Iwate Sake Breweries
Iwate Prefecture is located in the Tohoku region of Honshu. It borders Aomori Prefecture to the north, Akita Prefecture to the west and Miyagi Prefecture to the south. The prefecture is home to famous attractions such as Morioka Castle, the Buddhist temples of Hiraizuimi, the Fujiwara no Sato movie lot and theme park in Oshu, and the Tenshochi park in Kitakami known for its huge and ancient cherry trees. Iwate is rich in high-quality rice suitable for sake brewing and is blessed with clean water. Iwate’s delicious sake is born under the watchful eye of the high technology and warm heart cultivated in the traditions of Mr. Mori and the brewers.
Kikunotsukasa Shuzo Brewery
Our brewery was founded in 1772, the brewery is located in Morioka City, Iwate Prefecture. The water used for our sake “Kiku no Tsukasa” and “Seven Lucky Gods” is underground water from the Nakatsugawa River, which flows directly behind the brewery. The Nakatsu River is a clear stream that flows through Morioka City and is a healing river full of nature where sweetfish fishing in the summer, salmon run up for spawning in the fall, and swans fly in the winter. The water quality is very clear because it contains a moderate amount of minerals that have exuded from the bedrock of the Iwate Mountains, and it is used for all work with only the minimum amount of dust removal filtration. This water is the life of our sake. We will continue to refine the sake brewing that is popular locally, but we are mainly focusing on new development in the metropolitan area and export to overseas.
Brewery Info
Representative: Shigeru Hirai
Address: 4-20 Konyacho, Moriokashi, Iwate
TEL: +81-19-624-1311
FAX: +81-19-624-6592
Foundation (year) 1772
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Azumamine Sake Brewery
Azumamine Sake Brewery was founded as “Shiwa Sake Brewery” in the first year of Tenmei (1781) in the middle of the Edo period. Its predecessor was “Gonbei Sake Shop,” which was the first in Iwate to produce “clear sake” in the upper stream during the Enpo era (the 1670s), and the existence of this brewery later led to the birth of Mr. Minamimori. At our brewery, we inherit the mainstream of southern style sake brewing, aiming for “Iwate-like sake”, and we are making sake with all our heart by producing a small amount of about 500 stones a year, which makes all the preparations noticeable.
Brewery Info
Representative: Hisako Sato
Address: 5 Uchikawa, Tsuchidate, Shiwa Town, Shiwa-gun, Iwate
TEL: +81-19-673-7221
FAX: +81-19-673-7222
Foundation (year) 1683
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Hishiya Sake Brewery
Hishiya Sake Brewery is a brewery in Miyako City, Iwate Prefecture, which is famous for its fresh seafood harvested on the ria coast and the scenic spot of Jodogahama. It was founded in Kaei 5 (1852), about 170 years ago. We would like to express our sincere gratitude to Miyako’s nature and everyone’s support for being able to continue brewing sake from the end of the Edo period and the year before Perry’s arrival.
Brewery Info
Representative: Mutuko Miura
Address: 5-24 Kuwagasaki Shimomachi, Miyako City, Iwate
TEL: +81-193-62-3128
FAX: +81-193-63-8524
Foundation (year) 1852
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Iwate Meijyo Brewery
Iwate Meijo, which was created by the merger of the two breweries in Iwate and Oshu, aims to be a community-based sake brewery. Oshu City is also famous for its high-class ingredients called Maesawa beef, and we pursue not only sake brewing using local sake rice and water, but also sake brewing that matches the local ingredients, and food that matches the characteristics of each ingredient. We are exploring medium sake.
Brewery Info
Representative: Torihiko Oikawa
Address: 13 Maesawaku Sinmachi, Ousyushi, Iwate
TEL: +81-197-56-3131
FAX: +81-197-56-3142
Foundation (year) 1955
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Kamikaze Ishuzo Brewery
Kamikaze Ishuzo is a small sake brewery that brews local sake and beer in Tono City, Iwate Prefecture, where rice and hops are produced. Since the terrain of Tono City is a basin, the cold weather in winter is severe, making it a suitable area for cold sake brewing. Using clear water, air, rice and hops, we sincerely brew “sake” and “beer”. Our mission is to pass on the sake brewing that has been passed down in the land of “Tono” to future generations.
