BUYU SHUZO CO., LTD. (KABUSHIKI GAISHA BUYU) — YUKI CITY, IBARAKI, JAPAN
Buyu Sake Brewery
Est. 1867 — Yuki City, Ibaraki Prefecture
In the historic castle town of Yuki in Ibaraki Prefecture, Buyu Shuzo has been brewing sake since 1867, founded during the Keio era of the late Edo period by Yuki-hei Hosaka, originally from Echigo (present-day Niigata). Over more than 170 years, the brewery has turned hardships into opportunities and pursued the creation of delicious sake. Yuki City has a long history as a castle town associated with samurai culture, and the brand name "Buyu" (nn) reflects this martial spirit — meaning valor and bravery. The brewery's philosophy is to produce sake using carefully selected local ingredients and traditional methods while continually innovating to stay relevant to modern drinkers. Buyu has received multiple national and international awards including the Japan Sake Appraisal Gold Medal (2019), Wine Glass Sake Award (2018), and Sake Competition Silver Medal (2018).
RICE
Buyu uses mainly locally grown Ibaraki rice alongside premium varieties such as Yamadanishiki from Hyogo and Hitachi Nishiki from Ibaraki. The brewery aims to produce sake that reflects the unique character of its region.
WATER
Brewing water is drawn from a well 150 metres deep on the brewery grounds, part of the Kinugawa River system. The water originates as snowmelt in the mountains of Kawaji Onsen in Nikko, Tochigi Prefecture, and takes approximately 30 years to percolate underground to Yuki. This soft water brings out the natural character of the rice.
SKILL
Buyu practices "three-season brewing," extending the brewing period well beyond the typical January-February cold season. This allows careful management of each batch and more precise fermentation control. The brewery also uses the traditional Ibaraki Ogawa yeast (Kyokai No.10), developed locally in Ibaraki Prefecture.
YUKAWA SAKE BREWERY CO., LTD. — NAGANO, JAPAN
16th Kurouemon
Junmai Ginjo Miyamanishiki
Founded in 1650 by Yugawa Kurouemon, Yukawa Sake Brewery is the second oldest active brewery in Nagano Prefecture. Located at 936 metres above sea level in Yabuhara-juku, a former post town on the historic Nakasendo route through the Kiso Valley, the brewery has served travellers and locals alike for over 370 years. The location is known as "a brewery between the stars and heaven." Brewing water is drawn from wells fed by the headstream of the Kiso River, which flows from Mount Hachimori at 2,447 metres. The extreme altitude creates formidable challenges: a lower boiling point makes rice steaming more demanding, and winter temperatures plunge to -18 degrees Celsius, suppressing yeast activity. To overcome this, 16th generation owner Naoko Yukawa and her husband and Toji Shinichi have embraced labour-intensive traditional methods including Kimoto and Yamahai, building more resilient yeast cultures that produce sake with greater depth and character. In summer, the same cold mountain spring water is channelled through the storehouse walls as a natural cooling system. Their two brands are Kisoji (historic, community-rooted) and 16th Kurouemon (innovative, rice-focused, nationally distributed).
YAMATO BUDOSHU CO., LTD. (HUGGY WINE) — KATSUNUMA, KOSHU CITY, YAMANASHI, JAPAN
Huggy Wine
Est. 1913 — Katsunuma, Koshu City, Yamanashi Prefecture
Founded in 1913 (Taisho 2) in Katsunuma — the historic heart of Japanese wine country in Koshu City, Yamanashi — Huggy Wine (Yamato Budoshu Co., Ltd.) is a winery with over 110 years of continuous history. The founding Hagiwara family traces its roots to the early Edo period, when they operated an oil merchant business in
Yamanashi City for approximately 250 years. As kerosene replaced lamp oil during the Meiji modernisation, the family shifted to viticulture and winemaking, establishing Yamato Budoshu in Katsunuma in the Taisho era. The word "Huggy" expresses the embrace between people — reflecting the winery's belief that wine connects human
beings to one another and to the land. The winery's philosophy is to make uniquely Japanese wine by honouring Japan's indigenous grape varieties, carefully studying the history and roots of those varieties, and crafting wines that suit Japan's climate, environment and food culture. Huggy Wine is deliberately small in scale — a boutique
operation set slightly back from the main road in Katsunuma, where careful, handmade winemaking takes precedence over volume. Winery tours and tastings are offered free of charge. The winery also has a second facility in Shiga, Matsumoto, Nagano Prefecture.
