Kikuzakari Brewery, located in Kitakami City, Iwate Prefecture, produces many distinctive sake varieties, including its flagship brand, “Taxi Driver.” Takuya Fujimura, the brewery’s owner, took over as the fifth-generation head at the age of 30. While overcoming the hardships of the Great East Japan Earthquake, he steered the brewery toward becoming Iwate Prefecture’s first “all-junmai sake brewery,” using only rice grown in Iwate Prefecture. Each of these choices has shaped the unique character of Kikuzakari Brewery today.

Born as the fifth-generation head of a sake brewery, he became president at the age of 30.

Kitakami City is located in central Iwate Prefecture, where the Kitakami and Waga Rivers converge in a fertile basin dotted with rolling countryside. At the northern tip of the city stands Kikuzakari Sake Brewery Co., Ltd., which was founded in 1894 as Fujimura Sake Brewery. Following the consolidation and restructuring of sake breweries under wartime regulations, the company adopted its current name in 1951. Since then, it has continued to brew sake deeply rooted in the local community under brands such as “Kikuzakari” and “Onikenbai.”

“The heyday was during my grandfather’s time—he was the third-generation owner—and in the 1970s, we were producing approximately 4,000 koku (equivalent to 400,000 one-shō bottles) of sake annually. Since local consumption accounted for over 90 percent of sales, it seems we mainly produced everyday standard sake. My grandfather also served as chairman of the local tourism association, so he created various sake brands inspired by the region, such as ‘Onikenbai’ and ‘Shishi Odori’—traditional performing arts of the area—as well as the local song ‘Kitakami Yakyoku.’ There was also a soy sauce brewery on the same grounds, and with so many people working there, it was a bustling place.”

These are the reflections of Takuya Fujimura, the fifth-generation head of Kikuzakari Sake Brewery. He explains that ever since he was old enough to understand, he had always been aware that he would one day take over this brewery, which has been preserved by the Fujimura family for generations since its founding in the mid-Meiji period. “Until then, I wanted to do what I loved,” he says. After graduating from high school, he left his hometown, attended a vocational school, and worked as a game designer at a game development company in Tokyo. However, he returned home when his father—the fourth-generation head of the brewery—fell ill. Three years later, following his father’s passing, he assumed the position of president of Kikuzakari Sake Brewery. It was February 2003, and he was 30 years old.

“Make a sake that the owner of a yakitori restaurant would like.”

When Mr. Fujimura took over the brewery, the world was in the midst of a boom in authentic shochu. Meanwhile, sake consumption had been on a steady decline since peaking in 1974. Kikuzakari Sake Brewery was also affected by this trend; “By the time I became president, production had fallen to 500 koku,” he recalls. How could he preserve this brewery, which had lost its former vitality? The guiding principle that helped Mr. Fujimura find his way was his grandfather’s advice: “Make sake that the owner of a yakitori restaurant prefers, rather than sake that’s highly rated by judges at tasting competitions.”

“Apparently, that was something my grandfather often told his employees back when he ran the brewery. For him, ‘good sake’ meant the kind of sake that’s enjoyed in bars—what you might call a ‘meal-accompanying sake.’ So I decided to follow in his footsteps while crafting good sake through my own interpretation,” he explains.

To that end, the first step he took was to reevaluate the brewery’s approach to sake production. At the time, Kikuzakari Sake Brewery was also producing “Sanbai Zōjōshu*”—a type of sake diluted with water and brewing alcohol to increase volume—but as soon as Mr. Fujimura assumed the presidency, he discontinued its production and shifted the brewery’s focus to “Junmai-shu,” made exclusively from rice, rice koji, and water.

“I don’t want to compete on price; I want to deliver sake that I personally believe is good.” Driven by this desire, Mr. Fujimura began to think, “I want to create a new brand that reflects my own values and preferences.”

*A brewing method introduced to address postwar rice shortages, with the aim of producing more sake using less rice. Due to the 2006 amendment to the Sake Tax Act, this method is now effectively impossible.

“Remixing” various cultures. Taxi Driver marked his breakthrough.

Mr. Fujimura has an unconventional background as a former game designer and has also been active as an amateur martial artist. He has also long been a fan of niche subcultures such as music, movies, and manga. Given this background, for the first release of the new brand, he commissioned Kei Nemoto—a manga artist he deeply admires—to name the sake, and Takashi Uechi, a graphic designer known for his many pro-wrestling T-shirt designs, to create the label design. In 2004, the junmai daiginjo sake “Denki Bosatsu” was born.

Then, the following year, “Taxi Driver”—the brand that now represents Kikuzakari Sake Brewery—was born.

“It all started when I had a drink with art director Yoshiki Takahashi in Shinjuku, Tokyo. Since Mr. Takahashi had designed the packaging for some of my favorite movies, we hit it off right away. The conversation got lively as we discussed, ‘Let’s come up with a new sake brand,’ and ‘Taxi Driver’ was one of the many ideas that came up. We felt this could actually work, so we decided on the spot to bring it to market, and Mr. Takahashi agreed to design the label.”

When brewing “Taxi Driver,” Mr. Takahashi’s request was for “a sake that tastes good when served hot.”

“Sakes from Kikuzakari Brewery are known as dining sakes characterized by a robust umami and crisp acidity. They’re naturally well-suited for serving hot. So I thought we could create a sake that met his request without needing to make any special adjustments,” says Mr. Fujimura. Reflecting Mr. Fujimura’s own preference for “rich sake with a high alcohol content,” the sake was brewed as “junmai genshu”—pressed and bottled straight from the press without adding water to adjust the flavor. The result is a robust flavor that holds its own against the striking impact of the label design created exclusively by Mr. Takahashi.

Since then, Kikuzakari Sake Brewery has continued to collaborate with various creators, releasing sake with unique names and labels as the “Jacket Buy Series.” This “remix” of sake with different fields—such as music and video games—has also attracted the interest of people who don’t usually drink sake.

Affected by the Great East Japan Earthquake. While renting space in a brewery, they transitioned to a “100% Junmai Brewery.”

Kikuzakari Sake Brewery had been expanding its customer base by focusing on the production of junmai sake while also developing products and promotional campaigns that incorporated elements from other cultural fields. However, the company suffered a major blow from the Great East Japan Earthquake that struck in March 2011. Although Kitakami City is inland and thus escaped tsunami damage, the building was struck directly by a long, intense tremor. Fortunately, both the employees and the sake that had just been brewed were unharmed, but the brewery was left half-destroyed.

“When you factor in the completely destroyed soy sauce warehouse and other structures, the scale of the damage was immense. After receiving estimates from contractors, we realized that whether we repaired the building or demolished and rebuilt it, the costs would be astronomical. As the fifth-generation head of the Fujimura family, I couldn’t let this brewery—which our family had safeguarded for generations—disappear. Even though I felt that way, it wasn’t a sum of money we could easily raise.”

Since part of the brewery was still barely usable, he managed to resume sake production with minimal equipment; however, this was merely a temporary restoration with clear limitations. About three years had passed with no clear outlook for the future when a sake brewery in the neighboring city of Hanamaki decided to go out of business, and they agreed to lend him their brewing facility.

Although it was in a neighboring city, it was only about a five-minute drive from Kikumzakari Sake Brewery, and the water quality for brewing was virtually the same. Mr. Fujimura decided to relocate, planning to conduct brewing at the rented facility while handling shipping operations at the original brewery.

Then, in the spring of 2014, Kikuzakari Sake Brewery began brewing in its new location. At the same time, the company shifted its focus to becoming a “100% Junmai Brewery,” dedicated exclusively to brewing junmai sake.

Made with koji mold and rice from Iwate

Ever since Mr. Fujimura became president, Kikuzakari Sake Brewery had primarily focused on brewing junmai sake. While the brewery did produce a limited amount of “futsūshu” (standard sake) with added distilled alcohol for local consumption, demand for this type of sake in the local market has been declining year by year. Meanwhile, nationwide, the popularity of junmai sake has been rising as consumers increasingly seek authentic products. Particularly after the earthquake, driven by a spirit of support for reconstruction, the junmai genshu sake “Taxi Driver” began selling well in the Kanto and Kansai regions.

Against this backdrop, just as we were reviewing our production system with the goal of “increasing junmai sake production,” the decision was made to relocate the brewery. Mr. Fujimura seized this opportunity to commit fully to producing only junmai sake. “At the time, there were no other breweries in Iwate Prefecture producing exclusively junmai sake, so I thought, ‘Since we’re doing this anyway, let’s be the first in Iwate,’” he recalls.

The rice used as raw material is 100 percent grown in Iwate Prefecture. What’s particularly noteworthy is that the brewery primarily uses “table rice” rather than sake-brewing rice. “We used to use sake-brewing rice and even sourced Yamada Nishiki from other prefectures, but in the end, table rice produced a flavor that better suited my preferences,” says Mr. Fujimura. For example, “Taxi Driver” is made using “Kakehashi,” a table rice variety native to Iwate Prefecture. Although it was once widely cultivated as a prefectural recommended variety, production has plummeted due to the rise of new varieties. However, Mr. Fujimura maintains, “This rice is the very source of ‘Taxi Driver’s’ flavor,” and he continues to safeguard both its quality and quantity through contract farming.

