Located near JR Fukui Station in the central city center of Fukui City, Fukui Prefecture, the brewery Tokoyama Shuzo’s representative brand is “Jozan,” known for its crisp, clear, dry taste, which has gained in maturity since Shinpei Tsuneyama, the ninth-generation master brewer, became master brewer. The mother and son, who inherited the spirit of their father, who passed away suddenly in the middle of his career, have further deepened the flavor of the sake to make it dryer and more suitable for today’s palate.

What is the ninth generation’s goal in sake brewing?

The Tsuneyama Brewery was founded in 1804, in the late Edo period. It is the oldest brewery in Fukui City. The brewery began as a purveyor to the Fukui clan, and by the Taisho era (1912-1926), it had become the largest sake brewery in Fukui City. Each time, the brewery was revived with the support of drinkers, and the family business has continued to carefully produce sake.

In 2022, Shinpei Tsuneyama will take over as the ninth head of the brewery, passing the baton from his mother, the eighth generation. He renewed the lineup of “Tsuneyama,” the brewery’s flagship brand. Based on the concept of “Koshiyama Wakamizu,” a term used to describe the natural beauty of Fukui Prefecture and its water, the brewery uses Miyamanishiki and Yamadanishiki sake rice grown by contract farmers in the Miyama area in the mountains of eastern Fukui City , Gohyakumangoku and Sakahomare, which were developed by Fukui Prefecture, and Fukui’s own proprietary yeast.

The series’ white labels are designed by Shogo Kizumino, a graphic designer who has worked on the “JAL SKY MUSEUN” and Lotte’s “ZERO” series. The white color of the label, which evokes the image of rice, is designed to be a bridge between rice and food, while the logo is reminiscent of the mountains and sea of Echizen.

The three main flavors are junmai dry “Cho,” junmai ginjo dry “Tobi,” and junmai daiginjo mellow dry “Kyoku. They are characterized by a dry, crisp taste that goes down the throat easily and harmonizes well not only with delicately flavored seafood, but also with today’s fatty meals. It combines the profound flavor of the mountains of Echizen with the fresh minerality and spiciness of the sea of Wakasa, resulting in a taste that is more than just light and refreshing.

Attention to detail to remove miscellaneous flavors

The sake is clear, transparent, and full of umami, with a great impact and sharpness. How is such sake made?

When you visit the Tsuneyama Brewery, you will notice that everything in the office and workshop is neat and tidy. Under the motto “Sake making starts with the environment,” the entire staff thoroughly cleans up every morning before work. The rice is carried by hand instead of using an air shooter, which is generally used to carry rice in a sake brewery. The sake is then transported by hand, for fear that the small amount of rice that remains will lead to a bad taste. In the pursuit of a clear, transparent flavor, we became concerned about areas that we thought could cause a tangy taste,” said Shinpei. By reviewing each step of the brewing process in detail, the brewery was able to produce a flavor that was closer to the ideal.

No stress on yeast during fermentation

The tanks used to brew sake were also carefully selected. In September, when the brewing process at Tsuneyama Brewery begins, the outside temperature can still exceed 30 degrees Celsius on some days. At the end of the brewing process, the tanks are cooled to add sweetness to the flavor. To prevent stress on the yeast, special tanks are used that are less affected by the temperature difference from the outside air. Shinpei says, “In order to deeply pursue the flavor, it was also important to select the tank itself.

In addition, the temperature in the brewery is strictly controlled, including ice temperature control after pressing and rapid heating and cooling during bottling, while sake retailers are also carefully selected for their ability to control temperatures.

Developed by his father, the previous generation, the flavor goes well with Fukui’s specialties.

Mr. Shimpei is dedicated to the dry taste of the famous sake “Tsuneyama” and continues to update it to suit the modern age. At the root of his efforts is his love for his father, who died in the middle of his career.

In the past, the Tsuneyama Shuzo brewery mainly produced an ordinary sake called “Hanejyu Masamune” for a long time. However, his father, Hideaki, the seventh generation, foresaw the coming of a new age of sake and introduced “Tsuneyama” as a new junmai sake in 1997. The sake was developed to suit the fresh seafood caught in Fukui’s seas, and is characterized by its elegant ginjo aroma, smooth and fresh mouthfeel, and crisp aftertaste. It was also well received as a perfect partner for ” oroshi soba, ” a specialty of Fukui, as it did not interfere with the delicate aroma of the soba and went well with the freshness of grated radish.

Several years later, however, Hideaki passed away suddenly at the age of 48, halfway through his quest to popularize “Tsuneyama. Shinpei was only 19 years old and a college student at the time, so his mother, Yukiko, succeeded him.

