Red Brick Warehouses (舞鶴赤レンガ倉庫群)
The "Red Brick Warehouses" are 12 red brick warehouses located at the former headquarters of the Maizuru Navy Ordnance Corps (舞鶴海軍軍需部本部地区) (now Maizuru Port Waterfront) in Maizuru city, Kyoto Prefecture. They are also called "Kitasui Red Brick Warehouses." They are Important Cultural Properties and a Heritage of Industrial Modernization site.
History
The Imperial Japanese Navy built red brick buildings throughout the Meiji and Taisho periods, since Maizuru Chinjufu (Maizuru Naval District) was established in Maizuru in 1901.
Among the surviving twelve warehouses in the Kitasui area of Higashi-Maizuru, Maizuru City, nine warehouses were built during the period from 1901 to 1903 in the Meiji period, and three were built between 1918 and 1921 in the Taisho period.
List
The former Maizuru Naval Arsenal Fish-type Torpedo Warehouse: completed in 1903, now the World Brick Museum
The former Maizuru Naval Arsenal Miscellaneous Articles and Damaged Weapons Warehouse: completed in 1902, now Maizuru City Commemoration Hall
The former Maizuru Naval Arsenal Bullets and Rifles Warehouse: completed in 1902, now Maizuru Wisdom Warehouse
The former Maizuru Naval Arsenal Spare Warship Weapons Warehouse: completed in 1902, now Maizuru Warehouse Co., Ltd. Kitasui Warehouse No.6
The former Maizuru Navy Ordnance Corps Third Torpedo Warehouse: completed in 1918, now Maizuru Warehouse Co., Ltd. Kitasui Warehouse No.7
The former Maizuru Navy Munitions Warehouse: completed in 1902, now owned by the Kinki Finance Bureau
The former Maizuru Navy Munitions Warehouse: completed in 1902, now owned by the Kinki Finance Bureau
The former Maizuru Navy Munitions Warehouse: completed in 1902, now owned by the Kinki Finance Bureau
The former Maizuru Navy Ordnance Corps First Munitions Warehouse: completed in 1919, now Maritime Self-Defense Force Maizuru Depot Warehouse No.17
The former Maizuru Navy Accounting Division Clothes Warehouse: completed in 1901, now Maritime Self-Defense Force Maizuru Depot Warehouse No.3
The former Maizuru Navy Accounting Division Clothes Warehouse: completed in 1901, now Maritime Self-Defense Force Maizuru Depot Warehouse No.2
The former Maizuru Navy Ordnance Corps Third Clothes Warehouse: completed in 1921, now Maritime Self-Defense Force Maizuru Depot Warehouse No.4
Today
The former Maizuru Naval Arsenal Fish-type Torpedo Warehouse, built in 1903, now forms the World Brick Museum, and the former Maizuru Naval Arsenal Miscellaneous Articles and Damaged Weapons Warehouse is currently used as Maizuru City Commemoration Hall.
Also, in April 2007, one warehouse at the side of the Maizuru City Commemoration Hall was renovated and reopened as Maizuru Wisdom Warehouse with its original appearance restored.
Maizuru Warehouse Co., Ltd. uses three warehouses, and the remaining seven buildings are now warehouses belonging to the Maizuru General Directorial Division of the Maritime Self-Defense Force.
The rarity of these old buildings which remain intact makes them valuable, and they have been used as the backdrop for many movies and TV dramas as they represent Japan's modernization.
Examples of movies and TV programs using the warehouses as a backdrop in recent years
"Baruto no Gakuen"(バルトの楽園): movie released in 2006
"Otokotachi no Yamato/YAMATO" (The men's Yamato): movie released in 2005
"Asian Blue": a movie released in 1995
"Kantsubaki"(寒椿) (Camellia in the Winter): a movie released in 1992
"Yogisha" (The Night Train): a movie released in 1987
"Rekishi Kaido - Roman eno Tobira" (Historic Roads -- A Door to Romantic Adventures): TV series
Access
By train:
From Higashi-Maizuru Station on the JR Maizuru Line it is approximately 15 minutes on foot. A taxi will take you there in approximately 5 minutes.
From Kyoto Station, the Limited Express trains 'Maizuru' or 'Tango Discovery' will take you to Higashi-Maizuru Station in approximately 90 minutes.
From Kanazawa Station, take the Limited Express 'Thunderbird' and at Tsuruga Station transfer to the Obama Line, and it will take you approximately 2 hours to reach Higashi-Maizuru Station.
By car:
From Maizurunishi Interchange on the Maizuru-Wakasa Expressway it takes approximately 15 minutes by car.
Other red brick structures in the neighborhood
Kitasui josuijo (Kitasui Water Filtration Plant), a distributing reservoir (built in 1901), and Uwaya (built in 1926) are National Important Cultural Properties.
Kitasui Tunnel on the old Naval Port Railroad Spur (built in 1904): National Registered Tangible Cultural Property
The former Maizuru Navy Ordnance Corps Second Flammable Oil Warehouse: built in 1902