Japan Navigator

Akita is lies in the northwestern corner of the main island of Honshu and is a beautiful prefecture of rugged mountains, beech forests and deep lakes. As cold winds blow in from Siberia over the Japan Sea, the severe winters bring heavy snowfall. Tazawako is Japan’s deepest lake and Mt Chokai, in the south of the prefecture, has been nicknamed “Dewa Fuji” for its graceful cone. Kakunodate is a historical town with 200-year old samurai houses. In winter, people huddle around the irori, the square open hearth where they enjoy the local dish of kiritanpo, skewers with pounded rice grilled over a charcoal fire and then added to a hotpot stew of vegetables, mushrooms and chicken.

[Street with samurai houses in Kakunodate, Akita. Photo Ad Blankestijn]

Akita is also a true sake land: it is the fourth producer of sake in Japan and advertises itself with the slogan “Kingdom of Beautiful Sake.” Akita has plenty of good rice, crystal-clear spring water and the cold winters help brewers keep the fermentation under control. But perhaps because of its distance from urban centers, it was only in the Taisho-period, in the 2nd and 3rd decades of the 20th c. that brewing in Akita took off, thanks to modern transport. Now there are 50 breweries. Breweries here started early on with ginjo production. There is a small but fine group of local toji, the Sannai toji.

The prefecture is also very active. In 1990, it has developed its own strain of yeast, AK-1 (now also Association Yeast No. 15), which produces very fragrant sake but also calls for fermenting at low temperatures for a long time. A large harvest of medals at the National Competition for New Sake the next year was the result. Akita Prefecture is also one of only two prefectures in Japan that have their own Institute for Brewing Technology. And although Akita still grows a lot of Miyama Nishiki, it has also developed its own types of special sake rice such as Gin no Sei. The Akita Chapter of the Sake Brewers Association has a large English section on its website, where individual breweries are introduced – something we would like to warmly recommend to other prefectures as well! And finally Akita’s brewers are actively looking for customers abroad, by sending missions to the U.S. and E.U. via the Akita Sake Promotion and Export Council (ASPEC).

[Samurai house in Kakunodate, Akita. Photo Ad Blankestijn]

Akita’s sake is rich but delicate, with a detailed construction. It is also somewhat on the sweet side, due to the mostly soft quality of the water in the prefecture. Akita people are also known as the greatest sake drinkers in Japan (the prefecture has the highest consumption rate in the country), so 90% of Akita’s sake is enjoyed by Akita itself.

Here are some well-known breweries:

Ama no To (”Heaven’s Door” – from an old song that reads “Quietly open the door to heaven, and let the sunlight shine upon the green leaves of cedar trees in the holy mountain”; Asamai Shuzo in Yokote City).
Founded in 1917. Only uses local rice (no Yamada Nishiki!) and has formed a rice study group with its farmers. Has a famous brew master, Moriya Koichi. Delicate and well-balanced sake. Has won five consecutive gold medals in the National Sake tasting competition using Akita rice and AK-1 yeast.

Aramasa (”New administration” – a name used by the Meiji government; Aramasa Shuzo in Akita City).
Good example of the distinctive style of Akita sake. Founded in 1852. Has won many awards in tasting competitions over the decades. Was the developer of what is now Association Yeast No. 6.

Dewatsuru (”Crane of Dewa”; Akita Seishu in Daisen City).
Located on the Senboku Plain. Mellow and smooth flavor. Founded in 1865. The name goes back to the words of a former brewmaster who said: “May this sake that I brew with all my spirit be like a crane in its caliber and mellowness.”

Hideyoshi (”Hideyoshi” is the name of the famous unifier of japan and also a play on the words “excellent and good”; Gomei-gaisha Suzuki Shuzoten in Daisen City).
Founded in 1689 by a brewer who moved here from Ise. The sake was drunk by the local feudal clan, the Satake, who gave it the name “Hideyoshi” after the brewery won a tasting competition in 1849.