Furthermore, for “koji”—a crucial element that determines the quality of the sake—the brewery uses “Reimei Hiraizumi,” a koji mold strain developed exclusively by Iwate Prefecture. This koji mold produces moderate amounts of glucose—the source of sweetness—and is well-suited for bringing out a sake profile ideal for aging, perfectly aligning with the brewery’s vision for flavor. The junmai sake brewed in this way is released as “unfiltered genshu”—without any dilution or filtration—to deliver its flavor directly to the consumer. This robust, unfiltered character—straight from the press—has become a defining feature of Kikuzakari Shuzo’s identity, captivating sake enthusiasts across the nation.

Shiki Brewing’s new brewery is complete. Back to the place where it all began.

Kikuzakari Sake Brewery’s “brewing in a rented facility” continued for about 10 years.

“We are the only sake brewery remaining in Kitakami City. Although we temporarily relocated to neighboring Hanamaki City, we always wanted to return to our founding location,” said Mr. Fujimura. However, the disaster-damaged brewery had undergone repeated expansions and renovations, resulting in a complex structure that made restoration difficult. Furthermore, in 2021, the roof collapsed due to the Fukushima Offshore Earthquake and heavy snowfall, damaging the boiler used for bottle washing and pasteurization.

Even so, Mr. Fujimura refused to give up on “rebuilding at the founding site.” Utilizing crowdfunding, he constructed a new brewery and an office/warehouse on the company’s headquarters grounds. In the summer of 2024, he resumed sake brewing in Kitakami. “We were able to return here in the milestone year of our 130th anniversary,” Mr. Fujimura said with a smile.

The new brewery is equipped with state-of-the-art facilities, enabling year-round brewing across all four seasons. They also introduced temperature-controlled thermal tanks, making it possible to handle the entire process—from mashing to bottling—within this single facility.

Meanwhile, for the pressing process—which separates the mash (moromi) into sake and sake lees—they adopted the “Sase-style” press. The Sase-style method involves stacking bags of mash inside a vat and applying pressure from above to extract the liquid. Although it involves the labor-intensive steps of bagging and stacking, the slow, gentle pressing—without excessive force—is said to result in a mellow sake with a smooth mouthfeel.

One reason for choosing the Sase method—which is by no means efficient—is that they had been using it for pressing during the 10 years they rented space at another brewery. “The press at the brewery we were renting was a Sase-style model manufactured in the Showa 30s,” says Mr. Fujimura. “It took at least three days, and sometimes as long as a week, to press a single tank of mash.” The fact that pressing takes time means the sake is exposed to air for that duration, accelerating oxidation. While this method is unsuitable for producing fresh, fruity sake, it proved effective for crafting sake with rich umami flavors suited for aging or serving hot. Furthermore, the refined sediment produced by the Sase-style pressing adds depth to the flavor, becoming one of Kikumori’s defining characteristics.

“Our brewery has always been known for sake with a robust flavor, and I believe the Sase-style pressing has further solidified that direction. “The Sase-style press at our brewery is state-of-the-art, so the pressing itself takes about a day. However, we press on the weekend and bottle the sake at the start of the week. By deliberately letting it sit for a few days, we ensure the flavor remains unchanged from before, while at the same time, the physical labor involved in tasks like transferring the sake has been reduced, making the process much more efficient.”

Bringing the unique flavors of this brewery to the rest of Japan and the world

“Now that our new brewery is complete, we’ll finally be able to stabilize our production system,” says Mr. Fujimura with high hopes. While local consumption once accounted for 90 percent of sales, out-of-prefecture sales now make up 70 percent. Sales in Osaka, in particular, account for more than half of the total. “It seems that people in the Kansai region tend to prefer sake with a robust umami flavor and a clean finish,” he explains. In recent years, inquiries from overseas have also increased, and the brewery has secured export deals to the United States, Italy, and New Zealand.

At the same time, he also hopes to expand his customer base in the Kanto region, particularly in Tokyo.

“To achieve that, I believe the key challenge is finding the right match with liquor stores and authorized dealers. I want to find partners who truly understand the direction of our sake-making and can convey that to customers in their own words, rather than just parroting our message. That’s one of my goals for the future,”

says Mr. Fujimura. While exploring new connections with liquor stores in the Kanto region, he is carefully nurturing relationships with stores and fans with whom he already has ties.

Bringing the sake that only this brewery can produce from Iwate to all corners of Japan—and to the world. Having made a fresh start from its “origins” at the founding site, Kikumori’s sake brewing is now heading into its next chapter.

The post Drawing strength from tradition and innovation, they remain committed to producing “100% Junmai Sake.” Takuya Fujimura of Kikuzakari Sake Brewery / Kitakami City, Iwate Prefecture first appeared on NIHONMONO.

A single glass of sake can sometimes make the time spent with loved ones even more meaningful. Rihaku Brewery has been sharing these special moments with the world from Shimane. Although it is a long-established brewery with a history spanning over 140 years, its journey has always been marked by a spirit of challenge. The company expanded its sales channels back when overseas expansion was still rare, and in recent years, it has been pushing the boundaries of sake by brewing with flower yeast and developing products tailored to the times, thereby broadening the possibilities of sake. At the core of it all lies a consistent philosophy: “Creating joyful moments through sake.”

Dedicated solely to sake brewing in the land where the “Myth of Sake Brewing in Izumo” has been passed down through the ages

Matsue City, Shimane Prefecture. In this region, where a long-standing culture of sake brewing thrives, the “Izumo Sake Brewing Myth”—which tells of the gods brewing sake—has been passed down through the generations. In this land, we have continued to brew rich, full-bodied sake deeply rooted in the local terroir, using high-quality water and rice primarily grown in Shimane Prefecture. Today, the brewery uses sake-brewing rice for all of its in-house brands, focusing on the quality of the rice used in the brewing process.

Moving forward with the changing times

The company was founded in 1882. During the Meiji era—when feudal society came to an end and Japan began adopting Western culture—Takujiro Tanaka began brewing sake under the trade name “Tanaka Honten.” At that time, unlike today’s brand-based approach, it was a small-scale business where local residents would bring their own drinking vessels to purchase sake. As the Taisho era gave way to the Showa era, the distribution of sake began to be standardized nationwide, and breweries started promoting their own unique brands. It was at this time that Tanaka Honten adopted the brand name “Rihaku.” The name was chosen by Reijirō Wakatsuki, a native of Matsue City who later served as Prime Minister of Japan. An avid fan of Tanaka Honten’s sake, Wakatsuki named it “Rihaku”—after the Tang Dynasty poet from China—with the hope that it would “be a sake cherished across the ages.”

After the war, against the backdrop of rising demand for sake, the company grew primarily by supplying unblended sake to major manufacturers in bulk (“oke-uri”), and in 1950, it was incorporated as “Tanaka Shuzo.” In the 1970s, at a time when mass production was still the norm, Tanaka Shuzo shifted its focus from “quantity to quality.” The company began full-scale development of its own brand, “Rihaku,” using only rice suitable for sake brewing and pursuing the ultimate in flavor. Through repeated trial and error, they improved quality, eventually earning recognition—including numerous awards—and laid the foundation that continues to this day.

The company then began exporting in the 1980s. Although exporting sake was still rare at the time, the previous head of the family aimed to spread sake culture overseas. Today, 40% of its production is exported to 14 countries, primarily the United States. As the popularity of its flagship product, “Rihaku,” grew, the company changed its name in 1993 from “Tanaka Shuzo”—which bore the representative’s surname—to “Rihaku Shuzo.”

With a pioneering spirit, “passing on sake to the next generation”

The current fifth-generation head of Rihaku Brewery is Yuichiro Tanaka, who studied brewing science at Tokyo University of Agriculture and took over the family business after apprenticing at a specialty shop for local sake in Tokyo.

Mr. Tanaka joined the family business in 2003. At that time, the sake industry was undergoing a major turning point. In addition to market shifts caused by the shochu boom, the artisans who had long supported sake brewing were rapidly aging. Rihaku Sake Brewery was no exception. Sensing that “if things continued this way, we would no longer be able to brew sake,” Mr. Tanaka decided to overhaul the company’s production system, which had been centered around the head brewer. He took the bold step of creating a system that would ensure stable sake production.

Introducing modern equipment to pass on the skills of the “Izumo Toji” to future generations

The quality of Rihaku Sake Brewery is underpinned by the expertise of the Izumo master brewers. Through meticulous koji production and a method of slow fermentation at low temperatures, they have consistently produced sake with high acidity and a robust flavor. However, this technique relied heavily on experience and intuition. To address this, Mr. Tanaka pushed forward with digitizing the production process and investing in equipment, enabling the management of fermentation conditions—such as status, temperature, and duration—through numerical data. He refined the process into a reproducible system and established it as the “Rihaku Brewery Method.”

At the same time, not everything is left to machines. For critical processes such as koji production, the brewery places great importance on manual labor, shifting from a approach where “humans control the koji” to one where “humans prepare an environment conducive to the koji’s activity.” By closely monitoring temperature and humidity and making adjustments based on the koji’s condition, they bring out its full potential. Advances in technology and equipment have made the kind of meticulous management that was once difficult possible, leading to stable quality and further improvement.

In recent years, climate change has made the quality of rice more variable. As a result, they strive to make improvements every year while monitoring its condition. “There’s no end to the adjustments,” he says. “To deliver good sake, we will continue to conduct repeated analyses,” showing that he is not content with the status quo.

