There is a rice shochu with a fresh, crisp aroma, reminiscent of wildflowers drenched in morning dew. When you take a sip, a gentle sweetness spreads across your palate, then vanishes as quickly as mist. Its creator, Kazunobu Torikai, spent about 10 years developing a flavor that sets this shochu apart from all others. The name of this shochu is “Ginka Torikai.”

At age 24, he returned to his hometown to take over a 400-year-old sake brewery

The Hitoyoshi-Kuma region, located at the southern tip of Kumamoto Prefecture. Encircled by the Kyushu Seiryo Mountain Range, this crescent-shaped basin experiences sweltering summers and winters when the entire region is shrouded in thick fog. High-quality water springs from the beautiful yet rugged mountains, forming the Kuma River—one of Japan’s three major rapids—which flows down through the center of the basin, bringing fertile soil and abundant water resources to its watershed. The climate, characterized by the large temperature fluctuations typical of basins, combined with the fertile land, has made this area one of Kumamoto’s leading rice-producing regions, and “Kuma Shochu”—a shochu made from this rice—boasts a history of approximately 500 years.

In 1949, Kazunobu Torikai was born in Hitoyoshi City to the Torikai Shuzo distillery, a 400-year-old producer of Kuma Shochu. The Torikai family is said to have moved from Kyoto during the Heian period, and records from the Edo period show that they produced brewed sake, shochu, vinegar, miso, and soy sauce.

Mr. Torikai was the youngest of seven siblings. After graduating from a local high school, he moved to Tokyo to pursue a career as a painter. His second-eldest brother had taken over the brewery, so Mr. Torikai had never even considered getting involved in the family business. However, in 1973, at the age of 24, he received a call from his eldest brother informing him that their father had fallen ill. At that time, his second-eldest brother—who had taken over the family business—had also stepped down due to the brewery’s financial struggles. With each brother pursuing a different path, the question arose as to who would take the second-eldest brother’s place and safeguard the brewery; ultimately, the choice fell on Mr. Torikai. Thus, Mr. Torikai unexpectedly found himself taking over the family business.

Aiming to Develop a New Shochu Based on Its Ginjo Aroma

In my grandfather’s day, the family business had been resting on its laurels as the fifth-largest among the 37 Kuma shochu distilleries at the time. However, it was gradually pushed to the brink by the momentum of neighboring distilleries that were constantly striving to improve their taste, quality, and sales channels. By the time Mr. Torikai took over, it had fallen to the very bottom of the 34 remaining distilleries. His daily routine began—working nonstop from early morning until late at night just to keep the distillery afloat. He did everything from polishing the rice to making koji, brewing, bottling, and collecting empty bottles.

But in business, hard work doesn’t always translate to increased sales. Price competition within the small basin grew fiercer year by year, so Mr. Torikai took the bold step of selling directly to consumers in a bid to survive. Furthermore, the second shochu boom of the early 1980s intensified competition with major manufacturers. Although “Kiyotama,” the rice shochu his family had brewed for generations, had once won first place at a tasting competition, it lacked a distinctive character and was getting lost among the products of other breweries. Consequently, Mr. Torikai resolved to develop a new shochu.

His starting point was “ginjo-ka”—the components that produce the fruity and floral aromas generated during the fermentation of sake yeast. In the sake industry, this is known as ginjo-ka.

It was an era when distillers were asking, “Aroma is flavor—can we capture the aroma produced by yeast in a distilled spirit?” Since then, he pored over ancient documents and academic papers, visited master brewers and researchers known as “master craftsmen,” and repeated his research and experiments. Even when they thought an experiment had succeeded, upon closer inspection, the aroma would often differ from their ideal or prove impossible to reproduce. It was not until 1994 that they finally perfected the shochu they sought—nearly 10 years after they first resolved to develop it.

In a revitalized natural environment, we are on a quest to create a new shochu

He named the shochu—a masterpiece he was thoroughly pleased with—”Ginka Torikai,” after his own surname. The ginjo aroma stems from ginjo koji—made from rice polished to 58%—and yeast cultivated in-house. As a shochu with a distinctive and unforgettable flavor unlike any other, “Ginka Torikai” was immediately flooded with orders upon its release and won a Special Gold Award at the 1996 Monde Selection International Food Competition, alongside Johnnie Walker.

In response to this overwhelming reception, Torikai Shuzo decided to focus exclusively on the “Ginka Torikai” brand for sales. The company believed this approach would strengthen its branding power and dispel the negative perceptions associated with its older brands, which had been losing popularity. However, some 30 years after the creation of “Ginka Torikai,” Mr. Torikai continues to pursue the creation of new shochu. The turning point came with the completion of the “Kusatsu Distillery” and the “Yokitogi Koji Warehouse.”

Upon learning of plans to build an industrial waste treatment facility in the Kusatsu River basin—one of the few remaining clear streams in the Hitoyoshi Basin—Mr. Torikai purchased 150 hectares of forested land in 2000 to stop the project.

Over the course of five years, they worked to restore the natural environment, which had been ravaged by excessive deforestation and mudslides. As part of the company’s operations, they built stone retaining walls, removed fallen trees and boulders, and planted broadleaf trees to restore the clear stream. In 2005, the Kusatsu Distillery was completed. Subsequently, in 2012, the Onokuri Koji Warehouse was completed on a 15-hectare site created by leveling abandoned farmland and forested land.

Mr. Torikai explains the reason he undertook these initiatives by saying, “Everything—including caring for the environment—is part of sake brewing.” He believes that revitalizing the forests and rivers to produce pure water is an essential prerequisite for improving the quality of the shochu. Currently, at these two facilities, he continues to refine and produce “Ginka Torikai” while also experimenting with new shochu recipes. He is also considering whether “Seikyu”—once the distillery’s flagship product—can be reintroduced in a form suited to the present era.

The “Sake You Can’t Find Anywhere” I Even Dream About

The Kusatsu River, which Mr. Torikai showed me, was so pristine that it was hard to believe it had once been so degraded. The water used to clean the tanks at the distillery is transported off-site for treatment. The rice is washed at the koji warehouse before being transported to the distillery. The reason they repeat these tasks—which might seem like nothing but extra work—is their determination not to discharge any wastewater into the Kusatsu River, even if it has been purified. I truly felt that the clear stream before my eyes is being protected by this series of deliberate choices.

Mr. Torikai has never relied solely on intuition when deciding how to brew sake or interact with nature; instead, he has analyzed every aspect, thought things through from multiple angles, and moved forward without compromising his convictions.

“A sake that possesses all the finest qualities of sake, yet is unlike any other. Sometimes I wake up from a dream in which I’ve created just such a sake.”

Perhaps what Mr. Torikai is pursuing is not merely a “new sake.” It is likely a single drop that transcends time and space, imbued with the climate and nature of Hitoyoshi-Kuma, as well as the daily lives and very concepts of its people. “I don’t think completion is that far off,” he said. Mr. Torikai’s cheerful voice melted into the crisp mountain air.

The post Refining aromas, protecting the mountains, and dreaming of sake. Kazunobu Torikai of “Torikai Shuzo” / Hitoyoshi City, Kumamoto Prefecture first appeared on NIHONMONO.