Japan Navigator

I am starting a new series where I will look into the regional varieties of Japanese sake. The first one is Kyoto!

[Fushimi sake district, Kyoto]

Kyoto Prefecture is in volume the second sake producing prefecture in Japan - after Hyogo’s Nada district. That is all thanks to the breweries in the southern part of the prefecture, in Kyoto’s Fushimi, which are good for 90% of the total output. There are about 30 breweries in Fushimi. Except for the big, nationally operating Gekkeikan (by far the largest producer in the whole of Japan), these are mostly smaller breweries that have dedicated themselves to brewing only premium sake from pure rice (junmaishu).

[Fushimi sake district, Kyoto]

Fushimi is in the first place famous for its excellent water: until the early Meiji-period, it was called Fushimizu, alluding to the underground water that flows down from nearby Mt Momoyama and fills the wells of the district with delicate and mild water. That water is honored in the Gokonomiya Shrine (”Shrine of the Honorable Fragrance”), which according to legend was so named when in 861 fragrant water gushed up from a well that appeared in this area - the water even healed the sick.

[People come to fetch the water from the well in the Gokomomiya Shrine, Fushimi, Kyoto]

The sake brewed in Kyoto has always been of high quality - after all, it was destined to be consumed by such demanding customers as the imperial court and its nobles. Important technological innovations, such as the isolation of koji spores and use of a yeast starter can also be written on the account of the brewers of the Old Capital. In the Middle Ages (Kamakura and Muromachi periods) there were hundreds and hundreds of small breweries in Kyoto.

But in the Edo-period, Kyoto was superseded by Nada as a sake center. Conditions for large scale production were just not good enough in the crowded inner city. That changed when in the Meiji-period (1867-1912) sake producers started moving to the suburb of Fushimi where they found space, good water and better transport possibilities. Many of those breweries had a history going back to the 17th century.

From Fushimi, sake could be transported directly by rail to Tokyo, and this greatly boosted the industry. Another modern development was that Fushimi’s breweries as Gekkeikan started to ship their sake in hygienic glass bottles instead of wooden vats (also making it impossible for resellers to dilute the sake!) - you will find these early bottles on display in Gekkeikan’s museum.

[Fushimi sake district, Kyoto]

Thanks to the softness of the water, Fushimi’s sake has been called “feminine,” in contrast to Nada’s hard water sake, which is more “masculine.” Kyoto’s sake has a soft, smooth and full taste. It is delicate and graceful, as befits the Old Capital.

A second sake area is the northern part of Kyoto prefecture, such as Miyazu on the Japan sea coast, where you will find many small and still unknown breweries. Not accidentally, there are also many good ports here - some of them were important as naval bases from the Meiji to early Showa periods. This is also the area where the Tango Toji came from, a small group of Kyoto-based brew masters.

[Sake vats in the Gokonomiya Shrine, Fushimi, Kyoto]

Facts:
Sake production volume Kyoto Prefecture in 2006 (figures National Tax Office): 111,596 kiloliters
Sake rice: the brand “Iwai” has been developed in the prefecture　－it is low in protein and helps make light sake; also popular are Miyama-Nishiki and Gohyakumangoku.
Number of breweries (Japan Sake Brewers Association website): 60

Taste: sake from Kyoto usually tastes soft, sweet and full.

[Fushimi sake district, Kyoto]

Examples of Breweries:

Fushimi:
Gekkeikan (1637; Gekkeikan, “Laurel Wreath”) - “gekkeikan” means “laurel wreath,” a Western-sounding name the company took in the Meiji-period. Its original brandname was Tama no Izumi, “Well of the Jewel.” Gekkeikan is not only the largest sake producer from Japan since the 1960s, but is also known for its technological innovations, such as being the first to use glass bottles. Was also the first, in the early sixties, to start brewing year round instead of only in winter. Besides six breweries in Japan, it also has facilities in California and Taiwan, plus that it has exports to 60 countries. Gekkeikan started at an early time selling sake at stations. It also won prizes in the first national sake competitions (and still continues to do so, for besides ordinary sake it also makes excellent Daiginjo). Master brewers working in its factories come from such famous regions as Nanbu, Tajima and Hiroshima. In Fushimi, it has a beautiful museum, a mini-brewery “Gekkeikan Shukobo,” and other impressive traditional buildings. These include an office now used as a shop and the (closed) former residence of the Okura’s. The old wooden buildings look particularly beautiful seen from over the Horikawa River which flows through Fushimi. Gekkeikan is stil experimenting, such as with the champagne-sake called Zipang.

Kizakura Shuzo (1925; Kizakura, “Yellow Cherry Blossom”) - originally known for mass market sake, advertised with the help of images of naked, imbibing “kappa” imps, Kizakura started to brew Ginjo sakes in the mid-seventies and has since won the gold medal at the annual competition for new sakes. It is also putting effort into the Yamahai style. Kizakura operates three factories, among which its Tanba factory is the largest in the country. Kizakura has set up “Kappa Country” in its old warehouses in Fushimi, featuring a gallery, a garden, a restaurant (with kikizake possibilities) and a well-stocked shop.

