Nagasaki Prefecture is located on the island of Kyushu. It borders Saga Prefecture to the northeast and surrounded by water, including Ariake Bay, the Tsushima Straits and the East China Sea. It also includes a large number of islands such as Tsushima, Iki and Goto. The arid, nutrient-poor soil made the prefecture difficult to grow rice. It was more suitable for sweet potato cultivation, so this plant was raised in earnest. Iki Island in Nagasaki Prefecture is said to be the birthplace of “Mugi-Shochu”, made from barley. During the shogunate of the 16th century, the rich and fertile soil of Iki caught the attention of the local domain. Rather than sweet potatoes or expensive rice, barley was promoted as a tribute. From this bounty of barley, Iki Shochu production began.

Ikinokura Sake Brewery

Since 1899, 55 Shochu distilleries had opened on Iki Island when the liquor tax law was enacted. Due to continuous consolidations, only 7 distilleries are left to make Shochu at present. Iki Distillery Co., Ltd. is one of the 7 distilleries in Iki Island, located on a small hill in the center of the island. In 1984, 6 distilleries merged and established Iki Shochu Cooperative Association. In 2010, it changed its name to Ikinokura Distillery Co., Ltd. to achieve the company’s further advancement and the growth of Shochu. The Ikinokura Distillery has always been faithful to the traditional Shochu making methods handed down for centuries since the 16th century and will continue to further develop and refine our skills, such as decompression distillation or flower yeast. Iki Shochu will continue to strive for further development and betterment of the Shochu products.

Brewery Info

Representative: Eiichi Harada
Address: 520Yutakehonmura, Ashibe,Iki, Nagasaki
TEL: +81-920-45-2111
FAX: +81-920-45-2133
Foundation (year) 1984
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Mori Sake Brewery

Omoya Shuzo Sake Brewery

From Iki Island to the world barley shochu originated from Iki, on this historic island, Omoya Shuzo Brewery makes Iki shochu and Iki sake by using the island’s top-quality water and Yamada Nishiki rice that grown in Iki, the brewery succeeded in making top-quality sake. We have both shochu made by hand using traditional techniques and shochu made with state-of-the-art equipment. Enjoy our famous sake which has a thick, dry flavor and full-bodied aroma complementing each other.

Brewery Info

Representative: Shouzou Yokoyama
Address: 200 Indoojiura, Ishida-cho, Iki, Nagasaki
TEL: +81-920-44-5002
FAX: +81-920-44-8401
Foundation (year) 1924
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Oshima Shuzou Sake Brewery

Oshima is an island that floats on the sea 4 km from the Nishisonogi Peninsula in Nagasaki Prefecture. “Isn’t it possible to use such delicious sweet potatoes other than roasted sweet potatoes?” Oshima Shochu was born from such an idea. This sweet and delicious potato is polished using the pure natural water of “Isa no Urakawa” in Nishisonogi, and the potato shochu “Choucho-san” is brewed by Mr. Mori’s technique. The barley shochu brewed by the harmony of carefully selected wheat and famous water.

Brewery Info

Representative: Makoto Inuki
Address: 830 Saikai-City, Oshima-Town, Nagasaki
TEL: +81-959-34-5678
FAX: +81-959-34-3179
Foundation (year) 1985
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Umegae Shuzo Sake Brewery

The brewery was founded in the 7th year of Tenmei (1787), in the middle of the Edo period during the 11th Shogun Heisei era, and given the name “Umegae” by the lord of the Omura domain, Junjin Omura. Blessed with abundant nature and famous water from 300 meters underground, for more than 200 years since then, they have been making daily commitments from rice production to sake production. During this time, the brewery has won numerous awards, including the Gold Award at the National New Sake Appraisal, and the Honor Award at the Fukuoka National Taxation Bureau’s Appraisal for the sixth consecutive year.

Brewery Info

Representative: Nagano Tetuya
Address: 317 Jyouma, Sasebo-city, Nagasaki
TEL:  +81-956-59-2311
FAX: +81-956-59-2312
Foundation (year) 1787
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Genkai Shuzo Sake Brewery

Brewery Info

Representative: Akito Yamauchi
Address: 550-1, Shihara Nishifure, Gonoura-cho, Iki-City, Nagasaki
TEL: +81-920-47-0160
FAX: +81-920-47-0211
Foundation (year) 1900
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