Mother, the 8th generation, established the Tsuneyama brand

First, Yukiko carefully selected sake dealers for a specific brand of “Tsuneyama” to maintain the quality of sake. She also researched sake rice and rice polishing ratios in search of the best sharpness to enhance the lineup of “Tsuneyama,” which is based on the concept of dryness. Normally, the sake strength of “6” is considered to be very dry, but the company has made a move toward dryness by producing “Super Dry,” a junmai daiginjo sake with a sake strength of around “8,” and “Tobikkiri Dry,” an ultra-harsh raw sake with a sake strength of around “21.

The key to making dry sake is to keep the yeast strong during the fermentation period without weakening it, and to strike a balance so as not to produce a cloying taste. This was achieved by the skill of the Nanbu Touji, who supported Hideaki.

Yukiko actively entered their sake in numerous sake competitions, including the ” Wineglass Delicious Sake Award ” to have it evaluated by a third party. The awards also increased their opportunities to be featured in the media. This led to branding and the creation of a taste that matched the modern diet, and the base of “Tsuneyama” was established as the name became well-known among young people and other sake novices.

The young 9th generation takes over the brewery in the new era of sake.

After graduating from university and working in sales at a major sake brewing company, Shinpei returned to his hometown in 2011 and joined the Tsuneyama Brewery. At that time, “Otters” and “Kajinin Kuheiji” were beginning to gain recognition in the global market, riding on the back of the Japanese food boom overseas. With the dawn of a new era of Japanese sake as a tailwind, he began brewing his own sake.

In his fourth year of brewing sake, he won the gold medal at the National New Sake Competition.

Although born into a family of brewers, Shinpei was a complete amateur as an actual sake brewer and did not major in agriculture at university. He was taught from the ground up by a veteran toji, who had worked with his father and mother in the sake brewing industry. I was under a lot of pressure to make sake somehow,” he says.

He did not try to be eccentric, but instead carefully learned the basics one by one, sometimes going to other breweries to learn from them. In his fourth year of sake brewing, the sake he produced won a gold medal at the National New Sake Competition.

Three years later, in 2018, the veteran toji who had supported the brewery for so long retired, and Shinpei became the brewing director. That year, the brewery won the Platinum Award, the highest award in the Junmai Daiginjo category, at Kura Master, a prestigious sake competition for food professionals held in France. The sake brewery won gold again in 2020 and 2021 at the same competition, and has since become the focus of attention both at home and abroad.

Sake brewery renovated into a “place of hospitality

While visiting wineries overseas, Shinpei was surprised to learn that most of them offer tours of the production process and wine tasting with detailed explanations. In Japan, there are still many breweries that do not even offer tours of their breweries.

Tsuneyama Brewery is the closest brewery to JR Fukui Station, so it is not uncommon for visitors from other prefectures to apply for tours or to visit the brewery. We will create a place to entertain such visitors. I thought that if we could present our products directly and add value, we could compete at a higher price than usual,” he said.

In 2018, Shinpei and his mother, the 8th generation, began renovating their brewery. They made use of the zelkova beams, which are over 10 meters long in the historic warehouse, and covered the second floor with plaster walls and cedar plank floors to create a multipurpose space that can be used for business meetings and tours. During the brewing season, the aroma of steaming sake rice rises from the barrels on the first floor, making the design more attractive to visitors.

The label design allows visitors to grasp the flavor image at a glance.

During the same period, we also focused on brushing up the labels and packaging, and from 2018 to 2020, we will be working with Hatooba Shoryu, a crest painter from Kyogen, known for designing the crest of the NOHGA HOTEL UENO hotel in Ueno, Tokyo, and his son and daughter, Yohji and Hatooba Shoryu. Yohji and his son were commissioned to create the branding for the company.

The design of the “Araiso,” a freshly pressed, slightly carbonated sake, features an auspicious sea bream jumping on a navy-gray background reminiscent of the Sea of Japan during the New Year’s holiday season. With its cool design, it attracted a lot of attention each time it was released.

Being loved by the local community is the key to winning.

Standing in the new brewery, where the smell of cedar wood still lingers, and looking at the new Tsuneyama lineup that he has created, Shinpei recalls his father, the seventh generation, who said, “Local sake must be loved by the local people. On the day of the opening of the Tsuneyama Brewery, many people from the Miyama area come to the brewery on a shared bus.