HERITAGE & RARE VINES
The winery stewards "Koryu" (Amber Dragon) — Japan's oldest known Koshu vine, approximately 130 years old and designated as a cultural property. A second designated cultural property vine, Sammori Koshu (approximately 100 years old), is also under the winery's care. The winery is the only producer in Japan cultivating all four surviving ancient Japanese grape varieties: Koshu, Ryugan, Koshu Sanshaku, and Murasakibudou.
MINERAL VINEYARDS
Huggy Wine's "Mineral Category" wines are produced from Koshu vines grown in vineyards particularly rich in minerals — some fertilised with burnt shell (kaki gara), which produces calcium content up to 22 times higher than usual vineyards (normal: 40ppm). This mineral richness imparts body and a distinctive amino acid and peptide complexity through the Elevage sur Lies maturation method.
WINEMAKING
Huggy Wine practices Elevage sur Lies (extended lees contact) as a signature technique across its mineral range. This method builds texture, amino acids, and natural complexity without oak interference. The winery produces still wines, sparkling wines, and also crafts Kai Draft Beer (Kai Dorafu Biiru), available at the winery's beer garden on weekends from April to November.
KAI WINERY CO., LTD. (KAI WAINARII KABUSHIKI GAISHA) — KOSHU CITY, YAMANASHI, JAPAN
Kai Winery
Est. 1986 (family origins 1834) — Enzan, Koshu City, Yamanashi Prefecture
The Kazama family's roots in Enzan (Koshu City) stretch back to the Sengoku period — the family has preserved a vermillion-seal letter granted by the Takeda clan in 1543, when the Oso region of ancient Kai Province was home to the Kurokawa gold miners. In 1834 (Tenpo 5), Kaikei Kazama founded the family's sake brewing business. In 1986 (Showa 61), Kai Winery Co., Ltd. was established within the same historic kura-yashiki (brewery residence), infusing new life into the centuries-old tradition by shifting focus to wine. The winery aims to create high-quality wines that complement the delicate palate and food culture of the Japanese people. Its lead winemaker, Soichiro Kazama holds a Yamanashi University Wine Science degree and has led cultivation and winemaking since 2005. Annual production is approximately 30,000 bottles — a small, artisan-scale operation with deep personal involvement at every stage. All vineyards are located within Koshu City, growing Koshu, Merlot, and Barbera. The Southern vineyard features older vines known for "rose cluster" (bara-busa) Koshu grapes — a traditional training form that produces smaller, more concentrated fruit.
HERITAGE
Four buildings on the winery grounds — the main house, wine cellar, library, and cafe — are designated nationally Registered Tangible Cultural
Properties. Ranging from 150 to 200 years old, they reflect Enzan's historic sericulture (silk farming) industry. The former sake cellar, with its thick earthen walls, maintains a cool year-round temperature ideal for wine ageing.
THE KOSHU GRAPE
Koshu, Japan's indigenous white grape, is the winery's flagship variety. With over 1,000 years of history in Yamanashi, Koshu is a hybrid of European Vitis vinifera and East Asian Vitis species, recognised by the OIV in 2010. Its thick pink skin resists the humidity of Japan's rainy growing season and produces pale, delicate,
food-friendly white wines of distinctive character.
WINEMAKING
Koshu grapes are harvested at different ripening stages and pressed in small batches of 2,000 to 4,000 kg. Fermentation takes place over 2 to 3
weeks at low initial temperatures using multiple yeast strains. After wintering in stainless steel tanks, the wine is bottled — a clean, minimal-intervention approach designed to preserve
freshness and varietal purity.
KAWAZAWA SHUZO CO., LTD.
Yama ni Kumo ga
Founded in 2024, Kawazawa Shuzo relocated its license from Yamanashi to Kochi Prefecture, establishing a Brewery inside a former sawmill at the foot of Mt. Kanpuzan on the Kochi-Ehime border. Brewing water is drawn from valley springs of the Yoshino River system (hardness: 10). Head Brewer Tohru Kawazawa brings 30 years of experience, including research at Japan's National Research Institute of Brewing. The brewery's signature philosophy: sake that leaves no lingering aftertaste.