Creating a New Identity Using Flower Yeast

Until Mr. Tanaka returned to the brewery, they had been producing classic-style sake by combining sake rice varieties such as “Gohyakumangoku” and “Yamada Nishiki” with “No. 9 yeast,” which creates a crisp, clean flavor. This method has long been used to consistently produce high-quality sake thanks to the expertise of the Izumo master brewers.

At the same time, Mr. Tanaka took on the challenge of creating a new combination using the “Omachi” sake rice variety and “flower yeast.” “Flower yeast” refers to sake yeast that has been successfully isolated and cultured from flowers found in nature. While the character of the sake varies depending on the type of flower used, it is said to be particularly effective at producing a floral ginjo aroma and fruity flavors, making it a popular choice for crafting distinctive sakes. Drawing on his experience researching flower yeast during his university days, he set out to create sake in a style distinct from traditional methods.

“I wanted to create a new flavor unique to ‘Rihaku Sake Brewery’—one that differs from the techniques of the Izumo master brewers,” he explained. With this vision in mind, he selected his ingredients to achieve a balance of a robust body with a refreshing aroma and light acidity. The elegant flavor has been well-received by women and those new to sake.

Such initiatives are part of the challenge to preserve tradition. It is precisely this attitude—taking a step forward without fear of change—that serves as the driving force to carry sake culture into the next era.

Providing a pleasant experience through sake

Japan’s drinking culture began as a sacred “ritual connecting the gods and people” rooted in Shinto rituals, and has evolved uniquely as a setting for enjoying the seasonal beauty of nature—flowers, birds, the wind, and the moon—as well as for social interaction. Within this culture, sake has always been a part of daily life, not merely as a luxury item, but as a force that connects people.

“What we’re making isn’t just sake—it’s an ‘oasis’ that enriches people’s time,” says Mr. Tanaka. His philosophy is that sake should not take center stage, but rather serve as an element that enhances conversation and meals.

Sake is, after all, merely a “catalyst.” Its presence sparks conversation and makes meals more enjoyable. He wants to support such moments. To that end, he prioritizes a flavor profile that balances well with food. He aims to create sake that never grows tiresome and naturally invites you to take another sip.

Our Commitment to Preserving Sake Culture Accurately

At Rihaku Sake Brewery, guided by the philosophy of “promoting sake culture and passing it on correctly to future generations,” we use sake-brewing rice in all of our sake. Sake-brewing rice refers to rice that has been selectively bred to be suitable for brewing Japanese sake. Although it is more expensive, it produces fewer off-flavors and makes it easier to achieve a clean taste that pairs well with meals.

Additionally, the brewery uses water from one local well and three wells on its premises; since all are part of the same water system, they are all utilized in the brewing process. The soft mouthfeel and clean finish make the sake easy to drink and support its appeal as a meal-accompanying sake.

Bringing richness to daily life with a tireless spirit of challenge

To preserve tradition,Rihaku Sake Brewery’s quest for innovation never stops.

In 2024, the company began selling its sake in pouches. It is highly unusual for a regional sake brewery to handle everything from development to manufacturing in-house, making this a groundbreaking approach for the industry. “Because they’re lightweight and easy to carry, our pouches are being chosen for new occasions such as outdoor activities and watching sports. They’re also increasingly popular as souvenirs among international visitors.” The company says it aims to begin selling unpasteurized sake in pouches in the future.

At the heart of these efforts is the desire for people to share pleasant moments together, transcending national and cultural boundaries. Rihaku Sake Brewery will continue to deliver the richness that each cup of sake brings to the world.

The post Preserving tradition and sharing the charm of sake with the world: Yuichiro Tanaka, 5th-generation head of “Rihaku Sake Brewery” first appeared on NIHONMONO.

“Sharaku,” which has gained popularity among local sake enthusiasts nationwide for its high quality, and “Aizu Miyaizumi,” which has been beloved locally since the brewery’s founding. “Miyaizumi Meijo” continues to pursue its ideal of sake brewing through these two brands. Amid abundant water sources and a climate ideal for sake brewing, fourth-generation brewery owner Yoshihiro (the older brother, pictured right) and Managing Director Yamato (the younger brother, pictured left) take on the challenge with a passionate desire to “create even better sake.” While meticulously monitoring the ever-changing temperature, humidity, and aromas within the brewery to refine the quality of their sake, the team—led by the Miyamori brothers—works as one to craft their sake.

A sake brewery in Aizu, a region renowned for its sake, that has carried on a 400-year history

Aizu-Wakamatsu City is one of the leading sake-producing regions in the Tohoku region. The Aizu Basin, surrounded on all sides by mountains, experiences significant seasonal temperature fluctuations. With cold winters that keep bacteria at bay, it is blessed with a climate and environment ideally suited for sake brewing. Furthermore, having flourished as a castle town, the area has a long history dating back to the Edo period, when numerous sake breweries were established and competed to refine their brewing techniques.

Located near the famous Tsuruga Castle, the charming brewery “Miyaizumi Meijo” was founded in 1955 (Showa 30). While there are many breweries with hundreds of years of history, this one might seem relatively new—but that is not the case. Miyaizumi Meijo is a brewery that branched off from “Hanaharu Shuzo,” one of the oldest and most prestigious breweries in Aizu-Wakamatsu, founded in 1718 (Kyōhō 3). Although its history as a company is short, it carries on a 400-year tradition of sake brewing.

The exterior, which blends seamlessly into the atmospheric streetscape of this castle town, is designated as a historic landmark, and the brewery grounds themselves are filled with charming spaces. Although it was originally a small facility, it has taken on its current form through a series of expansions. The varying heights of the roofs and the different materials used for the walls add to its unique character, giving the building a rich variety of expressions.

As the fourth-generation head, he is taking on the challenge of revitalizing the brewery and pioneering new brewing methods

The older brother, Yoshihiro, and the younger brother, Yamato, have an unusual background: after graduating from college, they both worked as systems engineers (SEs). In 2002, Yoshihiro quit his job as an SE and returned to Fukushima to turn around the family business, Miyaizumi Meijo. He was 26 years old at the time.

“We completely reevaluated our sake-making methods and production environment from scratch,” Yoshihiro recalls. “Although we had won gold medals several times at the National New Sake Competition, the techniques we’d honed for our competition entries weren’t being applied to our other sakes at all. So I became increasingly determined to apply the knowledge gained from making those competition sakes to our regular retail products and revitalize our lineup.”

At the time, the president was responsible for management, while the head brewer handled production. However, Yoshihiro believed that “if the business leader were also involved in the brewing process, we could get closer to our ideal flavor.” He traveled around the country visiting breweries he believed produced high-quality sake, incorporating their excellent techniques as he pursued a new flavor profile.

The bond between brothers has brought a breath of fresh air to the sake brewery

After working as a systems engineer, Yamato became a secretary to a member of the Diet. One day, his older brother Yoshihiro—who had already returned to their family home—asked him, “Yamato, why don’t we make sake together?” “I’d always wanted to work with my brother someday, so I didn’t hesitate for a moment,” Yamato says with a beaming smile.

“I wanted to produce sake of a consistently high standard, and as the number of stone vats was gradually increasing, I felt I needed my younger brother’s help to improve the quality of our local brand, ‘Aizu Miyaizumi,’” says Yoshihiro. From that point on, a new chapter in sake brewing centered around the brothers began.

In recent years, Yoshihiro has primarily been in charge of brewing “Sharaku,” while Yamato has focused on “Aizu Miyaizumi,” and together they continue to pursue their ideals through these two brands.

Reviving “Sharaku,” Which Once Nearly Disappeared, to Reform the Warehouse

Originally, the “Sharaku” brand belonged to Higashiyama Shuzo, a brewery that traced its roots back to Miyamori Bunjiro Shoten—the original main branch of the Miyamori Shuzo family. Although it was popular among the people of Aizu, Higashiyama Shuzo regrettably went out of business in 2009. Consequently, Miyaizumi Meijo, which shares the same origins, took over the “Sharaku” brand.

“Although we took over the ‘Sharaku’ brand, I wanted to create a sake that would be recognized nationwide, so I poured the sake-making expertise I had cultivated over the years into crafting a new sake,” says Yoshihiro. As a result, “Sharaku”—whose history had once nearly come to an end—has grown into a sake that enjoys nationwide popularity. In 2014, at the “SAKE COMPETITION”—an event that determines Japan’s most delicious commercially available sake—it won first place in both the Junmai and Junmai Ginjo categories, proving its exceptional quality to the nation. Since then, the brewery has continued to strive for even higher quality, and “Sharaku” has become such a renowned sake that it is now a regular gold medal winner at various competitions.

“Aizu Miyaizumi”: Continuing to Take on Technical Challenges

“Aizu Miyaizumi” primarily ships its products within Fukushima Prefecture. Considered a premium sake on par with “Sharaku” in terms of flavor and quality, it achieved remarkable success in 2018 by winning first place nationwide in the Junmai category at the “SAKE COMPETITION” and earning numerous awards at international sake competitions, thereby gaining national attention. Driven by a single-minded desire to “cherish the brand that has been safeguarded by generations of brewers,” the brewery has consistently raised the bar for brewing quality.

“Aizu Miyaizumi will continue to pursue technical challenges as we strive to create the ideal sake,” says Mr. Yamato. The brewery is not content merely to “preserve tradition”; its pursuit of new brewing innovations knows no bounds. Using sake-brewing rice varieties developed by Fukushima Prefecture—such as “Yume no Ka” and “Fuku no Ka”—as well as “Wataribune No. 2,” “Yamada Ho,” “Yamasake No. 4,” and “Oyama Nishiki,” the brewery has produced a diverse range of sakes. “There are still many brewing styles and techniques I’d like to try in the future,” Mr. Yamato says with a delighted smile.