Recently, there has been a sake boom overseas, and more and more products that sell well in Japan are being sought after and shipped across the sea. But I believe that sake that sells well in Japan, sake that has been loved for a long time, is local sake that has cherished its hometown,” says Shinpei. It is the local people who will be the first to drink sake, learn about its qualities, and pass them on. It is the local people who will be the first to drink sake, learn about its qualities, and pass them on. This is where the future of sake lies.

The new Tsuneyama series is designed to enhance the taste of Fukui’s fish dishes and sushi. The ninth-generation brewer is looking to the future with eyes brimming with love for his hometown, saying, “I want to create a sake that has a strong presence so that people will know that this is Tsuneyama when they take a sip, and that they will be reminded of the scenery of Fukui when they drink it.

The post Tsuneyama Shuzo” continues to pursue further possibilities of dry sake while inheriting the spirit of its predecessors/Fukui City, Fukui Prefecture first appeared on NIHONMONO.

With the globalization of food culture, the Japanese diet has undergone rapid changes. The annual per capita consumption of rice in Japan has continued to decline since 1962, finally reaching less than half of its peak in 2020. As the Japanese food culture has declined, sake, which has been enjoyed along with Japanese food, has also been on the decline, being pushed aside in favor of beer and wine. As the market shrinks, simply following the old style will lead to decline. Naotaka Miyasaka, president of the long-established brewery Miyasaka Brewery in Suwa City, Nagano Prefecture, and his son Katsuhiko, also struggling between tradition and respect, have begun a new challenge without giving in to adversity.

Miyasaka Brewery is located near Lake Suwa, the largest lake in Shinshu, and is widely known for its 360-year-old sake called “Masumi,” which is derived from “Masumi no Kagami,” a mirror used at Suwa-taisha Shrine, famous for the Omihashira Festival. The company boasts the largest production volume in Nagano Prefecture and is a nationally renowned sake brewer, but its journey has not been an easy one, according to Katsuhiko, the next head of the company.

History of Miyasaka Brewery

The original Miyasaka family was a vassal of the Suwa family, which ruled the region until the Warring States period. Tossed into the war between Takeda and Oda, they put down their swords and embarked on the sake brewing business. However, as times changed from the Meiji to the Taisho era, and the brewery’s business became difficult, the family switched to miso brewing. Instead, Masaru Miyasaka, the great-grandfather of Katsuhiko Miyasaka, was entrusted to take the helm of the sake brewing business.

Masaru Miyasaka, who was in his 20s at the time, focused on improving the quality of the sake he brewed, dreaming of one day creating the best sake in Japan with other toji of the same age. In 1943, Miyasaka Brewery finally won first place in the National Sake Competition. The company went on to win awards at other prestigious sake competitions, and Miyasaka Brewery, an obscure sake brewery in Shinshu, was thrust into the limelight.

The “No. 7 Yeast” that supported the brewery’s breakthrough

The reason for Masumi’s great leap forward was due in large part to the brewery’s proprietary yeast, “Shichi-go Yeast,” which was eventually recognized as a superior yeast.

Masumi, which repeatedly won top prizes, attracted the attention of many researchers, and as a result, Dr. Shoichi Yamada of the Ministry of Finance’s Brewery Research Institute, the highest authority at the time, visited the brewery to inspect it. This alone was an honor in itself, but after carefully inspecting every corner of the brewery, Dr. Yamada discovered a new type of yeast in the fermenting mash. This was Miyasaka Brewery’s brewery yeast, later named Shichi-go Yeast.

Yeast is a type of fungus used in the fermentation of sake. It is so important that it is said to have a greater influence on sake than rice, especially in the production of aroma components and acidity, which are related to flavor. At that time, there were still many sake breweries that used wild brewer’s yeast, but wild yeast was an unstable fungus that carried risks such as contaminating the brewery.

On the other hand, this No. 7 yeast has stronger fermentation power than conventional yeasts and can ferment even at low temperatures. It is characterized by a clear taste and a gorgeous orange-like aroma, and has less off-flavor that can be produced by high-temperature fermentation. The No. 7 yeast, which has brought a breath of fresh air to the sake industry, was brought back to Japan by Dr. Kikuchi and distributed as “Kyokai Yeast” to sake breweries throughout Japan. The widespread use of Shichi-go Yeast led to an improvement in the quality of the entire industry and contributed greatly to the production of safe and delicious sake. Even today, more than 70 years after its discovery, Shichi-go Yeast is said to be used in more than half of the nation’s sake breweries, and is still enjoyed by sake drinkers.

