Seigyoku Sake Storehouse A

The Largest Storehouse at Seigyoku

Seigyoku Sake Storehouse A (勢玉酒蔵Ａ) is a two-storey timber sake storehouse of about 1902 in Fukushima, Tokushima City, Tokushima Prefecture, and was registered as a Registered Tangible Cultural Property (structure) on August 23, 1999 (Agency for Cultural Affairs).

The Agency records a two-storey timber building with a tile roof and a building area of 188 square metres; registration number 36-0018.

A Large Storehouse Facing the Street

Seigyoku Sake Storehouse A stands in the south-east corner of the Seigyoku brewery site, which has roads along both its east and west sides (Agency for Cultural Affairs). It is a fairly large earthen-walled storehouse that turns its gable end, the side where the triangle of the roof shows, towards the road, and the Agency notes that it stands out among the timber buildings on the site.

Its building area of 188 square metres is the largest of the four registered structures. Storehouse B, which continues to the north, was finished on its street side to match Seigyoku Sake Storehouse A (Agency for Cultural Affairs).

Why It Was Registered

The Agency for Cultural Affairs registered Seigyoku Sake Storehouse A as a structure that contributes to the historic landscape of the nation. Built around 1902 as the brewery got under way, it still shows its full bulk and its gable end to the road, and it remains the most noticeable of the buildings on the site (Agency for Cultural Affairs).

What to Look For

From the south-east corner of the site, look up at the gable end of Seigyoku Sake Storehouse A. The height of the two-storey earthen walls and the broad triangle of the tiled roof read clearly from here.

At the foot of the street-facing wall, boards are held in place by vertical battens, a Koshiita finish repeated on Storehouse B next door (Agency for Cultural Affairs). Walk along both and the matching treatment of Seigyoku Sake Storehouse A and its neighbour is easy to follow.

Visiting

Seigyoku Sake Storehouse A stands in the south-east corner of the Seigyoku site, and its exterior can be seen from the road. Tokushima City's official tourism site says the storehouses surviving from the founding years have been converted inside into a shop, a small museum and other rooms, but no official source says which of these is in Seigyoku Sake Storehouse A.

No official guidance on photography was found. Opening hours and parking are covered on the Seigyoku Sake Brewery page.