Uncompromising Sake Brewing with High-Quality Water and Rice

The brewery is highly regarded not only for the quality of its sake but also for its strict hygiene standards. Beautifully polished wooden corridors, imposing tanks, and koji quietly maturing over time. While many breweries store their sake at room temperature or in tanks, Miyasumi Meijo strictly adheres to immediate bottling after pressing and refrigerated storage of the entire batch in bottles to prevent oxidation from air exposure and deterioration at room temperature.

“Starting with the process of drawing groundwater to create the brewing water used throughout every stage of sake production—from managing raw materials and the moromi (fermenting mash), to pressing (the process of separating the finished moromi into sake and lees), storage, and shipping—we make no compromises in the work and environment necessary to improve the quality of our sake,” says Mr. Yamato.

Aiming for High-Quality Sake Through Data Management and Accumulation

Inside the brewery, there is a space that exudes a unique atmosphere, much like a laboratory. In the “Analysis Room,” lined with various analytical instruments, there were analyzers capable of measuring data—such as alcohol content, acidity, and Sake Meter Value (sweetness)—necessary for assessing the fermentation progress of the mash before it becomes raw sake.

Both Mr. Yoshihiro and Mr. Yamato majored in science in college, so they are meticulous about collecting data. This is to ensure that they can verify their findings at any time. Believing that “good sake can only be achieved through accumulated experience,” they manage all data related to their research aimed at further advancing sake brewing, as well as data on every batch of sake they actually produce. Through this approach, Miyaizumi Meijo pursues the production of delicious, high-quality sake at the highest possible standards.

With our sights set on the world, we’ll keep taking on new challenges while having fun.

“Our brewery has now reached the ideal scale,” says Yoshihiro with a smile. “We used to be a small brewery that didn’t even produce enough to fill 10 tanks, but now we’re making 150 tanks’ worth. A brewery of about 2,000 koku is ideal because we can keep a close eye on everything.” He goes on to share his new dream: “Going forward, we want to deliver sake that people around the world—not just in Japan—will find delicious, so we’re also considering venturing into exports. I hope our sake will be discovered by people all over the world.”

“Working alongside my brother is incredibly fulfilling,” says Yamato, his eyes sparkling. “I look forward to exploring the exciting world that lies ahead together with my brother, the president.” He reaffirms his resolve: “As the population continues to decline and the number of drinkers shrinks, I believe it’s crucial to reach out to the world. I want to keep taking on new challenges so that people will say, ‘Miyaizumi is doing something fascinating again.’”

As long as these positive challenges continue, the future of Miyaizumi Meijo looks set to become even more exciting. Just imagining what kind of sake they’ll create makes my heart race.

The post Preserving tradition while continuing to take on new challenges. Yoshihiro and Yamato Miyamori of “Miyaizumi Meijo,” who captivate customers with two brands that linger in the heart and memory / Aizuwakamatsu City, Fukushima Prefecture first appeared on NIHONMONO.

Idejōzōten, a long-established sake brewery with over 300 years of history dating back to the Edo period. Nestled at the northern foot of Mount Fuji, on the shores of Lake Kawaguchi, this brewery has continued making sake for generations. In recent years, it has embarked on a new venture: crafting its own unique whiskey. We spoke with the next-generation representative about his vision for preserving the taste of their traditional sake while embracing this new challenge, and about the future of this venerable brewery.

A Brewery by the Lake

Lake Kawaguchi, one of the Fuji Five Lakes at the foot of Mount Fuji, attracts many tourists every year. Nearby stands the long-established brewery “Ide Brewery,” which has been in operation since the mid-Edo period, over 300 years ago. We spoke with Takaoshi Ide, the 22nd-generation owner, who is currently involved in brewing and selling sake, and now also in the new venture of whisky production.

A brewery that began with soy sauce production

The origins of “Ide Brewery” date back to around 1700. Located on the northern foothills of Mount Fuji, this region boasts abundant spring and groundwater. However, the absence of rivers and the hard bedrock made digging irrigation channels difficult. Consequently, the land was unsuitable for supplying water to rice paddies and thus not ideal for growing rice, the key ingredient for sake.Conversely, soybean cultivation using rainwater flourished. Consequently, the 11th generation owner, Yogoemon Ide, opened a brewery to begin brewing soy sauce using these soybeans. Around 1850, the 16th generation owner, Yogoemon Ide, recognized the cool climate at an elevation of 850 meters and the abundant spring water flowing from Mount Fuji.He began sourcing rice from regions within Yamanashi Prefecture where rice cultivation was thriving and started brewing sake. This marked the beginning of sake production at Ide Brewery.

While it’s difficult to source all ingredients solely from rice grown in the northern foothills region, which has few paddy fields, the brewery now procures rice from various farmers nationwide, primarily within Yamanashi Prefecture. However, driven by the desire to “create sake that becomes a source of pride for local people,” they have recently expanded their offerings to include brands like the special junmai sake “Hokuroku,” made using “Tamasakae” rice from the northern foothills of Mount Fuji.However, no matter how carefully suppliers are selected, some variation in rice quality based on the year and region is unavoidable. “I believe a key technical point in sake brewing is how to minimize impact on the product and effectively deliver the brewery’s signature taste, the consistent flavor, to consumers,” said Ushun, revealing confidence in his company’s techniques.

Sake Pride of Ide Brewery

With “using Fuji Mountain spring water” as the overarching concept, Ushun states, “We strive to create pure sake that upholds that image.” The representative brand of Ide Brewery is “Kai no Kaiun” (Fortune of Kai). Around 1850, when sake brewing began, it coincided with the marriage of Princess Kazunomiya.Inspired by this, the sake developed with the wish “for fortune to open and lead to happiness” was named “Kaiun” (Good Fortune). Later, in 1985, Kaiun, beloved by people for many years, was renamed Kai no Kaiun to emphasize its regional identity as a Yamanashi brewery, and it continues to be brewed today. Its taste is smooth on the palate with a slightly dry flavor.It finishes cleanly, making it the perfect accompaniment to a meal.

Kai no Kaiun: Crisp and Unwavering

The quality of Iide Brewery’s sake is underpinned by the “Fuji Water” flowing directly beneath the brewery. This underground water, drawn from a point at approximately 1,100 meters above sea level, takes 80 years to pass through the volcanic layers of Mount Fuji. It is then naturally filtered through basalt layers and other formations, resulting in a refined, crystal-clear softness. This water is the very core of the “clean sake quality” the brewery strives for.”Refreshing and clean.” This fundamental principle remains unwavering. The pleasant sharpness of their flagship brand, “Kai no Kaiun,” harmonizes with the transparency of Fuji’s water, enhancing its appeal as a sake to enjoy with meals.

For fermentation, stable association-type yeast is used, prioritizing the straightforward expression of the ingredients’ flavors while minimizing off-flavors. Among these steps, Mr. Ushun emphasizes the “particularly crucial” practice of pasteurization immediately after pressing. Minimizing exposure to air and meticulous management to stabilize the sake are indispensable.After pasteurization, the sake is stored quietly in an environment with minimal temperature fluctuations. Meanwhile, the unpasteurized sake is kept year-round in refrigerators maintained below 0°C. This meticulous management, dedicated to preserving the delicate flavor, creates a sake of unwavering purity.

“Raw Unpasteurized Sake” You Can Only Taste Here

The shop “Sakaboushi,” attached to the brewery, offers a lineup including sake and foods made using sake lees, a byproduct of the brewing process. Additionally, since April 2010, tours of the brewery have been available to the general public.They also offer a limited-edition unpasteurized sake, “Special Junmai Nama Genshu ‘Kakoi’,” available only to visitors. During sake brewing, rice is fermented to produce alcohol. The liquid pressed from the mash (moromi), a mixture of fermented rice and sake, is called nama genshu.Most commercially distributed sake undergoes pasteurization (hi-ire) for sterilization and dilution with water to adjust alcohol content at this stage. However, Special Junmai Nama Genshu “Kakoi” skips these processes entirely. Experience the unadulterated alcohol sensation and fragrant rice flavor of “pressed and served as is.” Savor its smooth taste and the faint lingering ginjo aroma.

A New Challenge: Launching the “Fuji North Foot Distillery”

In July 2020, Ide Brewery embarked on a new challenge, beginning whisky production under the brand name “Fuji North Foot Distillery.” Globally, alcoholic beverages are broadly categorized into “brewed spirits,” made by fermenting raw materials like rice or barley, and “distilled spirits,” created by heating the fermented liquid, vaporizing it, cooling it, and condensing it back into liquid form.For whisky specifically, the distilled base spirit must undergo “aging” – long-term storage in wooden casks. For Ide Brewery, which had previously focused solely on brewing, the processes of “distillation” and “aging” were entirely new territory.

“We had knowledge and hands-on experience with fermentation, but distillation and aging were completely unknown to us. We truly started from scratch,”

“It took several years to finally establish our own unique production methods, but there’s still so much to learn,” Ushun shares, reflecting on the challenges. While his desire to make distilled spirits grew stronger, he hesitated about the significant capital investment required to start whisky production. What ultimately pushed him forward was the noticeable increase in inbound demand in recent years.Even if foreign visitors to the brewery primarily came for sake, wouldn’t they be even happier if the lineup included a whiskey originating overseas? It was this thought that led him to decide to take the plunge into whiskey production.