From Japan to the world. Sake brewing with a global perspective

Anticipating the coming of a new era, Miyasaka Brewery pushed ahead with its expansion into Tokyo. After graduating from Keio University and studying abroad at Gonzaga University in Washington State, the current president Naotaka joined the company in 1983, and began using his study abroad experience to expand overseas sales channels around 2000. In this way, Miyasaka Brewery has continued to produce sake that is in tune with the times, always reading the times and looking ahead to the future.

And now, in 2019. In the new era of the Heisei Era and the 2025 Era, Miyasaka and his son Miyasaka have undertaken a reform. It was a major shift in the brewery’s approach, a return to its roots, to use only the No. 7 yeast, which is synonymous with the brewery’s own yeast.

Switching to the No. 7 yeast yeast

Katsuhiko, who currently serves as the president’s office manager, worked in apparel at a famous Tokyo department store after graduating from university before leaving in 2013 to join the brewery.

However, the sake industry had already begun to diversify, and following trends was no longer the only “right” thing to do. Sake itself has stepped out of the traditional ring and established itself in the world as a “SAKE” along with wine and beer. Katsuhiko felt that in order to compete in this layer, it was necessary to further express his own individuality and attractiveness and “make sake that is different from others. He saw the value in specializing in a narrow field. In 2019, he launched a project to create a new line under the two themes of “individuality unique to Miyasaka Brewery” and “high quality food sake that enhances the flavor of food.

However, it was said that it was difficult to produce a gorgeous flavor with the No. 7 yeast. It took many prototypes and a considerable amount of time to achieve the desired flavor and aroma. Even after the taste was confirmed, it was not easy to unify all the sake brewed with the No. 7 yeast. Sometimes, they even used hints from sake breweries outside of the prefecture.

The four sake products that were released were named “Shinju-AKA,” “Urushukuro-KURO,” “Hakumyo-SHIRO,” and “KAYA. Miyasaka Brewery is proud to have created these sake products through a process of trial and error, so that they can be served with any dish at today’s varied dining tables.

Launched in 2019, this series is appealing for its beautiful water and cool breezy taste of the Suwa region. The rebranding of “Masumi” is an excellent realization of Katsuhiko’s vision of “sake that adds color to the daily dining table. The idea of returning to the basics and innovation was a unique expression of the appeal of the No. 7 yeast.

Miyasaka Brewery’s goal for “Masumi from now on

Miyasaka Brewery, which began to develop products specializing in No. 7 yeast with the aim of entering the global market, also changed its symbol mark to coincide with the rebranding. The company created a simple, sophisticated logo of “a single ivy leaf reflected in a water mirror” from kanji, a powerful and dignified image that is typical of Japanese sake.

Ivy is the family crest of the Miyasaka family. The ivy has been a symbol of prosperity since ancient times. The shape of the ivy leaves reflected in the water mirror and sake cup represents the harmony of the brewer’s philosophy of “harmony, brewing, and good sake,” as well as the circle of the brewery. The duality of tradition and innovation contained in the brand message of “connecting people, nature, and time,” the gentle and harmonious flavor of the No. 7 yeast, and the desire to promote sake culture around the world are all expressed in the symbol.

Incidentally, the symbol mark was chosen for the rebranding so that people overseas who cannot read Japanese will remember Miyasaka Brewery’s sake. We believe that a universally recognized symbol will serve as a bridge to spread Miyasaka Brewery’s sake throughout the world.

Katsuhiko also says that expanding overseas is not only a way to promote sake, but also “an opportunity to reevaluate the value and characteristics of sake and to reaffirm its recognition. For example, when approaching an overseas city where Miyasaka Brewery is barely known, the sake from their own brewery needs to be explained from scratch. Each time, he says, he has to verbalize and explain the brewery’s sake, which in turn deepens his own understanding of Masumi and, by extension, Japanese sake.

When they were looking at overseas expansion and seriously trying to compete on the same layer as the great sake breweries overseas, they strongly felt that inspection visits alone were not enough to gain the knowledge needed to do so. Interaction through business will lead to deeper exchanges and learning.

Compared to wine and beer, the sake industry was like an isolated country. On a global scale, wine has a circulation of 2 trillion yen, while sake still has only about 45 billion yen. The goal for sake in the future is to become a sake that can compete with wine in the global market. Katsuhiko says he hopes Miyasaka Brewery will be able to play a part in this goal. His eyes are already filled with a sense of self-awareness and dignity as the next head of the company.

The post Miyasaka Brewery, which aims to brew sake globally and share its appeal with the world / Suwa City, Nagano Prefecture first appeared on NIHONMONO.

