Nagayama Honke Brewery Office (Former Futamatase Village Office)

A 1928 Village Office at a Sake Brewery

The Nagayama Honke Brewery Office (Former Futamatase Village Office) (永山本家酒造場事務所（旧二俣瀬村役場庁舎）) is a two-storey wooden Western-style building at Kurumaji, Ube City, Yamaguchi Prefecture, built in 1928 as the office of Futamatase Village and registered as a Registered Tangible Cultural Property (structure) on May 2, 2017. It now serves as the office of the Nagayama Honke sake brewery (Agency for Cultural Affairs, Ube City).

The Agency for Cultural Affairs records it as two storeys of timber with a tiled roof and a building area of 121 square metres, registration number 35-0095.

From Village Office to Brewery Office

According to Ube City, Futamatase Village in the former Asa District was formed in 1889 by merging five villages, Kida, Yamanaka, Kurumaji, Uryuno and Zenwa, and this office was built on October 3, 1928, to commemorate the enthronement of Emperor Showa. The village was absorbed into Ube City in 1947.

The brewery's own history states that Nagayama Honke was founded at Futamatase in 1888 by Nagayama Kitsutaro; it is known for its junmai sake "Taka". The former village office now houses its office (Ube City).

Value as a Registered Cultural Property

The Nagayama Honke Brewery Office (Former Futamatase Village Office) was registered as a building that has become a model of design. Ube City notes that from the late Meiji era village offices commonly had the administration on the ground floor and the assembly hall upstairs, that few such buildings survive in Yamaguchi Prefecture, and that this one is preserved close to its original state.

What to Look For

The Agency for Cultural Affairs notes that it stands on the old road on the left bank of the Koto River, with a gabled tiled roof and mortar walls scored to look like stone. A pediment crowns the central entrance, and pilasters flank the door and mark the four corners.

Inside, the ground floor is an office and the upper floor a single assembly hall, keeping the character of a village office (Agency for Cultural Affairs). Ube City records that the ground floor originally held the office, the mayor's room, the treasurer's room and a kitchen.

Visiting

The Nagayama Honke Brewery Office (Former Futamatase Village Office) is a working company office. The Ube Convention and Tourism Bureau reports a direct sales counter on the ground floor and the Futamatase Coffee on the upper floor, with brewery tours by reservation. Nagayama Honke sets tour days around its brewing season and announces them on its website.

The address is 138 Kurumaji, Ube City, with parking (Ube Convention and Tourism Bureau). Check opening days and tour dates with the brewery (0836-62-0088) before visiting.