Matsumoto Shuzo (1791; Momo no Shizuku, “Droplets from the Peach,” Hinode Sakari, “Prime of Sunrise”) - Momo no Shizuku, “Droplets from the Peach” is a clean, light pure-rice sake, of which the name is based on a haiku by Basho (and the fact that Momoyama in Fushimi in the Edo-period was indeed known for its peach forest). The traditional wooden warehouses of Matsumoto Shuzo, standing along the Takasegawa River, have been declared a special industrial heritage. Was originally located at Higashiyama Shichijo. One of the founders of the Pure Sake Association, a society that at an early time propagated the abolishment of adding alcohol to sake.

Masuda Tokubei Shoten (1675; Tsuki no Katsura, “The Judas Tree in the Moon”) - this company specializes in nigori sake (”clouded” due to a sediment of rice and koji). Was also the first company to develop a nigori sake that was further fermented in the bottle (with the help of the famous Tokyo University Fermentation Professor Sakaguchi Kinichiro). Further makes an excellent aged sake “Kohakuko.” Its (non-nigori) junmai ginjo “Heiankyo” is a long seller. A very individualistic company, located near the Toba Kaido in Fushimi.

Shotoku Shuzo (1642; Shotoku, “Inviting Virtue”). Postwar merger of four old companies, one, Kimuraya, going back to 1642. Started selling junmaishu (pure rice sake) in 1974 and founded the Pure Sake Association with Matsumoto Shuzo and Tama no Hikari. Has a large repertory of Junmai Ginjo’s. All sakes have a quiet and elegant feel,　without getting boisterous, which befits the Old Capital. Uses Kyoto’s recently revived sake rice Iwai in its sake called “Kyo Iwai Mai.”

Tama no Hikari Shuzo (1673; Tama no Hikari, “Light of the Jewel”) - one of the first companies to start making only pure-rice sake; charming and sweet, this has been called a “quintessentially Kyoto sake” by John Gautner. Relocated to Kyoto from Wakayama after WWII. Also has breweries in Uji and Kakogawa. Specializes in full-flavored junmai ginjo’s, using various types of sake rice, such as Omachi from Okayama, Yamada Nishiki from Hyogo and Okuhomare from Fukui. Founding member of the Pure Sake Association. Exports to the U.S. and SE Asia. Even sells its junmaishu in a paper pack!

[The traditional wooden warehouses of Matsumoto Shuzo, Fushimi, Kyoto]

Kyoto (elsewhere):
Matsui Shuzo (1742; Fuji Sensai, “Thousand Years Fuji”) - the only (small) brewery left in the city, near Demachiyanagi.

Kameoka:
Oishi Shuzo (1688; Okinazuru, “Crane of the Old Sage”).
Tanzan Shuzo (Tanzan, Mt. Cinnaber”) - uses the same water source as Kameoka Castle. Cultivates its own sake rice.

Miyazu and Tango area:
Hakurei Shuzo (1832; Hakurei, “White Peak,” Shutendoji, “The Boy Drinking Sake”) - Established by Niiya Rokuemon of the Nakanishi clan, after obtaining a permit from the local daimyo. Uses fresh water from the Fudo no Taki waterfall, which flows down from one of the peaks of the Oe mountain range. This water is said to have excellent immunizing powers. Brews with locally grown Yamada Nishiki and Gohyakumangoku rice, as well as Iwai rice. Its brand name, Shutendoji, is based on the legendary red ogre living in the Oe mountains.

Kinoshita Shuzo (1842; Tamagawa, “Jewel River”) - this is the brewery where Philip Harper, author of The Book of Sake is working.

[Koshiki for steaming rice, Gekkeikan Okura Sake Museum, Fushimi, Kyoto]

Sake Museums:
Gekkeikan Okura Sake Museum, old tools and Meiji-period advertisement materials, shown in a wooden sake warehouse built in 1909; if you make a reservation in advance, you can also see the 1906 Uchigura Sake Brewery, a mini-brewery.

The Horino Memorial Museum was the town house and brewery of the makers of Kinshi Masamune; the brewery moved to Fushimi, but the Machiya from 1781 remains as a museum. There are also a brewery making local beer and a restaurant.

Kizakura has a gallery showing drawings of the Kappa (river imps) used by the company in its advertising, plus some tools and information on sake brewing.

[Aburacho liquor shop in Otemon Arcade, Fushimi, Kyoto]

Restaurants of Sake Breweries:
Torisei, the restaurant of the Shinsei brewery in Fushimi (est. 1677), with a menu mainly consisting of yakitori.
Kizakura Kappaland, also in Fushimi, offers various dishes in a large and spacious restaurant, with sets for sake tasting and also beer tasting (also Kizakura brews local beer). There is also an open courtyard where you can sit outside.

[Sake tasting set in the Kizakura restaurant, Fushimi, Kyoto. From left to right: junmaishu, ginjoshu and nigorishu]

There are seven liquor shops in Fushimi selling local sake and one of them, Aburacho in the Otemon shopping arcade, also features a small bar (right in the shop!) where you can get sake tasting sets.

Information from: National Tax Office and Japan Sake Breweries Association
Regional profile gleaned from: Nihonshu no Tekisuto (2): Sanchi no Tokucho to Tsukuritetachi by renowned sake journalist Matsuzaki Haruo (Doyukan, 2005). Some information about individual breweries based on Matsuzaki Haruo, Tastes of 1635 Shinpan Nihonshu Gaidobukku (Shibata Shoten 2003).
See also John Gaunter on the sake of Kyoto and Nada.