Whiskey made from rice by a sake brewery

“Japanese whiskey is currently popular worldwide. I believe one factor is its drinkability. While maintaining that, I want to express the unique character of Ide Brewery.”

Many of the aging barrels used for Japanese whiskey are made from Mizunara oak, which imparts an elegant, sweet aroma and a subtle sweetness to the whiskey. Beyond this “drinkability,” Ide Brewery’s whiskey incorporates an extra layer of craftsmanship. One example is using “sake yeast” for fermentation, instead of the typical whiskey yeast.Another is the use of rice, the same base ingredient as sake, instead of the more common corn, rye, or wheat. This adds a distinct sweetness derived from the rice, resulting in a whisky with a deeper, smoother mouthfeel. Behind these meticulous choices lies the desire to “create a whisky that only we can make.””A rice-based whiskey made by a sake brewery. I believe it possesses a unique character you won’t find elsewhere,” states Ushun proudly. Currently, they offer two products: the whiskey ‘Taijukai’, made with the aforementioned sake yeast and rice, and the ‘Fuji Kitakoku Distillery Highball’, which incorporates carbonated water and spring water to further enhance its “drinkability”.

“This product was created to widely announce our new venture: ‘Ide Jozoten, known for making sake, has started making whisky.’ We’re excited to see how the market responds.”

Creating an everyday sake that never gets old

Mr. Ushun, who will lead Ide Brewery as its 22nd-generation head in the future, shared his vision: “I want to continue making sake without straying from the core characteristics that define Ide Brewery’s current flavor profile: ‘refreshing clarity’ and ‘elegant purity.'” He also expressed his enthusiasm for focusing on brewing “Kai no Kaiun,” a standard sake.”While ‘special designation sake’ tends to draw attention across Japan these days, I also want to properly craft ‘ordinary sake,’ which has been deeply rooted in daily life for generations.”

Long before the “Sake Production and Quality Indication Standards” were established, “Kai no Kaiun” has been brewed without altering its flavor since 1850. It represents the unwavering identity of Ide Brewery. “It may not be flashy, but it has been cherished as a companion for ‘ordinary’ moments, like family meals at the daily dinner table. I hope it continues to be loved by people without ever growing tiresome.”There is an irreplaceable happiness in being able to be “ordinary,” in being able to live everyday life. The sentiment poured into “Kai no Kaiun” connects the history and spirit of Ide Brewery.

The Future of Ide Brewery

“Sake, representing Japanese culture, will continue to attract global attention given recent inbound demand. That’s precisely why I believe there’s ample need to keep producing ‘Kai no Kaiun,’ which connects time-honored traditions to the present. Building on this strong foundation, we aim to develop products like whiskey that meet modern needs. Times keep changing, after all.”

Ide Brewery’s sake-making journey began with soy sauce production, rooted in observing the region’s unique characteristics and blessings. Moving forward, the brewery will remain deeply connected to the community, steadfastly preserving its inherited flavors while flexibly adapting to changing times and embracing new challenges.

The post Traditional Sake and Innovative Whiskey Crafted with Fuji Spring Water: “Ide Brewery” / Minamitsuru District, Fujikawaguchiko Town, Yamanashi Prefecture first appeared on NIHONMONO.

Matsuya Sake Brewing Company is located in Fujioka City in southwestern Gunma Prefecture, bordering on Saitama Prefecture. The sake “Ruka,” which uses water from the Kannagawa and Ayukawa Rivers that gushes from the Mikabo Sankei mountain range, which is ideal for sake brewing, is attracting attention as an original sake created by the enthusiasm of the sixth generation brewer, Hiroyuki Matsubara, who is also the toji, the president of the company.

The Sixth Generation Envisions a New Gunma Sake

Fujioka City in Gunma Prefecture has a mild climate with mountainous terrain in the west and the Kanto Plain in the east. Matsuya Sake Brewery, which has been producing sake here since 1951, was originally founded as a rice wholesaler in Toyama Prefecture during the Edo period and began brewing sake in the late Meiji era. The brewery later moved to Fujioka City in Gunma Prefecture, which is close to the large market of Tokyo and blessed with a natural environment, and has been making sake that is suited to the locality of Gunma. After the previous master brewer retired due to old age, Hiroyuki Matsubara, the sixth generation brewer and president of the company, became the master brewer himself and has been involved in production ever since. With a production of only 250 koku, the small brewery produces sake that is made by hand in the traditional way, with a modern approach that is in tune with the times, offering a new kind of Gunma sake.

Returning to his hometown to fulfill the role of the eldest son, the sixth generation

Born and raised in a sake brewery, Matsubara was not interested in sake making as a child, and after graduating from college, he began working for a street brand to pursue a career in fashion. He decided to return to his parents’ home and take over the family brewery.

He said, “At one time I ran away from home to do something different from the family business, but since I am the eldest son, I decided to take over the family business. I had a sense of fulfillment from having done what I loved in the outside world, so I honestly thought I would return to my parents’ house and do my best.

At the time, however, we were in the midst of the shochu boom. The brewery mainly produced sake for celebratory occasions such as elections and weddings, but Mr. Matsubara felt that this alone would eventually make it difficult to run the business. However, he felt that this would eventually become too difficult to manage. Since he was taking over the brewery, he wanted to make sake that would be sold at restaurants, and he began to think about creating his own original sake at the brewery.

I want to make Gunma sake that fits the times.

Mr. Matsubara joined Matsuya Sake Brewery and began learning sake brewing from scratch at the brewery. At the same time, in order to create his own original sake, he went to study at the “Red Brick Sake Brewery” in Oji, Tokyo (now the National Institute of Sake Brewing), which has contributed to the development of sake brewing in Japan, and learned from senior brewers at Gunma Prefecture’s technical exchange meetings.

At the time, the generation older than myself favored dry sake, and many of the breweries around us were producing it. However, as the number of senior brewers I met at the engineer exchange meetings and the number of brewers of the same younger generation as myself increased, the trend of sake preferred in the market started to change. The fruity, aromatic sake that I like is getting more attention.

In his search for sake that suited the times, he went to restaurants recommended by a toji he respected, read books, and actively sought advice. He was advised that “marketing is important, but at the end of the day, your own feelings are important,” and he decided to create a fruity, fresh sake that was becoming popular and had a flavor he wanted to drink.

Deciding on a Brand Name from a Child’s Name Candidate

Mr. Matsubara decided that if he was going to make his own original sake, he wanted it to be fragrant and fruity, close to the kind of sake he had always dreamed of making. He imagined the taste of sake like “Jyushiyo” and “Houbiden,” which he had been shocked by when he drank them, and through a process of trial and error, he came up with the ideal name for the sake. When he brought the sake to the distributor, he was advised by the Matsuya Brewery to think carefully about branding if it was to be a new brand.

At the time, I had just had a baby, and I was thinking of a name for my child, and I found a name that fit the image of the sake I wanted to make, “Nagare Shine. We named our new sake brand “Ryu-ki”.

In addition to the existing brands “Tosei” and “Hiraijo,” the new brand name “Nagareki” has been added to the existing brands, and the brewery has launched its own brand. The words on the “Ryuki” label were written thousands of times by Mr. Matsubara himself, he says.

Sake brewing that takes advantage of the quality of the water

When making Nagareki, Mr. Matsubara’s first image was of a sake that would be enjoyed for its aroma. However, the sake produced in Fujioka did not have as much of an aroma as he had expected. The sake made in Fujioka, however, does not have as much aroma as one might expect, and yet it has a slightly citrusy, acidic flavor, he says.

We dig a well in the groundwater of the Kannryu and Ayukawa Rivers and use it as brewing water,” he said. The water is very soft, with a German hardness of about 6. For rice, we use Yamada-Nishiki and other sake rice suitable for our brewery, such as Niigata’s Gohyakumangoku.

At first, he had a hard time producing the sake he envisioned. As he repeatedly experimented with different types of rice and yeast and their compatibility with water based on various data, he gradually began to see changes in the taste of his sake. It was not the fragrant, fruity sake that he wanted to make, but he began to see the characteristics of Fujioka, a sake with a subdued aroma and a slightly citrus-like acidity that the region produced. I am now thinking of making “Ryuki” in a way that makes the most of this character.

Sake made with the same routine

Matsuya Brewery is a small brewery with only five employees, including part-time workers. Because of the small number of employees, the brewery takes a longer production period, and they are conscious of following the same routine every year to keep the rhythm of the brewing process.

Although we have a small number of employees, we produce sake in small batches, sticking to traditional handmade methods in order to produce higher quality sake. In particular, the pressing process is carried out slowly and under pressure using an old-fashioned machine that has been handed down from generation to generation, resulting in a clean and gentle sake quality.

The traditional technique of koji making, which easily affects the flavor of sake, is employed. Steamed sake rice is exposed outdoors and exposed to wind to evaporate the moisture, while controlling the temperature to the desired level. In order to allow the fermentation of unrefined sake to proceed slowly at low temperatures, the rice is pounded for more than 50 hours to allow the mycelium to reach the center of the rice, producing a clean koji that matches the quality of the sake.

He began to think about pursuing refined sake by using traditional koji making that is not influenced by trends, and by changing the flavor of the sake by combining the two.

