Oita Sake Breweries

Oita Prefecture is located on the island of Kyushu. It borders Fukuoka Prefecture to the northwest, Kumamoto Prefecture to the southwest and Miyazaki Prefecture to the south. In the Edo period, various types of sake developed in each region, manufacturing methods were developed, and Izakaya (Japanese bar) appeared. The style of sake that is familiar to us today has been completed. Sake “Bungo Nuri Nukizake”, which first appeared in 1468, was made by brewing glutinous rice, white rice, jiuqu, and shochu all at once, and after 3 to 40 days, grinding with a mortar and silk-straining. It seems that it was widely loved by the common people because it tasted like modern white sake. After that, in the country of Bungo in the Edo period, “Asajizake”, which is known all over the country, was born. Hemp liquor is a sweet turbid liquor made by adding steamed rice, rice jiuqu, and water, sealing it, burying it in the soil, and aging it until the next year’s soil. The name can also be seen in “Fantai Kouki” and “Otogi Zoshi”. It is said that it was also called “soil cover” because it is buried in the soil and covered with grass. The Hiji clan made and stored hemp liquor in the Ninomaru of Yokokujo, and used it as a gift to the shogunate. Oita sake can be said to be a sake that follows the flow of the manufacturing process of this hemp local sake.