Located in Sakai Minato City, home to Tottori Prefecture’s premier port, Chiyomusubi Shuzo has been preserving its traditional sake brewery for generations. The company is renowned for its locally beloved sake, as well as its extensive selection of shochu, amazake, and gin. In recent years, it has also been actively developing new products such as sparkling sake and whiskey. This article delves into the behind-the-scenes efforts of this sake brewery as it strives to become a 200-year-old company.
Sake brewing in Sakaiminato and its history
Located at the northwestern tip of Tottori Prefecture, Sakaiminato City is renowned for its world-class catches of snow crab and tuna, making it home to the renowned port of Sakaiminato, a major hub in the Sanin region. The city is also the birthplace of Shigeru Mizuki, the creator of the iconic manga series “GeGeGe no Kitaro,” and visitors can explore the “Shigeru Mizuki Road” along the port and station area, where bronze statues of characters from the series greet visitors.
Chiyomusubi Shuzo, which has its brewery in Sakaiminato, began its sake production in 1865 (Keio 1). Originally established in an area surrounded by rice fields within the city, the brewery moved to the port’s central area in response to the development of the Kitamae ships that traveled the Sea of Japan. Later, with the opening of the San’in Railway line connecting Sakai Port Station to Mikuriya Station in the northern part of Ooyama Town, the brewery relocated to its current location in front of Sakai Port Station in 1912, under the leadership of Okura’s grandfather, Rintaro, to improve logistics.
At the time, the brand names were “Yamato Tamashii” and “Okamasa,” but later, inspired by a dance he saw, Hayataro changed the name to “Chiyomusubi.” The name carries the meaning of “tying happiness for generations to come,” and it is still used today.
Through steady business practices, the company established its own brand flavor early on.
The flavor that Chiyomusubi has preserved over the years is rich and robust, with a deep, full-bodied taste. The rice is carefully steamed and then brewed using natural spring water from the foothills of the Chinese Mountains, bringing out the natural sweetness of the rice while maintaining its vibrant aroma.
The rich, umami-filled flavor was already established by the time Okakura took over, but this was the result of a long history. In 1945, the ship “Tamayuki Maru” exploded while anchored in Sakaiminato, destroying one-third of the city. The Chiyomusubi Sake Brewery building was almost completely destroyed.
From there, Okakura’s father rebuilt the brewery. In the post-war period, when resources were scarce, he focused on steady business practices to keep the company afloat. Instead of selling the raw sake they produced to other breweries, they manufactured it in small tanks. They also refused to discount their products, steadfastly preserving their own style of sake-making without being swayed by external influences. This dedication helped establish the unique flavor of Chiyomusubi Sake Brewery.
Having grown up watching his father’s back, Okakura decided to not only preserve the taste of Chiyomusubi in Tottori but also promote it outside the region. At the time, a crisp, dry flavor was in vogue, but he refused to follow the trend and remained true to his own taste. As a result, Chiyomusubi’s flavor is now highly regarded and has gained a loyal following.
Bringing out the robust umami flavor.
The rice used for sake production is primarily “Gouriki,” a sake-appropriate rice variety from Tottori Prefecture, along with “Yamada Nishiki” and “Gohyakumangoku,” which have traditionally been considered suitable for sake production. Among these, the Gouriki rice, a native variety of Tottori Prefecture, is particularly favored by Chiyomusubi Sake Brewery for its acidity and robust flavor when brewed into sake.
Gōriki rice is hard, so it requires longer soaking and more careful steaming than other varieties. Generally, steaming methods are divided into “direct steam,” where steam is directly applied to the rice, and “indirect steam,” where steam is applied through a kettle or steaming basket without direct contact with the rice. Chiyomusubi Sake Brewery uses indirect steam with a boiler machine. This method ensures that steam is evenly distributed throughout the rice, allowing it to steam slowly over time, thereby preserving the rice’s umami flavor and resulting in a robust-tasting sake.
While “Koukyu” is known for its bold umami flavor, its difficulty to cultivate led to the cessation of production in the 1950s. Since then, Tottori University and local breweries have collaborated to revive “Koukyu” as Tottori Prefecture’s pride and joy. Currently, production continues in collaboration with farmers, but the rice plants are tall and prone to falling over, making new production unstable. Additionally, the aging of farmers is a challenge. Furthermore, increasing production requires propagating from the original strain, which takes time. We plan to support the farmers by maintaining high rice purchase prices to ensure that production continues in the future.