Creating sake that can be handled by restaurants

In branding Ryuki, Mr. Matsubara says that he had a strong desire for the sake to be sold in restaurants. He also tried a different approach to the sales of sake than what the brewery had been doing until now.

We decided to limit the distribution of “Ryuki” to only those dealers who are willing to sell it to us. We chose only those distributors who were willing to sell our sake, and we are still doing business with them today.

Limited distribution has the advantage of increasing the value of the brand and differentiating it. However, it also has the disadvantage of not being able to market the product unless the distributors approve of it.

When Ryuki was just starting out, there were few dealers who would accept his brand, and he was sometimes turned away, told to “go study more. There was even a distributor who finally accepted our brand after three years of trying,” says Matsubara.

Ryuki,” a brand created with his own ingenuity

Nagare Kiki” was created with the image of a fresh, fruity flavor that would flow and shine in the mouth, and it is now turning out to be exactly what the name implies.

There are still things I need to work on, but after 17 years of making “Ryu-Kiki,” I think I’ve gotten about 50% closer to what I’m aiming for,” he said. I think I am getting better and better, but in order to raise it another 50 percent, I think I need more experience, more ideas, and more effort than I am capable of at the moment.

Two years after taking over the Matsuya Brewery, he launched his own brand, Ryuki, which became popular mainly among restaurants, just as Mr. Matsubara had hoped, and is now gaining fans among the general public as well. The experience of creating an original brand from scratch, which Mr. Matsubara has been dealing with ever since he became toji, has had a positive impact on the other sake that Matsuya Brewery has been making for many years, and the future of this small brewery is beginning to look brighter.

The post We want to create an original brand. Matsuya Sake Brewery’s passion for “Ryuki” / Fujioka City, Gunma Prefecture first appeared on NIHONMONO.

Sugihara Sake Brewery, the smallest sake brewery in Japan

The “smallest sake brewery in Japan” is located in Ibi-gun, Gifu Prefecture. The company was founded in 1892 and produced only 80 koku in fiscal year 2021, which translates to only 8,000 bottles. In fiscal year 2021, the company produced a mere 80 koku, or 8,000 bottles per day. The sake produced here, “Ibi,” has become a rare and difficult-to-find sake, partly due to the absolute small amount that is distributed. The brewery is headed by Keiki Sugihara, the fifth-generation head brewer and toji (master brewer) of the brewery. In fact, until just 15 years ago, he was a complete amateur, not even knowing what sake rice was.

Why don’t you make sake when your family is a sake brewer? He was a member of the Japan Overseas Cooperation Volunteers (JOCV) at the time. These words from a colleague of Mr. Sugihara, who was working overseas as a Japan Overseas Cooperation Volunteer (JOCV) at the time, have stuck in the back of his mind for a long time. From a young age, he saw his parents struggling to keep their sake brewery afloat, and he did not want to take over the brewery, but when it was finally on the brink of bankruptcy, he decided to protect this traditional Japanese industry. However, he had no knowledge of the difference between regular rice and sake rice, and had no experience in sake brewing. And, of course, he failed. Still, he had no choice but to sell his sake, so he made a determined attempt to sell it by going door-to-door in Tokyo and Osaka, but none of the sake shops would take him up on his offer.

However, one liquor store told him, “It doesn’t taste good yet and it won’t sell, but when we make good sake, we will surely buy all of it. So don’t tell me you’re quitting.” This encouraged him. Mr. Sugihara wanted to make something special if he was going to do it anyway, so he set his sights on creating “true local sake” by focusing on locally grown ingredients. He also wanted to produce rice that suited the local area, so he looked around for people who would help him grow rice. It was not easy for a small sake brewery to grow its own rice, but local volunteers who recognized Mr. Sugihara’s enthusiasm for sake brewing offered to help. Together with a master rice breeder, who is said to be the leading rice breeder in Gifu, and rice farmers who were willing to help him grow the rice, they focused on brewing sake with rice suited to the local climate, and repeatedly crossbred and established the best sake rice, “Yamada-Nishiki,” and “Wakamizu” suited to the local climate. Six years after Mr. Sugihara returned to the brewery, the first “Imi” was finally born. The sake rice was named “Ibi no Homare” and was certified as Gifu Prefecture’s sake rice for brewing in 2021. This was 10 years after the start of development.

Phantom Sake will be updated.

The characteristics of “Imi” are its floral aroma and mellow sweetness. And it continues to evolve in response to marketability. Ibi-no-Honor” is an ongoing process of breeding, and sake brewing is updated according to the year’s sake rice crop, climatic conditions, and food trends. I didn’t know anything about it, so I had no fixed ideas and was able to honestly adopt what I thought was good. It is truly sake brewed by everyone,” says Sugihara. His goal for the future is to become a model case for small sake breweries. This is because there are many advantages unique to small business. For example, because the production volume is small, there is no need for sales and advertising, and the company can concentrate on brewing sake. And they can control quality within their reach. If we can set a good example of how to achieve what we want by deciding what not to do, it will encourage other small sake breweries to do the same. We can do this because we don’t have fixed concepts. We can take on challenges because we are small.

The road to not pandering to the currents of the world is a steep one, and it is not an easy one. But if you don’t give up, you will be rewarded. Mr. Sugihara, who smiles and says, “I am the type of person who grows when I am praised,” has started distributing sake to liquor stores that have given him encouragement and encouragement.

NIHONMONO – 「にほん」の「ほんも…

神に捧げ、民に愛されるにごり酒「三輪酒造」／岐阜県大垣市 – NIHONMONO どぶろくに近いにごり酒を求めて 岐阜県北部、庄川（しょうがわ）流域にある白川郷。日本の原風景とも称される合掌造

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Traditional sake brewing is the best method of production.

The oldest yeast used in sake brewing in Japan today is “Kyokai No. 6. Aramasai Shuzo is known as the brewery that created this yeast. Aramasa Brewery has undergone various reforms. The brewery uses only rice grown in Akita Prefecture, insists on pure rice production, uses no industrial additives, and ferments its sake in wooden vats.
It has been 14 years since Mr. Yusuke Sato, the 8th generation head of Aramasa Sake Brewery, who has been responsible for all such reforms, returned to the brewery. It has been 10 years since the release of “No.6” (Number Six), which Mr. Sato worked on and which has now become the signature series of the Aramasa Sake Brewery. Mr. Sato looks back and says that he has just kept on running, realizing the many things he wanted to do before returning to the brewery, such as making thoroughly good products.

Mr. Sato quit his previous job and returned to the brewery because he wanted to make really good sake, and he has been striving to make the ultimate sake without making any compromises. In the beginning, people around him thought he was “doing something unusual,” he laughs. He wanted to make real sake, so he read a lot of literature and went to other breweries to study. His search for what it takes to make the best sake led him to traditional methods. They are all labor-intensive and difficult methods. The currents of the times have simplified these methods in the pursuit of efficiency and rationality. What at first glance may appear to be a return to the old ways, when you get down to it, all of it makes sense, and just because it is tedious is not a reason not to do it. It was a matter of course for Mr. Sato, who strove for perfection in sake brewing, sometimes without regard for profit. The cost of exploring traditional sake brewing and making it taste as good as possible is enormous,” he said. This is something we have no choice but to do. We’re trying to evolve to preserve the traditional methods while also preserving the traditional industries associated with them.” says Sato.

Challenging sake from rice cultivation

The next innovation is sake brewing, which begins with the pesticide-free cultivation of rice.
In 2013, the company began outsourcing sake rice cultivation to contract farmers on a made-to-order basis, based on their requests. However, again, the process was too time-consuming and labor-intensive, and not many farmers were willing to cooperate. They decided to start growing their own rice.
Aramasa Sake Brewery’s pesticide-free rice field is located in Uyashinai, Kawabe district, Akita City. It is a place rich in nature, where the beautiful Omata River flows through the mountains and enriches the village.
In 2018, sake made from rice grown without agricultural chemicals at the company’s own field was shipped for the first time to the general public in limited quantities under the name “Noumin Geijutsu Kaihon” (Introduction to Farmers’ Arts). The sake, named in homage to Kenji Miyazawa’s memo-like work “Noumin Geijutsu Kairon Aminyo,” is attracting attention along with new developments at Aramasa Brewery.
The Aramasa Brewery’s reforms continue, as the concluding words of Miyazawa’s “What we need is a transparent will, a great power and heat that envelopes the galaxy,” lead us to the next step.

NIHONMONO – 「にほん」の「ほんも…

国有形文化財の建物で醸される老舗蔵「両関酒造」湯沢の力水が生む美麗な酒／秋田県湯沢市 – NIHONMONO 秋田県南部に位置する湯沢市にある「両関酒造」の歴史は明治7年（1874年）に始まる。湯沢のメインストリートに建つ風情漂う建物はその内4つが秋田県で初めて国の登録有形文…

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Seeking nigori sake close to doburoku

Shirakawa-go is located in the Shogawa River basin in northern Gifu Prefecture. In this area, where the Gassho-zukuri style villages are still preserved, a grand doburoku festival is held every year from the end of September to October to pray for fertility, safety of the family, and peace in the village. Doburoku has been used as a ritual drink in Shirakawa Village for about 1,300 years and has been served to the people in each district. Doburoku is made by fermenting rice, rice bran, and water without filtering the moromi, and is characterized by its cloudy white appearance. It has been loved by many people for its creamy, rich, and wild flavor, but it was forbidden to sell it because there were no opportunities to drink it outside of Shinto rituals. However, there were no opportunities to drink it outside of Shinto rituals, and it was forbidden to be sold. Many people, fascinated by its appearance and addictive taste, wanted to somehow make it a souvenir of Shirakawa-go so that they could take it home with them.
The previous generation was asked by the future mayor of Shirakawa Village to create a nigori sake similar to doburoku that could be taken home as a souvenir, and about 45 years ago the production of nigori sake “Shirakawa-go” began,” says Kenji Miwa, the 8th generation owner of Miwa Shuzo. In fact, nigori sake is difficult to handle because it leaves the moromi, which is solid, behind, making it easy for the machine to get dirty. Even among sake breweries near Shirakawa-go, there were very few that actively made nigori sake at that time. By chance, the Miwa Sake Brewery in Ogaki City, 100 kilometers away from Shirakawa-go, decided to play a role in making nigori sake to reproduce the doburoku of Shirakawa-go.

