it joined the brewery at least a decade after the Storage Storehouse arrived around 1873.
When it was registered on March 29, 2013, the Brewing Storehouse was listed for its contribution to the historic landscape. The Agency for Cultural Affairs mentions the time-worn boards fixed along the base of its lime-plastered walls and notes that its timber frame largely keeps its original form. That the frame came through a relocation without major alteration is the core of its value.
How the Sugita Sake Brewery Brewing Storehouse Joins the Taishogura
The north side of the Sugita Sake Brewery Brewing Storehouse roof meets the Taishogura along that building's length. According to the prefecture, this joins the outer wall of the Brewing Storehouse to the end wall of the Taishogura, producing the longest wall of any building on the site: a hipped storehouse and a gabled one fused into a single run of plaster.
Inside, the depth is split into three bands, and the central band, 3 ken wide (1 ken is about 1.8 m), has two levels. The upper floor covers only that middle band, leaving tall spaces on either side. From this upper floor a passage leads across to the upper floor of the Taishogura, so the two storehouses connect at the upper level. The Agency for Cultural Affairs singles out this passage in its description.
Visiting the Sugita Sake Brewery Brewing Storehouse
The Sugita Sake Brewery Brewing Storehouse stands inside a brewery that is still making sake, and visitors cannot simply walk in. Tochigi Prefecture lists it as viewable on request through the owner, and the brewery runs tours by reservation only. The two-level interior and the passage to the Taishogura can be seen only from inside, so mention them when you book and ask about photography too.
From outside, look at where the boarded base meets the plaster, and at the long north wall shared with the Taishogura. The hipped roof is the easiest way to pick out the Brewing Storehouse among the four buildings.
Q&A
- When was the Sugita Sake Brewery Brewing Storehouse built, and where did it come from?
- It is thought to date from the late Edo period (1830 to 1868). It was moved around 1883 to 1897 from the Tanami brewery in Minamikobayashi, Oyama.
- How big is the Sugita Sake Brewery Brewing Storehouse, and what shape is its roof?
- It is a two-story earthen storehouse 18.2 m long and 9.14 m deep, with a building area of 167 m². The roof is hipped and tiled, the only hipped main roof among the brewery's four registered buildings.
- How is the Sugita Sake Brewery Brewing Storehouse connected to the Taishogura?
- Its north roof meets the Taishogura, so their outer walls run together, and a passage links the upper floors of the two buildings.
- Can visitors go inside the Sugita Sake Brewery Brewing Storehouse?
- Tours of the brewery are by reservation only, free, and without tasting, according to the brewery. Ask when you book whether the Brewing Storehouse interior can be shown and whether photos are allowed.
- Why is the Sugita Sake Brewery Brewing Storehouse a Registered Tangible Cultural Property?
- It was registered on March 29, 2013 (number 09-0202) for its contribution to the historic landscape. The Agency for Cultural Affairs cites its boarded exterior and a timber frame that largely keeps its original form.
Basic Information
| Name | Sugita Sake Brewery Brewing Storehouse |
|---|---|
| Location | 237 Kamiizumi Honzawa, Oyama City, Tochigi Prefecture |
| Designation | Registered Tangible Cultural Property (Building) |
| Year Designated | 2013 (registered March 29, 2013) |
| Quantity | 1 building |
| Dimensions | Length 18.2 m, depth 9.14 m; building area 167 m² |
| Owner | Sugita Shuzo Co., Ltd. |
| Public Access | Not regularly open (brewery tours by reservation only, arranged with the owner) |
References
- Cultural Properties Database (Agency for Cultural Affairs): Sugita Sake Brewery Brewing Storehouse
- https://kunishitei.bunka.go.jp/bsys/maindetails/101/00009431
- Cultural Heritage Online: Sugita Sake Brewery Brewing Storehouse
- https://online.bunka.go.jp/heritages/detail/206114
- Tochigi Prefecture, Tochigi Cultural Properties: Sugita Sake Brewery Brewing Storehouse (Japanese)
- https://bunkazai.pref.tochigi.lg.jp/cultural/%E3%80%90%E6%9D%89%E7%94%B0%E9%85%92%E9%80%A0%E4%BB%95%E8%BE%BC%E8%94%B5%E3%80%91/
Last verified: 2026.10.09