We are not afraid of new challenges.
Chiyomusubi Shuzo has been making sake with a passion for over 100 years, but since 2000, they’ve also started making shochu, fruit liqueurs, and gin. While many sake breweries focus solely on sake, there are two main reasons why Chiyomusubi Shuzo has decided to branch out.
The first is to stabilize employment. Sake production mainly takes place from autumn to early spring, leaving no work during the rest of the year, making it difficult to maintain year-round employment. However, at Chiyomusubi Sake Brewery, all master brewers and brewery workers are full-time employees. Even when they are not involved in sake production, they can work on other types of alcohol production, creating a stable employment structure.
The second reason is Mr. Okakura’s passion for mastering fermentation. Mr. Okakura originally studied fermentation at Hiroshima University. Inspired by his wife Kyoko’s family background in soy sauce production, he has enthusiastically pursued the development of various products, including soy sauce, sweet rice wine, and pickles, driven by his desire to explore all aspects of fermentation.
The company is also actively expanding overseas.
In order to promote their pride and joy, Okakura-san is actively working to expand sales channels not only domestically but also overseas. They began exporting in 1995, initially working with a trading company specializing in import and export in the United States to establish connections with local wholesalers.
However, in recent years, word of Chiyomusubi Shuzo has spread, leading to inquiries from wholesalers in various cities and introductions to wholesalers in other countries through these connections, thereby expanding their customer base. Chiyomusubi Shuzo alone offers a wide range of alcoholic beverages, from sake to Western spirits and shochu, which has earned high praise from local customers.
Furthermore, in 2009, with the launch of regular container services from Sakaiminato, the company established a wholly owned subsidiary, “JIZAKE CY KOREA,” in South Korea. Initially, the company only handled sake from Chiyomusubi Shuzo, but since 2013, it has been introducing sake from various breweries across Japan. The company continues its efforts to promote the culture and health benefits of sake, not just as a retailer, but by educating customers on proper storage methods and food pairings.
Currently, 40% of sales are overseas, with the remaining 60% split equally between domestic and local markets, reflecting the company’s efforts to expand its distribution channels and gain a loyal customer base.
The company is now exploring new opportunities with sparkling sake and Japanese whiskey.
In addition to sake and shochu, which have gained many fans, sparkling sake and whiskey have been gaining attention in recent years.
SORAH (Sora) is a sparkling sake made using the same bottle-fermented method as champagne, with carbon dioxide added. During the normal sake-making process, the mash is roughly pressed, bottled before pasteurization, and then undergoes a second fermentation in the bottle to produce gas. Finally, the sediment is removed, and the cork is sealed, completing the sparkling sake.
In 2023, it won the Platinum Award, the highest honor, at the “Kura Master” competition judged by sommeliers from France and other countries, demonstrating its high international acclaim.
“We hope it will be enjoyed not only overseas but also in Japan. We also aim to improve the quality to achieve the crisp acidity and carbonation reminiscent of champagne,” says brewer Tsuboi.
Additionally, while developing various products, the brewery has started producing whiskey since 2021. They utilize the distillation equipment used for shochu production and introduced a copper distillation apparatus in 2023. They are also using sake yeast to achieve a mild flavor. The sake is aged in barrels made from Japanese tree species such as Mizunara and cherry, with plans to release it in spring 2025 or later.
Chiyomusubi aims to become a 200-year-old company.
Chiyomusubi Shuzo has already achieved remarkable success. Okakura’s goal for the future is to make Chiyomusubi Shuzo a 200-year-old company.
To achieve this, he is determined to establish two pillars: the sake that has been brewed since the company’s founding and the whisky that will be nurtured over many years, and to pass them on to future generations. The next generation will be led by Satoshi, the son-in-law of the eldest daughter, and Takumi, the son-in-law of the third daughter. Satoshi will focus on sake, while Takumi will focus on whisky, and there are high hopes that they will take Chiyomusubi Shuzo to new heights.
With the strong, robust flavor that has been steadfastly preserved and Okakura’s spirit of challenge passed down, the day when Chiyomusubi Shuzo’s sake spreads even further is sure to come soon.
