Honke Matsuura Sake Brewery Middle Sake Storehouse

The Middle of Three Late Edo Sake Storehouses

Honke Matsuura Sake Brewery Middle Sake Storehouse (本家松浦酒造場仲酒蔵, Honke Matsuura Shuzōjō Naka Sakagura) is a late Edo-period sake storehouse in Ikenotani, Ōasa-chō, Naruto City, Tokushima Prefecture, registered as a Registered Tangible Cultural Property on August 21, 2002. It is a two-storey building in Dozo-zukuri storehouse construction with a building area of 223 square meters.

As the character naka (仲, "middle") suggests, it stands in the center of the three storehouses on the Muya Kaidō road, with the East Sake Storehouse on one side and the West on the other. Its registration number is 36-0035, and it was listed as a contributor to the historic landscape. The Agency for Cultural Affairs calls the Honke Matsuura Sake Brewery Middle Sake Storehouse a principal element of the brewery landscape along the road.

Size of the Honke Matsuura Middle Sake Storehouse and Its Kamaya

According to the agency, the Middle Sake Storehouse is a two-storey building with its ridge running north to south under a gabled roof of round-and-flat tiles, 11 ken long and 5 ken wide. It reaches a long way back from the road.

At its far, southern end is an attached kamaya. Sake brewers steam the rice for each batch in large cauldrons, and the building that houses them is called a kamaya. At the Honke Matsuura Middle Sake Storehouse, that working space survives as an extension at the back of the storehouse.

The West Sake Storehouse next door is joined to the Middle by a lean-to (Geya) along its east side. The three storehouses stand as separate buildings, but at least the Middle and West are linked under one roof.

A North Gable Matched to the East Storehouse

The agency describes the north gable facing the road as "the same as the East Sake Storehouse": a stone base, board cladding at the bottom, and a thick plastered wall of white Shikkui above with small windows and rain-shedding ledges.

Because the gables match, the street sees a run of white triangles at regular intervals. Naruto City credits this repetition with giving the road its rhythm. The gable at the center of that run belongs to the Honke Matsuura Sake Brewery Middle Sake Storehouse.

Visiting the Honke Matsuura Middle Sake Storehouse

The north gable of the Middle Sake Storehouse can be seen from the Muya Kaidō. Since it sits between the East and West storehouses, the best place to take in all three gables at once is across the road, near the rice polishing storehouse. The kamaya at the back is barely visible from the street.

The brewery's free tours (about 45 minutes, by reservation) include a registered former brewing storehouse, but we could not confirm whether the Honke Matsuura Sake Brewery Middle Sake Storehouse is among them. Ask when booking about going inside and about photography.