The Yokote Basin in Akita Prefecture, known as the largest basin in Japan, is surrounded by majestic mountains and is one of the largest breadbasket regions in Japan, with first-class rivers and their tributaries flowing slowly through it.In the Asamai district of the Hiraka Plain in the south-central part of the prefecture, beautiful rice paddies are flooded with water in May.The Asamai Shuzo brewery is located in the center of the town amidst these vast rice paddies.

Amano-do” representing Asamai Shuzo and its commitment to pure rice

The rivers that moisten the Yokote Basin have long created a land rich in blessings, some of which became subsoil water and created the “Biwanuma Cold Spring” spring system.Hiraga, nurtured by abundant nature and blessed with both land and water, was a perfect place for sake brewing, yet there were no sake breweries.In 1917, the Asamai Sake Brewery was established in Hiraka-cho, Yokote City.The brewery has made a name for itself as one of Akita’s representative breweries, winning the gold medal at the National New Sake Competition for the fifth consecutive year, a first for Akita Prefecture.The founder, Munemitsu Kakizaki, named the sake “Amano no To” after an old poem, “The door of heaven quietly dawns and the sun shines through the green leaves of the cedar trees on Mt.Amano-no-do” refers to the “Amano-no Iwato” in Japanese mythology, which is well known to everyone.

All of the sake rice used by Asamai Sake Brewery comes from the Asamai area, which is within a 5 km radius of the brewery, and was first produced in 1988 when the previous president, Hidemori Kakizaki, established the Hirashika-cho Sake Rice Research Association (now the JA Akita no Furusato Hirashika-cho Sake Rice Research Association) to develop the environment for producing sake rice with local farmers.This was made possible by the fertile land of the Yokote Basin.In 2011, all sake was made with junmai (pure rice) in order to reflect the deliciousness and flavor of Yokote’s rice in the sake.Sake is born in the rice paddies” is the company motto, says Tsuneki Kakizaki, the current president, who hopes to pass on the Asamai Brewery’s commitment to rice to the next generation.With rice consumption declining, the situation for farmers is difficult even in Yokote, a major rice-producing region.Therefore, Mr. Kakizaki is still actively calling on farmers in the Asamai Brewery area to produce sake rice for him.

Traditional methods and modern flavors and

Rice brought to the brewery is steamed and fermented in a traditional Japanese kettle, and then squeezed in a koshikibune, an old-fashioned vat.The vat pressing method, which is becoming less common today, is a time-consuming process.Sake bags filled with unrefined sake are stacked in the tank, and at first the weight of the bags squeezes out the sake little by little.After that, pressure is slowly applied to the sake, and each drop of sake is squeezed out.Kakizaki says this is “a necessary process to produce sake that is full of rice flavor.While using local rice and adhering to the traditional style of sake brewing, Asamai Brewery does not only make sake with a traditional flavor.

The tastes of today’s consumers are also important.We are also focusing on creating light-flavored, aromatic, food-friendly sake,” says Kakizaki.While keeping the traditional sake brewing methods that have been used for more than 100 years, Kakizaki aims for a modern, contemporary taste.I don’t know if it’s the best, but the rice and water in Yokote are the best we have,” Kakizaki said.It is the brewery’s job to reflect this in the sake brewing process.We sometimes release sake with a new quality in limited quantities and see how it goes,” says Kakizaki.The brewery’s sake brewing techniques are stable because it has a solid base of high-quality rice and water.Above all, there is much to be gained by continuing to use local rice for many years.By touching and smelling the rice, one can get a good idea of how the rice will turn out that year.The next question is how to work with the rice and how to produce it.

Asamai Brewery’s sake, brewed only with locally available ingredients, is imbued with the spirit and beliefs of the brewers, who were captivated by the beauty of this region and wanted to preserve and pass it on, aiming for “true Akita local sake.