Hiraizumi (”Flying good spring”; Hiraizumi Honpu in Nikaho City).
In contrast to the relative youth of most breweries in Akita, Hiraizumi’s history goes back to the 15th c. (1487 to be exact), making it the 3rd longest history of any brewer in Japan. The brewery was set up bij a wholesaler from southern Osaka, from an area called “Izumi,” and it combined its original wholesaler’s name of “Izumiya” with the name of its Akita location, Hirasawa (”Hirasawa Izumi no Sake” which became “Hiraizumi”). In the early Meiji period, sake brewing became the main business. Different from other Akita sake is the fact that Hiraizumi brews with very hard water, resulting in a dense sake high in acidity. It also uses the yamahai method.
The current buildings date from 1883.

Kariho (”Cut rice stalks”; Kariho Shuzo in Daisen City).
Formed in 1913 as a sister company to Dewatsuru. Brews a gentle and charmingly light sake. Has won many awards in tasting competitions over the years. The name of the brewery cites a famous poem by Emperor Tenchi, part of “One Hundred Poems by One Hundred Poets:” “Because of the coarseness of the rush mat in this temporary hut in the rice paddy in autumn, my cuffs are becoming wet by the dew on the cut rice stalks.”

Mansaku no Hana (”Flower of Mansaku”, the first tree to bloom in spring; Hinomaru Shuzo in Yokote City).
Established in 1689. The Hinomaru Brewery takes its name from the family crest of the ruling Satake clan: a folding fan with a hinomaru (sun) design. Uses under-well water from Mt Kurikoma. Concentrates on ginjo with a sophisticated flavor. Brews with the kimoto-method. One of the smallest breweries in Akita. Most of the sake is aged in the bottle.

Taiheizan (”Taiheizan” is the name of a sacred mountain east of Akita City; Kodama Jozo in Katagami City).
Started as a manufacturer of miso in 1879. Sake brewing began in 1913 and in 1934 the company received top honors in the national sake tasting competition. That year it also became the first company to sell non-pasteurized sake. Uses abundant quantities of clean well water and superior quality rice. Known for its use of the traditional kimoto-method.

Takashimizu (”Pure water from on High” – a place on a hill where the Japanese court many centuries ago established a local seat of government; Akita Shurui Seizo in Akita City).
Founded through the merger of 12 small breweries just after WWII. A brewing powerhouse that has one of the highest production volumes in eastern Japan. Understandably, much of that is ordinary “table sake,” but the brand also has a few good premium sakes. It takes its water from a famous well that was used by the reigning feudal clan.

Tenju (”Heavenly Long Life”; Tenju Shuzo in Yurihonjo City).
Founded 130 years ago (1874), this brewery uses melted water from Mt. Chokai. Has set up the Tenju Sake Rice Research Association for studying the organic cultivation of rice. A delicate, light sake with a mellow fragrance and rich flavor.

Yuki no Bousha (”Thatched-roof house in the snow”; Saiya Shuzoten in Yurihonjo City).
Founded in 1902. Brews with water that has been filtered down through Mt Shinzan, at the foot of Mt Chokai. The water is semi-soft. The brewery is shaded by a huge keyaki-tree, providing a stable temperature inside the kura. This brewery uses the kimoto-method. Only brews in small batches as it believes large tanks lead to a bland taste. Uses Yamada Nishiki and Akita Sake Komachi rice, and polishes on average to 58%. In 2001, it became the first sake brewery in Japan to be certified as an organic sake brewer. Uses its own yeast. Housed in historical buildings.

Information from: National Tax Office and Japan Sake Breweries Association, as well as the Akita Sake Breweries Map and the JAL sake site, Sake, the Liquid Essence of Japan.
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), as well as The Sake Companion by John Gaunter (Running Press) and The Insider’s Guide to Sake by Philip Harper (Kodansha International).