MIURA SHUZO CO., LTD. (MIURA SHUZO KABUSHIKI GAISHA) — HIROSAKI CITY, AOMORI, JAPAN
Houhai
Est. 1930 — Hirosaki City, Aomori Prefecture
Founded in 1930 (Showa 5) in Hirosaki City — the historic castle town at the foot of Mt. Iwaki in the Tsugaru region of Aomori Prefecture — Miura Shuzo was incorporated as a company in 2007 (Heisei 19). It is a small, family-centred brewery with an annual production of just 500 koku (approximately 90,000 litres), run by the fifth-generation Miura brothers alongside family members and a small team of local brewers. The brewery is the only producer in Japan that grows and uses Houhai-mai (nnn) under an exclusive contract cultivation agreement. Houhai-mai was developed by the Aomori Prefecture Agricultural Experiment Institution in 1976 as a sake rice perfectly suited to the cold climate and character of the Tsugaru region. Rice is milled in-house, and small-batch brewing is central to the philosophy — every batch is made with close personal attention by the brewers themselves, ensuring the "face of the maker is visible" in every bottle. The brewery describes its ideal flavour as: "Fresh, plenty of honey, a faint acid, like a Tsugaru apple."
RICE
The primary rice is Houhai-mai, an Aomori-developed sake rice grown exclusively for Miura Shuzo under contract. The brewery also uses
Hanafubuki and Hanaomoi are carefully harvested by neighbouring farmers. All rice is milled on-site in the brewery's own rice polishing facility.
WATER
All brewing water is drawn from the underflow of Mt. Iwaki, which stands directly behind the brewery. Fresh, clean spring water gushes naturally from wells on the brewery grounds — one of the purest water sources in Aomori. The water is integral to the distinctive soft, clean character of Houhai sake.
SKILL
Small-batch (ko-jikomi) brewing is a core commitment. The fifth-generation Miura brothers lead production personally, brewing with family and local Tsugaru brewers. The guiding philosophy is "Wa-jo Ryo-shu" (harmony makes fine sake) — the belief that respect among people and for ingredients produces the best results.
THE HOUHAI NAME & RICE
The name "Houhai" carries layered meaning. Its literal origin is "Houhai-mai" — the exclusive sake rice — but the name also references a battle song sung by Tamenobu, ancestor of the Tsugaru clan, to inspire his soldiers in battle. That song evolved into "Houhai-bushi," a beloved Tsugaru folk song still sung today. The sake was named Houhai — sharing the same sound — in the spirit of that lively, victorious energy. The brewery considers it their fate and privilege to be the sole custodians of this rice variety and this name.
SENTO SAKE BREWERY CO., LTD. (SENTO SHUZO) — GEISEI VILLAGE, KOCHI, JAPAN
Tosashiragiku — Tosa White Chrysanthemum
Est. 1903 — Geisei Village, Aki District, Kochi Prefecture
Founded in 1903 by Kikutaro Sento, Sento Sake Brewery is located in the small village of Geisei in eastern Kochi Prefecture, a place of extraordinary natural beauty with the Shikoku mountain range to the north and the Pacific Ocean visible to the south. The brewery has been producing sake for over 120 years and has won awards at the Annual Japan Sake Appraisal — held since 1911 — every single year for more than a decade. The brand name "Tosashiragiku" (Tosa White Chrysanthemum) was named after "Kiku" — the chrysanthemum — the character in the founder Kikutaro Sento's name. The brewery's philosophy is captured in the phrase: "Making dining more enjoyable." Every sake is conceived as a food sake — one that elevates the meal rather than standing apart from it. The concept guiding Tosashiragiku is "Fresh and Juicy" — sake with vivid, clean acidity, vibrant fruit character, and a refreshing quality that invites the next sip and the next bite.
RICE
The primary sake rice is Kochi Prefecture's own "Gin no Yume" (Dream of Gin), a locally developed variety optimised for Kochi's climate. Additional varieties, including Yamadanishiki, Hattan Nishiki,
Omachi and Shizuku-hime are used seasonally to express the individuality of each rice type.
WATER
Brewing water is the underflow water of the Shikoku mountain range — soft and pure spring water that filters through the ancient mountains above Geisei Village before emerging clean and mineral-balanced. Pure water makes up approximately 80% of sake, and this water gives Tosashiragiku its characteristic gentle, clean, and comforting taste.
SKILL
Almost all production steps — rice washing, koji-making, and fermentation management — are carried out entirely by hand. This labour-intensive
"hand-crafted sake making" philosophy ensures close attention at every stage. The brewery's seasonal lineup expresses each rice variety and
season with precision, from new sake through to autumn hiyaoroshi releases.