Where the Ogawa Brewery Pressed Its Sake
Ogawa Sake Brewery Pressing House (小川酒造槽場, Ogawa Shuzō Funaba) is a Meiji-era brewery building in Kawaramachi, Kurayoshi City, Tottori Prefecture, entered on Japan's register of Registered Tangible Cultural Properties on October 9, 1998. It stands at the back of the Ogawa family's estate on the Hachiya River, continuous with the Former Brewing Storehouse beside it.
A fune is the box-shaped press in which bags of fermented mash are stacked and squeezed to separate sake from the lees, and the funaba is the room that holds it. The Ogawa Sake Brewery Pressing House is an earthen-walled Dozo-zukuri building of 2 storeys under a tiled roof, with a building area of 77 square meters. It is one of the smaller buildings on the site, but with the Bottling Plant it is one of the two Meiji-era buildings, the oldest on the estate.
Why the Pressing House Was Registered
The Agency for Cultural Affairs records that the Ogawa Pressing House once had a waterwheel driven by the Hachiya River. The wheel is gone, but the channel that fed it and a wall of brick masonry survive, and the Agency values them as evidence of how the brewery used water power.
It was registered as a building that contributes to the historic landscape. Its neighbour, the Former Brewing Storehouse, was valued for its link to river transport; the Pressing House was valued for the traces of the river as a power source. The two riverside buildings record two different uses of the same water.
Kurayoshi City's published list of nationally registered properties (2021) does not include the Ogawa Sake Brewery Pressing House, so the current status of the registration needs checking.
Tripled Beams and a Pulley
The roof of the Ogawa Sake Brewery Pressing House rests on a Japanese Wagoya frame with three tiers of beams, one more tier than the doubled beams the Agency records for the Bottling Plant and the Nikaigura. The Agency notes that a pulley is fitted within that frame.
The record does not say what the pulley lifted or what the waterwheel drove, and it would be guesswork to tie either to the pressing itself. What it does show is an unusual mix in one small Meiji-era workroom: a timber roof frame with a pulley, and a brick wall with a water channel.
Among buildings of timber, earth and tile, that brick wall stands out. It was presumably chosen because the building had to take river water close to its walls, where brick copes with damp better than earth.
Seeing the Ogawa Pressing House
The interior of the Ogawa Sake Brewery Pressing House is not open. It stands at the back of the plot beside the Hachiya River, hidden from Kawaramachi Street by the Main House and the storehouses. The channel and brick wall face the river, but the published sources do not mention any public riverside spot from which to see them.
The grounds are managed by the Kazeno Kurayoshi hotel, whose information says nothing about the use of or access to this building. Ask at the front desk before entering.
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Q&A
- What is the Ogawa Sake Brewery Pressing House?
- A Meiji-era building on the Ogawa family's estate in Kawaramachi, Kurayoshi, that housed the press used to squeeze sake from the mash. It is earthen-walled, 2 storeys, 77 square meters, and was registered on October 9, 1998.
- Why is the Ogawa Sake Brewery Pressing House registered?
- Its surviving water channel and brick wall record a waterwheel once powered by the Hachiya River. It was registered as a building that contributes to the historic landscape.
- Is the waterwheel of the Ogawa Pressing House still there?
- No. Only the channel that fed it and a brick masonry wall remain.
- How is the roof of the Ogawa Sake Brewery Pressing House built?
- With a Japanese roof frame of three tiers of beams, in which a pulley is fitted. The Agency's record does not state what the pulley was used for.
- Can visitors see inside the Ogawa Sake Brewery Pressing House?
- No. The interior is not open, it stands at the back of the plot by the river, and the grounds are managed by the Kazeno Kurayoshi hotel.
Basic Information
| Name | Ogawa Sake Brewery Pressing House (小川酒造槽場) |
|---|---|
| Location | 1969 Kawaramachi, Kurayoshi City, Tottori Prefecture |
| Designation | Registered Tangible Cultural Property (building), registration no. 31-0032 |
| Year Designated | Registered October 9, 1998 |
| Quantity | 1 building |
| Dimensions | Earthen-walled storehouse, 2 storeys, tiled roof, building area 77 square meters |
| Owner | Unknown (not listed in the Agency database) |
| Public Access | Closed to the public |
References
- Agency for Cultural Affairs, Database of National Cultural Properties: Ogawa Shuzo Funaba
- https://kunishitei.bunka.go.jp/bsys/maindetails/101/00000892
- Agency for Cultural Affairs, Database of National Cultural Properties: Ogawa Shuzo Kyu-Shikomigura
- https://kunishitei.bunka.go.jp/bsys/maindetails/101/00000891
- Agency for Cultural Affairs, Database of National Cultural Properties: Ogawa Shuzo Binzumeba
- https://kunishitei.bunka.go.jp/bsys/maindetails/101/00000890
- Tottori Prefecture, Tottori Cultural Properties Navi: Ogawa Family Residence
- https://db.pref.tottori.jp/bunkazainavi.nsf/bunkazai_web_view/81801E062D55083349257E200010AB92
- Kurayoshi City: Nationally Registered Cultural Properties
- https://www.city.kurayoshi.lg.jp/4237.htm
- Kazeno Kurayoshi official website
- https://www.kazenoheritage.jp/hotels/kurayoshi/
Last verified: 2026.09.30
