- No-16
- Nikka Whisky Distilling Co., Ltd. (Former Dairi Flour Mills Warehouses) Moji Plant Warehouses
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■ Commentary
With demand for domestically produced flour growing, Suzuki Shoten (Suzuki & Co.) , which had its head office in Kobe, announced a plan to expand its flour mill company to Dairi in 1910. A group of plants for the Dairi Seifun (Dairi Flour Mills) were constructed up through by the end of the following year, including the Former Dairi Flour Mills Warehouses (present-day Nikka Whisky Distilling Co., Ltd. Moji Plant Warehouses).
The milling industry originally was mechanized by the industrial revolution that occurred in England in the late 18th century. The stone mills that until then had ground flour vanished with the appearance of steel roll mills that utilized steam engines. Flour called “mMeriken flour” that was imported to Japan at the end of the Edo period (1603–1868) was created at modern mechanized flour mills in the United States.
The demand for flour made in Japan rose due to the Customs Tariff Act implemented in 1899. Competition with the imported meriken flour that was subject to tariff was profitable even in terms of price, and was the main factor in the increase of mechanized milling companies in Japan. Given the backdrop of those timesThings being as they were, Suzuki & Co. decided to build a milling company in Dairi with an approximately 794 square meter plant, an approximately 1,655 square meter product warehouse, and an approximately 6,620 square meter raw materials warehouse. Operations began in 1911.
In 1915, Dairi Flour Mills suffered a major fire that completely destroyed 1 plant building and 2 warehouse buildings, but the company was able to reopen the following year by hastening restoration. The warehouses newly built at that time are still being used today as warehouses for Nikka Whisky.
In 1919, the merger of Dairi Flour Mills and Nippon Seifun (Nippon Flour Mills Co., Ltd.) was decided. At the same time, Nippon Flour Mills also merged with Toyo Seifun (Toyo Flour Mills). It became a large flour milling company that divided shared the industry monopoly with Nisshin Seifun (Nisshin Flour Milling Inc.) .
The business was impacted by factors including the financial crisis of 1927 and the bankruptcy of Suzuki & Co., but endured with support from Mitsui & Co. In 1997, the Moji Plant closed due to the consolidation of milling plants in the Kyushu area promoted by Nippon Flour Mills, and the curtain fell on 88 years of operation at Dairi.
After its closing, the plant buildings and warehouses that were no longer needed were dismantled one after another, but the warehouses that became the property of Nikka Whisky still remain. They are one-story, red brick buildings, and the seasonal flowers surrounding the grounds accent the buildings when in bloom. One of the warehouse clusters sits alongside National Rt. 199. You can imagine the great scale of the operation back in the day from the line of brick walls. -
■ Information
Address：2-1 Dairimoto-machi, Moji-ku, Kitakyushu, Fukuoka Prefecture
Tel：
Parking：Not available
Hours :
Closed :
Fee :
Other/Notifications：Only the exterior can be viewed
URL: -
■Category
Category: Constituent cultural properties
Genre: Story 3
Areas:Moji/Kokura area
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