Brewery Info
Representative: Hisashige Kobayashi
Address: 31-19-7, Aozasa-cho, Tono-shi, Iwate
TEL: +81-198-62-2002
FAX: +81-198-62-2003
Foundation (year) 1789
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Senkin Shuzo Brewery
Located in Iwaizumi, Iwate, we are the oldest sake brewery in this region. Established in 1854, the Senkin Brewery has been crafting high quality sake, under the brand name “Ryusen-Yaezakura”. “Ryusen” was named after the nearby Ryusendo limestone cave that is famous for its spectacular stalactites. “Yaezakura” means double cherry blossom for which Japanese have a strong affinity. Life in Iwaizumi is surrounded by the swaying trees, the buzz of the wind, and the whispers of water. Sake expresses the natural activities that you feel on your skin and the passage of time. The traditional bag-hanging method has realized the swelling of the taste of Junmai Daiginjo and the certainty of its production.
Brewery Info
Representative: Giichiro Yaegashi
Address: Iwaizumi, Ota 30, Shimohei-gun, Iwaizumi-cho, Iwate
TEL: +81-194-22-3211
FAX: +81-194-22-3210
Foundation (year) 1854
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Tsukinowa Sake Brewery
The first Yokosawa family from Wakasa (present-day Fukui Prefecture) ran a koji shop in their current location, but in 1886, the fourth generation of the Yokosawa family, Tokuichi, was passionate about brewing and founded the brewing industry. It is the beginning of the history of the moon ring. Since the head of the family has been involved in sake brewing for generations, from 1991, Daizo Yokozawa, the current brewer (7th generation of the Yokozawa family), has been in charge of sake brewing as the owner, Mori, who also serves as the head and Mori. When it was incorporated on November 1, 2005, Yuko Yokozawa became Mr. Mori and is brewing sake under the new system. We will continue to take on new challenges, such as manufacturing glutinous rice that makes the best use of raw rice.
Brewery Info
Representative: Daizo Yokosawa
Address: 101 Mukaihata, Kosuiji, Shiwa-cho, Shiwa-gun, 028-3303
TEL: +81-19-672-1133
FAX: +81-19-676-5011
Foundation (year) 1886
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Hama Chidori Brewery
Hamachidori is located in coastal areas in the southern part of the country, surrounded by Kitakami Mountains and the Sanriku of the sea. We use underground water from Mt. Senban in the Kitakami Mountains to ensure a stable amount and quality of water throughout the year. The water quality is soft and gentle on the palate, which greatly affects the quality of Hama Chidori’s sake. Among the sake, Ginjo sake is the finest sake brewed by combining the techniques of the brewery. In addition, we brew all kinds of sake, such as pure rice sake, main brewing, raw sake, barrel sake, and mountain abandoned sake, regardless of the manufacturing method. Each liquor has a wide variety of tastes depending on the local mechanism and climate, it may express the uniqueness of each region.
Brewery Info
Representative: Susumu Niisato
Address: 3-8-7 Kogawa-cho, Kamaishi-shi, Iwate
TEL: +81-19-323-5613
FAX: +81-19-323-0510
Foundation (year) 1923
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Iwanoi Sake Brewery
Our company was founded on 13th October 1918, as a joint-stock company with 175 shareholders and a capital of 12,500 yen based in Shichika Village, Hanaizumi District. Based on the tradition that has been handed down from time to time, all employees will continue to work hard with the spirit and motivation of “new sake in a new leather bag” that is responsive to the times.
Brewery Info
Representative: Norihiko Abe
Address: 72 Hanaizumicho Wakutsu, Ichinoseki City, Iwate
TEL: +81-19-182-2100
FAX: +81-19-182-2101
Foundation (year) 1918
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