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Akita’s traditional sake brewery has been in business for over 300 years

Yokote City in Akita Prefecture is the third most heavily snowed area in Japan. The long winter lasts forever under a cloudy sky, and the snow covers the fields, mountains, and towns in a blanket of white. However, deep snow is not only a bad thing. The harsh environment for people also seems to be inhospitable for bacteria, which brings clean, stagnant water to the breweries. Hinomaru Brewery was founded in 1689, the year Matsuo Basho set out on his “Okunohosomichi” (The Narrow Road to the Deep North). The brewery was named “Hinomaru” after the Akita feudal lord Satake, whose crest was “Hinomaru” on a five-pronged fan. In 1943, the brewery was forced to close down due to a wartime business development order, but in 1948, it received permission to increase its basic production volume to 400 koku, reviving a 300-year tradition that continues to this day.

From the street, the Hinomaru Brewery building looks like an ordinary sake brewery, but when you enter the building and pass through a narrow alley-like passageway, you will find a large, solid-looking brewery waiting for you. The name of the brewery is “Gutai,” said Joji Sato, the second-generation head of the brewery after its revival. The town of Masuda in Yokote City has a long history of sericulture and leaf tobacco production since the Edo period (1603-1868), and in the Taisho period (1912-1926), it prospered from the Yoshino Mine. The town’s prosperity also enriched the merchants, who built zashiki warehouses and bunko warehouses in the houses with large lots. In the Hinomaru Brewery’s innards, pillars made of solid material are embedded in the walls. All the pillars are made of Aomori hiba (Aomori cypress), and they go all the way up to the second floor, so they must have cost a lot of money,” said Sato, amazed at the extravagant construction of the warehouses of the time. The extravagant design has a somewhat modern feel to it. The well-balanced combination of the old and the new seems to represent the sake of Hinomaru Brewery.

Hinomaru Brewing” is the result of the needs and thoughts of the brewery’s employees.

Hinomaru Brewery offers more than 60 varieties of sake, including its core brand, “Manzaku no Hana. Mansaku no Hana” is the title of an NHK TV series that was broadcast in Yokote City, Akita Prefecture, in 1981, and is also the name of a flower. The name was given by the first generation of the family. As in the drama, “Hinomaru,” which had been the main brand up to that point, was kept as the main local brand, and the brand for the Tokyo metropolitan area was divided into two separate brands as “Manzaku no Hana” (flower of flowers). Currently, 90% of the company’s sales are accounted for by “Mansaku no Hana.

With a wry smile, the company’s eldest son, Managing Director Koji Sato, explains the increase in the number of items . Of course, the increase was not merely in the number of labels. Sixteen types of rice are used, including Akita Sake Komachi, Kame-no-o, Gin-no-Sei, and Yamada-Nishiki. In addition, there are 16 types of yeast and 10 types of koji, so in order to produce many variations, the number of ingredients is also large. The small-lot production also creates diversity within the “Mansaku no Hana” series, with the “Junmai Daiginjo” releasing a full fragrance, and the “Junmai” carefully fermented at a low temperature, balancing acidity and spiciness and delivering a beautiful sensation down the throat. The sake brewer, a long-established brewery with a history of more than 300 years, must have had deep feelings for “local sake” while pursuing new sake to be enjoyed by sake lovers across the country. It is one of the pleasures allowed to sake connoisseurs to be able to drink up the sake with the story of the brewery and the flavors that have been painstakingly created by changing the methods and tastes of each sake. On the other hand, one thing that has remained unchanged over the past 300 years is the belief that no amount of ingenuity will work unless the ingredients used to make the sake are good. With this philosophy in mind, Hinomaru Brewery continues to brew sake for the enjoyment of many people today, using high-quality underground water from the Ou mountain range and sake rice grown with great care by contract farmers. Hinomaru Brewery’s sake can be purchased at the brewery’s direct sales office or online, and tours of the brewery are also available.

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Asamai Sake Brewery, which focuses on sake brewing starting with rice cultivation / Yokote City, … The Yokote Basin in Akita Prefecture, known as the largest basin in Japan, is surrounded by majestic mountains and is one of the largest breadbasket regions …

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The post Hinomaru Brewery, a long-established brewery that has been in business for more than 300 years, with a built-in building registered as a national tangible cultural property / Yokote City, Akita Prefecture first appeared on NIHONMONO.