Founded in 1837, the Miwa Sake Brewery had more than enough expertise in sake brewing, but the road to commercialization was not an exception. It was necessary to create a sake that could be sold year-round within the definition of sake. After much research and study, they managed to create a nigori sake with a flavor similar to Shirakawa Village’s doburoku, a type of sake that is sold all year round. Miwa Shuzo’s nigori sake, “Shirakawa-go,” became a popular souvenir of Shirakawa Village, as originally planned.
What was unexpected was that its popularity was not limited to the Shirakawa Village area. Sake lovers who heard of the brewery’s reputation began to clamor for “Shirakawa-go,” and the sales channels expanded nationwide. As a result, the ratio of nigori-zake to sake production at Miwa Shuzo has reached 9:1, and the company has become known not only throughout Japan but also to sake lovers overseas as a brewery specializing in nigori-zake.

Nigori Sake, a rare treat in the world, is a part of Japan’s food culture

A rich nigori with concentrated original flavor of rice. This is the reason why “Shirakawa-go” is favored by so many people among the many nigori sake brands. The taste of nigori sake is strongly, deeply, and richly etched in the memory of those who taste it. However, the mash, which is the basis of nigori, is as rampant as a bull in a rodeo, and the role of the cowboy in a four-stage rodeo is aptly described as a “four-step rodeo. If the four-stage brewing process, which plays the role of a cowboy, can control it well, the result is a sake with the perfect combination of sake-like sharpness and rice flavor, but a mistake can cause it to become too active and explode. However, one wrong move and the sake can explode. It is also difficult to produce a stable nigori sake throughout the year, as the flavor can easily change. However, the Miwa Sake Brewery has been able to maintain the taste of moromi above a certain level through a unique process called “hi-ire,” which is an exquisite combination of complex factors such as the degree of heat treatment and fermentation, and the five senses of the toji (master brewer). The exploration of nigori sake has continued, and now the company has created sparkling and frozen types, and continues to create new types of nigori sake.
In fact, nigori sake and doburoku, which contain solid ingredients, are rare in the world and unique to Japanese food culture. In addition to the sweetness, sourness, miscellaneous flavors, and umami, it has a unique texture and potage-like feel on the tongue. It is refreshing to see how the unique “habit” of “Shirakawa-go” grabs the hearts of sake lovers. This must be because they have gone back to the basics of sake and created a new original.

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We want to make local sake in Tokyo.

Tokyo also has sake that can be called locally brewed. The Toshimaya Sake Brewery in Higashimurayama City has had a brewery in the area since 1937, and has continued to brew sake rooted in the local community, such as “Kin-nikkai” and “Okunokami” to celebrate the Emperor Meiji’s silver wedding ceremony.

The history of the brewery dates back more than 400 years ago to 1596, at the Kamakura riverbank. In 1596, more than 400 years ago, Toshimaya Juemon I started a sake bar in the corner of a liquor store, which became very prosperous. This is said to be the origin of “kaku-uchi,” or corner drinking, and at the same time, he started brewing white sake, which was pioneered in Edo (present-day Tokyo). Shirozake is made by mixing steamed glutinous rice and rice malt with mirin, letting it mature for about a month, and then mashing it. This dream led to the sale of white sake during the Girls’ Festival, which became popular throughout Edo. Later, the company was spun off and became Toshimaya Honten (Chiyoda-ku, Tokyo), and Toshimaya Sake Brewery was established as the brewer.

I was working for another company, but when my grandfather collapsed when I was 27, I joined the brewery. I did three months of training at the Sake Research Institute in Hiroshima, but I was completely unable to make my own sake, so I then went around visiting sake retailers and fellow breweries to learn more. I wanted to make Tokyo sake anyway. After some trial and error, we came up with Yamori.

Events to make people aware of the appeal of alcoholic beverages

The goal was to create a sake that could only be drunk here. The water was pumped from 150 meters underground on the Musashino Plateau, and various kinds of rice and yeast were tried. Then he realized something: “It is natural, but in the end, the taste of sake is determined by the way it is made.
It is obvious, but in the end, the taste is determined by the brewer. The only way is to hone one’s own skills. Yamori” is produced in small quantities, but I want to make delicious sake by sticking to manual labor as much as possible.

The label for Yamori features an illustration of a gecko. The name “Yamori,” which reads as it does, represents the hope that the sake brewery will be protected by the gecko. The sake is bottled without filtration or addition of water. The sake has a moderate sweetness and an easy-to-drink mouthfeel. It seems to go well with a variety of dishes. Mr. Tanaka named this sake, which can only be purchased through a trusted distributor, after his desire to protect the brewery and the prosperity of the people and stores he is connected to through sake. The sake is not sold at the brewery either, as he wants to return the favor to the stores that sell it to him.

If sake is only consumed by sake lovers, it will not spread. Tanaka believes that sake has the power to “create bonds between people,” and actively opens the brewery, which has a tasting space, to the public, offering evening tours of the brewery, the monthly “Kaku-uchi, happy hour Tanakaya,” and the annual “TOYOSHIMAYA FESTIVAL,” which is held once a year. He now plans and organizes more than 30 events a year in the hope that people will come into contact with the charms of sake, including evening tours of the brewery, the monthly “Kaku-uchi, happy hour Tanakaya,” and the annual “TOYOSHIMAYA FESTA.
He is now planning and organizing more than 30 events a year, from sake brewing to PR, in order to promote Tokyo’s local sake, which he created from scratch.

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Asahi Shuzo Co., Ltd. has ignited the sake boom not only in Japan but also overseas. The company is best known for its famous sake Ottersai. Ottersai” has made great strides in unconventional ways as a sake brewer and continues to be loved both in Japan and abroad, and it seems to have reached its zenith.

Sake Brewing: Turning Pins into Opportunities

Iwakuni City is located in the eastern part of Yamaguchi Prefecture. As you drive through the mountains on Prefectural Route 5, a 12-story building suddenly appears. This modern brewery, unusual for a sake brewery, was established in 1770 and has a history of more than 200 years . It is here that the world-famous sake Ottersai is made.

Hiroshi Sakurai, the current chairman and creator of Otters, worked for a major sake brewer after graduating from university. He then joined Asahi Sake Brewery, but due to differences of opinion with his predecessor, he left the company at one point to run a stone business.

In 1984. However, Japan was in the midst of an unprecedented shochu boom, and sales of sake plummeted. In this era, sake was sold cheaply and consumed in large quantities. The Asahi Fuji, the signature product at the time, was not selling well, and the Asahi Shuzo’s business was declining year by year. Despite efforts to do something about it, local wholesalers would not take the company seriously.

However, Mr. Sakurai, faced with this major crisis, began to sort out the essential problems of sake brewing, one by one.

The Birth of “Otters” – Truly Delicious Sake

The company’s strategy for survival was to create “truly delicious sake. A sake brewery with no name recognition in rural Yamaguchi had no chance if it tried to compete with the thin profit margins that were the mainstream in the sake industry at the time. The sake brewery chose “Junmai Daiginjo” because of its high unit price and appealing value.

Sake is classified according to the ingredients and the ratio of polished rice. Among these, junmai daiginjo is made from only rice, rice malt, and water.

It is made by fermenting rice with a milling ratio of 50% or less for a long period of time at a low temperature, and is characterized by the original flavor and richness of the rice and a sweet, fruity aroma known as ginjo kojo. The low-temperature, slow maturation process is costly and time-consuming, resulting in a higher price for sake. The aim is to raise the value of the product by producing a valuable and delicious sake.

However, no matter how good the sake is, people will not pick it up if it is still called Asahi Fuji. A new brand was needed. The name of the place where the brewery is located, Osogoe, comes from an old legend that an otter crossed the mountain and came here.

There was a Chinese legend called “ottersai,” which originated from the unique behavior of otters in laying out their catch on the riverbanks, which looked like enshrining (=sacrificing) offerings to the gods and Buddha. We decided to name the brewery “Otters” after one of the haiku names of Masaoka Shiki, who revolutionized the literary world during the Meiji period, “Ottersho-ya Shojin” (Ottersho-ya: master calligrapher), as it was the perfect name for the sake we were trying to brew innovatively from deep in these mountains.

The Struggle to Create Truly Delicious Sake

However, although he had worked for a major sake brewer after graduating, he was a complete novice in the art of sake brewing. Therefore, he tried everything he could, including visiting breweries with good reputations and imitating ginjo-shu, which is said to be very tasty. The toji brewed sake based on the information Mr. Sakurai had gathered, quantified everything, and repeated trial and error based on the data. A university professor even scolded him, saying that mass-producing junmai daiginjo was an affront to the toji’s feelings, but there is no greater strength than experience.

