The Street Front of Ogawa Sake Brewery
Ogawa Sake Brewery Main House (小川酒造主屋, Ogawa Shuzō Shuoku) is an early Taisho-era merchant house in Kawaramachi, Kurayoshi City, Tottori Prefecture, entered on Japan's register of Registered Tangible Cultural Properties on October 9, 1998. It is the building that faces Kawaramachi Street, combining the brewing family's shop with their living quarters, and it was registered on the same day as the six storehouses behind it.
The Ogawa Sake Brewery Main House is a timber building of 2 storeys under a tiled roof, with a building area of 360 square meters, the largest of the seven. The Agency for Cultural Affairs dates it to the early Taisho era (1912 to 1925); the hotel that now occupies it describes it as built in the late Meiji era, so the sources disagree.
Why the Main House Was Registered
The plan of the Ogawa Sake Brewery Main House hangs on an earth-floored passage that runs straight through the building from south to north. West of the passage, the shop and family rooms are laid out six rooms in two rows. To the east are a reception room and the kitchen, and it is that reception room the Agency singles out: its walls carry a Corinthian order, a Western touch inside a Japanese house.
Setting a Japanese-style parlour and a Western-style reception room side by side, each for a different kind of guest, is what the Agency calls a good Taisho-era example, and it registered the house under the criterion of a building that sets a model for its type. It suits the household of Teiichi Ogawa, who ran sake, soy sauce and silk businesses and entertained politicians and businessmen.
When Tottori Prefecture designated the estate in 2015, it pointed to the curved, carved Udeki brackets under the eaves and the arched Sashigamoi lintels as typical of modern merchant houses in central Tottori. One caution: Kurayoshi City's published list of nationally registered properties (2021) does not include the Ogawa Sake Brewery Main House, so the current status of the national registration needs checking.
What to Look For at the Ogawa Main House
From the street, look up at the brackets holding out the eaves of the Ogawa Main House. Their curved tips and carved faces are the detail the prefecture picked out, and they can be seen without going inside.
In front of the house is the front garden, one of three parts of the Ogawa family's gardens. A 2010 report by the Tottori Prefectural Board of Education places it along Kawaramachi Street, with an inner garden behind and Kansuien on a separate plot by the river.
Behind the Main House run later additions: a Western-style wing, a newer reception wing and the Seiwaken tea room. The prefecture reads the whole sequence as a record of changing tastes over the family's prosperous decades. These additions are not among the seven registered buildings.
Visiting the Ogawa Sake Brewery Main House
The interior of the Ogawa Sake Brewery Main House is not open to the public. Since July 2026 it has held the front desk of the Kazeno Kurayoshi hotel, and the Main House, the Western-style wing, the reception wing and the tea room together contain 6 guest rooms, so in practice only hotel guests see the parlours and the reception room.
Other visitors can view the Main House from Kawaramachi Street. Ask at the front desk before entering the grounds or taking photographs inside the gate.
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Q&A
- When was the Ogawa Sake Brewery Main House built?
- The Agency for Cultural Affairs dates it to the early Taisho era (1912 to 1925). The hotel that now uses it gives the late Meiji era. It is a timber house of 2 storeys with a building area of 360 square meters.
- Why is the Ogawa Sake Brewery Main House a Registered Tangible Cultural Property?
- It pairs a Japanese-style parlour with a Western-style reception room decorated with a Corinthian order, which the Agency considers a good Taisho-era example. It was registered on October 9, 1998 as a building that sets a model for its type.
- Can I go inside the Ogawa Sake Brewery Main House?
- Not as a sightseer. The Main House holds the front desk and rooms of the Kazeno Kurayoshi hotel, so the interior is in practice limited to guests. The exterior can be seen from Kawaramachi Street.
- What detail should I look for on the Ogawa Main House from the street?
- The eave brackets. Their curved, carved ends are the feature Tottori Prefecture names as typical of modern merchant houses in central Tottori.
- Are the Western-style wing and tea room part of the Ogawa Main House registration?
- No. The national registration covers the Main House and six storehouses. The Western-style wing, the reception wing and the Seiwaken tea room are later additions that the prefecture discusses as part of the estate.
Basic Information
| Name | Ogawa Sake Brewery Main House (小川酒造主屋) |
|---|---|
| Location | 1969 Kawaramachi, Kurayoshi City, Tottori Prefecture |
| Designation | Registered Tangible Cultural Property (building), registration no. 31-0029 |
| Year Designated | Registered October 9, 1998 |
| Quantity | 1 building |
| Dimensions | Timber, 2 storeys, tiled roof, building area 360 square meters |
| Owner | Unknown (not listed in the Agency database) |
| Public Access | Closed to the public; exterior visible from the street |
References
- Agency for Cultural Affairs, Database of National Cultural Properties: Ogawa Shuzo Shuoku
- https://kunishitei.bunka.go.jp/bsys/maindetails/101/00000889
- Tottori Prefecture, Tottori Cultural Properties Navi: Ogawa Family Residence
- https://db.pref.tottori.jp/bunkazainavi.nsf/bunkazai_web_view/81801E062D55083349257E200010AB92
- Tottori Prefectural Board of Education: report on new registrations (2010)
- https://www.pref.tottori.lg.jp/secure/502089/220527houkokuka.pdf
- Kurayoshi City: Nationally Registered Cultural Properties
- https://www.city.kurayoshi.lg.jp/4237.htm
- Kazeno Kurayoshi official website
- https://www.kazenoheritage.jp/hotels/kurayoshi/
- Kazeno Kurayoshi: Rooms
- https://www.kazenoheritage.jp/hotels/kurayoshi/rooms/
- Kazeno Kurayoshi: FAQ
- https://www.kazenoheritage.jp/hotels/kurayoshi/faq/
Last verified: 2026.09.30
