What Is the Sugita Sake Brewery Taishogura?
The Sugita Sake Brewery Taishogura (杉田酒造大正蔵, Sugita Shuzō Taishōgura) is a two-story earthen storehouse built around 1914 at the Sugita Sake Brewery in Kamiizumi, Oyama City, Tochigi Prefecture, and has been a Registered Tangible Cultural Property since 2013.
The name means "Taishō storehouse," after the era in which it went up; Tochigi Prefecture judges it to have been built new around 1914. Unlike the Storage Storehouse and Brewing Storehouse, which were moved in from Minamikobayashi, the Taishogura is the first of the four registered buildings to have been raised on the present site. The Agency for Cultural Affairs places it on the western part of the north edge of the property, running east to west, 14.0 m long and 8.34 m deep, with a building area of 117 m².
The roof is gabled, with its ridge running east to west, and covered in pantiles. On the south side the roof of the Brewing Storehouse meets it, and a passage connects their upper floors.
Why the Sugita Sake Brewery Taishogura Was Registered
When it was registered on March 29, 2013, the Sugita Sake Brewery Taishogura was listed for its contribution to the historic landscape. The Agency for Cultural Affairs describes it as a heavily built storehouse and points to its roof frame, assembled from paired log beams in a ladder-like arrangement.
The lime-plastered walls carry board panels, and a gently sloping Hachimaki, a thickened plaster band, runs beneath the eaves. The prefecture notes that plywood was later fixed under the roof and painted white to stop roofing clay from falling, but that the timber frame itself is almost exactly as built.
The Roof Frame of the Sugita Sake Brewery Taishogura
The roof frame is the thing to see in the Sugita Sake Brewery Taishogura. According to the prefecture, log tie beams sit on top of the full-height posts, short struts stand on them every 3 shaku (about 0.9 m), and a second tier of log beams rests on the struts. With two logs and a row of short uprights between them, the assembly looks like a ladder laid on its side, which is how the prefecture describes it.
Above the ladder, beams cross at intervals of 1 ken (about 1.8 m), two more log beams lie on top of them, and a further pair of beams carries the ridge. Logs are stacked tier upon tier to take the weight of the roof, and they should stand out clearly against the white plywood behind them.
The upper-floor structure has its own details. The posts that support the floor stand on foundation stones, and the girders and joists keep rounded edges, like the bark-edged timbers used in the menkawa style of tea-house carpentry. It is the kind of detail you notice only up close.
Visiting the Sugita Sake Brewery Taishogura
The Sugita Sake Brewery Taishogura belongs to a working brewery, and its interior is not regularly open. Tochigi Prefecture lists it as viewable on request through the owner, and the brewery runs tours by reservation only. The roof frame can be seen only from the upper floor, so mention it when booking and ask whether photography is allowed.
From outside, look at the plaster band under the eaves, the boarded lower walls, and the long south wall that merges with the Brewing Storehouse.
Q&A
- When was the Sugita Sake Brewery Taishogura built?
- Around 1914. Tochigi Prefecture believes it was built new on the site, unlike the Storage Storehouse and Brewing Storehouse, which were relocated.
- What is special about the roof frame of the Sugita Sake Brewery Taishogura?
- Log tie beams on the full-height posts carry short struts every 3 shaku, which in turn hold a second tier of log beams, forming a ladder-like frame. More beams stacked above it support the ridge.
- How large is the Sugita Sake Brewery Taishogura?
- It is a two-story earthen storehouse 14.0 m long and 8.34 m deep, with a building area of 117 m² and a gabled, tiled roof running east to west.
- Can I see inside the Sugita Sake Brewery Taishogura, and can I take photos?
- Brewery tours are by reservation only and free, according to the brewery. Ask when you book whether the upper floor and roof frame can be shown and whether photography is allowed.
- When was the Sugita Sake Brewery Taishogura registered as a cultural property?
- It became a Registered Tangible Cultural Property on March 29, 2013, together with the brewery's three other storehouses, under registration number 09-0204.
Basic Information
| Name | Sugita Sake Brewery Taishogura |
|---|---|
| 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 14.0 m, depth 8.34 m; building area 117 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 Taishogura
- https://kunishitei.bunka.go.jp/bsys/maindetails/101/00009433
- Cultural Heritage Online: Sugita Sake Brewery Taishogura
- https://online.bunka.go.jp/heritages/detail/269456
- Tochigi Prefecture, Tochigi Cultural Properties: Sugita Sake Brewery Taishogura (Japanese)
- https://bunkazai.pref.tochigi.lg.jp/cultural/%E3%80%90%E6%9D%89%E7%94%B0%E9%85%92%E9%80%A0%E5%A4%A7%E6%AD%A3%E8%94%B5%E3%80%91/
Last verified: 2026.10.09