Finally, in 1990, after six years of work, they were able to sell junmai daiginjo-shu with rice polishing ratios of 50% and 45%. Until the completion of the brewery, “we had to endure the hardships of crawling on the ground,” Mr. Sakurai recalls. Mr. Sakurai recalls his efforts.

From the beginning of the development, he had decided to focus on the Tokyo market. It was obvious to him that sales would taper off in the small local market. Mr. Sakurai himself actively engaged in sales activities by visiting liquor stores and restaurants. At the time of the launch, the bubble economy had just burst, and izakayas (Japanese-style pubs) were beginning to replace closed bars and other establishments in prime areas of Ginza. We were lucky that many of them favored high-priced sake such as Otters. As word of Otters gradually spread among Yamaguchi Prefecture residents in Tokyo, more and more restaurants began to carry the brand, and it got off to a good start.

The Challenge of Making an Industry-Leading Junmai Daiginjo

The sake industry has long delivered products to consumers such as restaurants through wholesalers, and the relationship with wholesalers has greatly influenced the volume of sales. The reality was that the sake that sold well was not necessarily the sake that consumers were looking for.

However, if things continue as they are, the sake industry will continue to decline. Mr. Sakurai, who was rethinking the old system and thinking of ways to deliver truly delicious sake to as many people as possible, decided to start direct dealings with only those sake retailers who would sell the sake they made in proper conditions. He also spared no pains to have his employees visit sales outlets across the country to check the sales environment. They saw with their own eyes and experienced firsthand what the market was like.

Good sake can be found anywhere in Japan. In order to strongly emphasize their own selling point, the next challenge was to develop a junmai daiginjo called “Otter Festival Polishing 20% to 30%,” which boasts an industry-leading rice polishing rate of 23%.

Thorough labor and cost

By using brown rice with 77% of the surface removed, it is possible to express a clear flavor with no cloying taste and a profoundly delicious taste. However, this was not an easy task. If the rice is too polished, it tastes uninteresting.

For this reason, we repeated verification in every detail, including work that is more reproducible using machines and delicate work that can only be done by human hands. We have thoroughly gone through and improved the efficiency, the leading lines, and the subtle changes.

In addition, all rice used is Yamada-Nishiki.

Yamada-Nishiki is characterized by its low fat and protein content, and its large grain size, which makes it easy to polish. It is also highly water absorbent, which makes it easy to produce good koji, and is so well-balanced that it is considered the king of sake rice, making it easy to produce sake that reflects the brewer’s intentions.

However, even the same rice can absorb water differently depending on the field from which it was harvested, so the rice is washed by hand to accommodate the subtle differences.

In addition, when moving steamed rice to the floor, the rice is carried by hand to prevent moisture imbalance and changes in rice quality.

Since koji production is said to affect more than 50% of sake brewing, the condition of the koji is analyzed by machine every day and fine adjustments are made by hand.

Otters Polishing and Twenty-Three Percent Polishing” is the result of a balance between man and machine.

The one and only junmai daiginjo “Ottersai Polished 20% Sanbu” was created by balancing human experience and intuition with data and machines, and has become Asahi Shuzo’s golden signature.

The unique junmai daiginjo “Otter Festival: Polishing 20% Sanbun” became Asahi Shuzo’s gold standard. With its fruity flavor and lack of cloying taste, it was accepted by young people and women who had never drunk sake before, and the company’s business grew dramatically. The company’s pursuit of “making sake that we think tastes good” was accepted by the market.

The company did not do any flashy publicity for the Otters brand, but rather valued its origins. This approach to sake brewing slowly became known by word of mouth, and as the media began to pick up on it, the reputation of the company grew, and the brand became extremely well known and powerful.

The Farewell to the Toji System Behind the Success of Sake Brewing

Sake brewing is generally a seasonal job, and in most cases, brewers come to work only during the brewing season and return to their main jobs, such as farming, after the brewing season is over. In some cases, the brewers could not participate in the brewing process until they had finished their main job, which was not very flexible and sometimes hindered the freedom of the brewers to make sake. The aging of the workforce has also become an issue, and in order to pass on the Toji’s skills, which belong to the individual, it is necessary to pass the baton to younger, more talented people.

However, stable year-round employment is a prerequisite for this. Mr. Sakurai decided to enter the microbrewery business in 1999, believing that he could secure stable employment for his staff if there were jobs available during the summer months. He thought that if he could combine the busy summer production of microbreweries with the winter production of sake, he would be able to create year-round employment and recruit young people for the manufacturing sector.

However, the business failed after only three months and they were saddled with a large amount of debt. The veteran toji, who had heard rumors of the brewery’s financial difficulties, left the brewery that year.

Forced to make sake on his own, Mr. Sakurai decided to take on the role of toji himself and start producing junmai daiginjo with five employees taking over the brewery’s brewery staff. Fortunately, the trend of the times was toward sake brewing that did not rely on a toji, and Mr. Sakurai began to compile a manual based on the data he had accumulated. Once he started brewing sake without a toji based on the manual, it became possible for him to have unprecedented freedom of thought, such as “I would like to make this kind of sake. This led Mr. Sakurai to change to four-season brewing so that sake could be made year-round. As a result, he is now able to employ people year-round, and is hiring younger generations.

What is truly delicious sake?

The brewery had previously exceeded its production capacity, so it took 10 years to build a rice mill, a new warehouse, a new refrigerator, and a second warehouse. 2015 saw the completion of the 12-story main warehouse.

The company wanted to build along the bushes, but it was difficult to secure a large enough flat area to build a brewery, so it had no choice but to extend vertically. However, this increased production efficiency, and production capacity exceeded 4 million bottles per square meter. Asahi Sake Brewery, once one of the lowest-selling breweries in its hometown of Iwakuni, was ranked in the top 10 sake breweries in terms of sales in FY2016, becoming a major sake brewer in both name and reality.

Asahi Sake Brewery currently employs more than 170 production staff out of a total of 240 employees. The average age of the employees is a surprising 28 years old. The young power comes not only from the local area, but also from all over the country. Of course, they are conscious of maintaining a balance by bringing in experienced workers for positions where experience is of the essence.

Mr. Sakurai smiles as he explains that the system was created to provide a professional environment for sake brewers to gain experience, a system that was not bound by the old rules, but was created through the clumsy efforts of the brewery.

Everyone starts out as an amateur. He says that everything in this world is subject to change, and he is still in the process of evolving so that he can pursue and provide delicious food even as things change.

Things that should be changed because they are important

Mr. Sakurai says that he thinks in this way. If we want to carry on the traditional methods and culture that have been handed down from generation to generation, we should not just do it out of inertia, without considering the reasons for doing so. Because they are important, they must evolve.

With this in mind, he started the “Yamada Nishiki Beyond the Best Project,” a contest held for Yamada Nishiki farmers throughout Japan under contract with Asahi Shuzo in the hope that it will encourage sake rice farmers to dream. The contest is titled “Challenge to surpass the Yamada-Nishiki of the past.

The winner will receive 500,000 yen per bale, 25 times the market price. 50 bales (3 tons) or more is the minimum entry unit, so the actual prize money will be more than 25 million yen.

The rice that wins the contest will be used to make Otters’ top-quality sake. This contest has led to the production of “Yamada Nishiki for Otters” in regions that have not actively produced Yamada Nishiki in the past. This has created a new wind in the environment surrounding Yamada-Nishiki and has created a virtuous cycle that enables good sake brewing.

Toward World Recognition of Japanese Sake

The Challenge of Local Production in New York

A bottle of Romanée Conti, a well-known luxury wine, costs more than 1 million yen. Sake is no less valuable. However, in order to have its value recognized, it was necessary to let the industry as a whole and consumers alike know that there is a climate in which sake is appreciated even if the price is high. Mr. Sakurai believed that a shortcut to this end would be to have Otters recognized in overseas markets.

In the early 2000s, when Otters was just getting off the ground, Mr. Sakurai heard that there were many repeat customers of Otters at Japanese restaurants in New York. Anticipating the declining population in Japan, he began to expand the market overseas around 2003. Starting in Taiwan and steadily expanding to the U.S. and France, Otter’s name recognition continued to climb the stairs to world-class status, as he had hoped.

In 2018, the company also collaborated with French master Joel Robuchon in Paris. By 2022, Otters will be shipped to approximately 30 countries, and the world will continue to recognize its legitimate value as “delicious sake.

The next challenge is local production in the United States. In 2019, the company will begin construction of a sake brewery in New York City, with the goal of producing sake locally and not for export so that people can drink truly delicious sake. They plan to have a production capacity of 7,000 koku (700,000 bottles).

They want to create a system that can instantly grasp and respond to market changes and demands that can only be sensed when they are in the United States.

Thoughts on the Future

I am a runner who is three laps behind. I have been running straight and earnestly, clumsily. Success is the luck of the hour, but I think it is necessary to choose something that has a high probability of success. I want to continue to make delicious sake that involves the world and makes people happy,” Sakurai says.

My dream is to make sake on the moon. His carefree smile has a mysterious power to convince us that it is not only the taste of sake, but also his unconventional passion for sake brewing that has attracted so many people.

The post The Asahi Shuzo Brewery, which produces the famous sake “Otters” loved around the world, is aiming for a better future / Iwakuni City, Yamaguchi Prefecture first appeared on NIHONMONO.