Yamamo Miso Soy Sauce Brewery: The Beginning of Change

The Minase River flows through the southern part of Akita Prefecture, descends through Koan Gorge, enriches the Inaniwa Udon noodle village, and joins the Naruse River in the town of Yuzawa. In 1867, Shigesuke Takahashi, the founder of Yamamo Miso & Soy Sauce Brewery, began making miso and soy sauce near the Minase River. The beautiful water was essential for miso and soy sauce production, and with the river nearby, the products could be transported by boat. After 150 years, Yasushi Takahashi, the seventh generation head of Yamamo Miso & Soy Sauce Brewery, has taken over the business. The name “Yasushi” (meaning “peace and quiet”) is inscribed in his name, but Yasushi first chose the path of change.

He had previously aspired to a career in architecture, but at the age of 27, he returned to Akita to take over the family business. His love for the brewery, which had unknowingly taken up residence in his heart, led him to make the decision: “If someone else is going to take over, I will take over, and if someone else is going to destroy it, it should be my generation. However, the small brewery in Akita, in the northern part of Japan, was feeling a sense of stagnation. Yasushi felt that this was not good enough. He himself was not attracted to the miso and soy sauce business. He decided that he had no choice but to change things himself, and began working alone on the rebranding of the company.

Taking on the challenge of going overseas and revamping the brewery

From the very beginning, he set his sights overseas. He was determined to take on the mission of communicating the proud traditions of Japanese culture to the rest of the world. The soy sauce labels were changed to Japanese-English, an official website was created in foreign languages, and the design that emerged from the process looked 180 degrees different from what had been done before, while retaining the good qualities of traditional industry. No, to the untrained eye, it only looked “different. He clashed with old employees and finally clashed with his parents. Even though he was exhausted and lost, the results of his work encouraged him. In his second year of overseas trade, he began doing business in Taiwan, and the following year he actively exhibited his products at overseas trade shows, making a full-fledged foray into overseas markets. In 2013, the company received the Good Design Award, and became an industry leader. The brewery has also revamped itself into a completely different type of hands-on brewery by planning factory tours that include the garden of the Takahashi family mansion, which has been carefully passed down from generation to generation. In addition, they opened the ” Yamamo Garden Cafe, ” which connects courses only with dishes using special yeast while enjoying the view of the garden.

Behind the transformation, the discovery of yeast “Viamver®” and new possibilities

Behind the cafe’s food offerings is the “test brewing” that Yasu-san has continued to conduct behind the scenes of innovation in a traditional industry. Since taking over the company, Mr. Yasu has experimented with various methods, such as actively using bacteria used in industries other than miso and soy sauce, and adopting technological applications from other industries. These unprecedented experiments led to the discovery that the company’s own special brewer’s yeast strains produce a large amount of umami. Furthermore, many of the yeast strains used in miso brewing are said to be halophilic, meaning that they are active in environments where salt is present. However, this yeast is not only halophilic, but can also live and work without salt, and is a special type of fungus capable of producing nearly 6% alcohol. The yeast, which was discovered through 10 years of trial brewing, was named “Viamver® ” and will be presented at the “Japanese Society of Brewing Science and Technology” in 2020, and will be present in 2022. In 2022, the company was granted a patent for the existence of the microorganism and a manufacturing method for fermented products using the yeast. Using this new yeast, the company has succeeded in converting it into a new fermented seasoning and in brewing natural wine with Viamver® yeast. Currently, the company is also capable of producing bread, butter, and cheese. Furthermore, they are challenging the possibilities of Viamver® yeast by brewing natural beer and doburoku using the same yeast.

Beyond Tradition and Innovation

Yamamo Garden Cafe offers full-course meals using Viamver® yeast not only for meat and fish dishes, but also for desserts and drinks. The company sees pairings and course meals using a single yeast as a new possibility for fermentation, and is working to create an auberge that invites people from Japan and abroad. The brewery offers tours of its atmospheric brewery to give visitors a glimpse of the history of the brewery. He also invites visitors to learn about the evolution of fermented seasonings through cooking while admiring the beautiful garden. Mr. Tai believes that these experiences will help the brewery to remain in people’s memories for a long time and to be loved by them. This is because he believes that the essence of inheriting and passing on the ideas of his predecessors, who have spun out a long tradition, is to remain in people’s memories. Mr. Yutaka adds new scenes to the traditional brewery one after another. He hopes to revitalize the community by fusing tradition, which demands “staying the same,” with innovation, which requires “creating something new,” and hopes to weave a new tradition in the area where he was born and raised. We cannot wait to see what innovations he will continue to bring to the Yamamo Miso Soy Sauce Brewery, and how far its products will go beyond the boundaries of traditional industry.

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