Sake Brands
in Hyogo

"Shochikubai Shirakabegura" is a brand of the premium sake production base established by Takara Shuzo in Nada. It realizes deep umami and complex taste with traditional brewing methods using Kimoto brewing. It is a prestigious sake brewed carefully in a beautiful white-walled brewery.

"Nendo" means "natural soil" and is a Kimoto Junmai sake that emphasizes terroir (climate and soil) and environmental protection. Using 100% Yamada Nishiki from Nishiwaki City, Hyogo Prefecture, it adopts an environmentally friendly cultivation method that reduces methane gas emissions by about 90%. It is a high-class brand that achieves both sustainability and quality, characterized by a soft and rich aroma and the umami of rice, collecting only the parts that drip down by bag hanging. It is a premium sake pursuing terroir with excellent compatibility with fatty ingredients (fatty tuna, eel, meat dishes).

"Mio" is a low-alcohol (about 5%) sparkling sake, an innovative brand proposing a new charm of sake. "Mio" means the flow of water in shallow shallows or the wake of bubbles left by a ship, expressing low alcohol (shallow shallows) and sparkling (bubbles). Characterized by a muscat-like fruity aroma, gentle sweetness, and refreshing effervescence, it is widely supported by sake beginners and women. It is the most popular sparkling sake in Japan that can be enjoyed casually, with good compatibility with light dishes and desserts.

"Hakutsuru" is the representative brand of one of Japan's largest sake brewers, embodying the philosophy of "utilizing rice, carefully examining rice, and being particular about rice". Boasting over 280 years of tradition, it practices sake brewing maximizing the three great advantages of Nada (cold wind of Rokko Oroshi, water from the Rokko mountain range, techniques of Tamba Toji). Focusing on research and development of raw rice, such as using its proprietary sake rice "Hakutsuru Nishiki," it continues sake brewing where tradition and innovation harmonize. While protecting the style of dry and crisp Nada otoko-zake (masculine sake), it provides high-quality sake in a wide price range and continues to support sake culture.

"Ushi to Teppan" is an innovative brand specializing in pairing with Kobe beef. The 11th generation brewery owner developed it with a novel approach of expressing Kobe's food culture with sake, utilizing his experience working at a design company. Using Yamada Nishiki from the Special A district of Hyogo Prefecture, it is characterized by a rich taste that does not lose to the fat and umami of Kobe beef. Designed exclusively for meat dishes such as teppanyaki, yakiniku, and sukiyaki, it is a brand embodying the brewery owner's philosophy of brewing food culture.

"Sake no Soshi" is a brand with literary sensibility with motifs from Sei Shonagon's "The Pillow Book". It expresses the beauty of the four seasons and the elegant world view in sake, developing a seasonal sake series. With a sophisticated taste and poetic brand name, it is a sake that conveys the aesthetic sense of Japanese classical literature to the present day.

"Daikoku Masamune" is the representative brand of the brewery with over 250 years of tradition, derived from Daikokuten, one of the Seven Lucky Gods. Daikokuten is known as the god of wealth and prosperity, and the brand name is loved as an auspicious one. While protecting traditional Nada brewing, it contains the pride of the brewery that overcame the difficulty of reconstruction from the earthquake.

"Kurenai Tennyo" is a brand with a cultural background born from a connection with the popular manga "Glass Mask". Since the old plum tree in the brewery garden looks like the figure of Kannon (Goddess of Mercy), manga artist Suzue Miuchi used it as a model for "Kurenai Tennyo" (Crimson Goddess) in the work. Brewed to commemorate this connection, it is characterized by an elegant and feminine taste. It is a sake with a unique origin of collaboration between sake and manga culture.

"Umenoki" is a brand named after the old plum tree that became the model for "Kurenai Tennyo" in "Glass Mask". It expresses respect for the plum tree that has watched over the history of the brewery and traditional Japanese beauty. It is a sake with an elegant taste that makes you feel the nobility and grace of plum blossoms.

"Sensuke" is a brand named after the previous brewery owner who passed away without seeing the reconstruction after the brewery collapsed in the Great Hanshin-Awaji Earthquake. It is a sake with a story of emotion and hope, revived after 12 years of suspension, inheriting the thoughts and dreams of the previous generation. Using 100% Hyogo Prefecture produced Yamada Nishiki, it is characterized by a deep taste that maximizes the umami of rice with Tamba style brewing techniques. It is a brand that resonates with the heart, with passion for the reconstruction of the brewery and condolences to the late previous generation contained in every drop.

"Izumi Masamune" is a traditional brand continuing from before the earthquake, and is a sake inheriting the history and tradition of the brewery. Revived after interruption due to the earthquake, it plays a role in conveying the historical identity of the brewery owner to the present day.

"Kosen" means "Amber Spring," and is a premium brand with a balanced aroma and umami. With a sake quality shining like amber and a deep taste, it is a sake showing the high level of Izumi Shuzo's technology. It is a sophisticated brand that gathers the essence of the technology of the brewery that recovered from the earthquake.

"Fukuju" is a premium sake representing Kobe, internationally highly acclaimed and served at the Nobel Prize banquet. It is the representative brand of the brewery with over 250 years of tradition, characterized by handmade sake brewing using Hyogo Prefecture produced sake rice and Miyamizu, one of the 100 best waters in Japan. As its auspicious name "Fuku (Fortune) and Ju (Longevity)" suggests, it is a sake wishing for happiness and longevity, possessing dignity suitable for celebratory events and special occasions. With its refined taste and international reputation, it plays a role in transmitting the quality and culture of sake to the world.

"Ichi" is the ultimate meal sake developed through collaboration between liquor stores and the brewery with the aim of passing down "Kobe's local sake culture." It is a brand designed for the second and third glass, not the first, considering compatibility with cuisine as the top priority. It is characterized by a slightly colored appearance, sweet aroma, smooth mouthfeel followed by brown sugar-like sweetness and dryness, and complex flavors such as wood spice, biscuit, Japanese pepper (sansho), and yuzu. It has outstanding compatibility with ingredients with umami, fat, and sweetness (such as Yuan-yaki of Spanish mackerel, fried foods, sweet potato, chestnut, pumpkin, etc.), and is a sake with complex aroma and umami that enhances the meal.

"Ebisukaho" means the face of Ebisu, the god of fortune, and was cherished as an auspicious brand wishing for business prosperity and good luck. As the representative brand of Bogaki Jozo, it provided the traditional taste of Nada, but it is currently not produced.

"Kenbishi" is a brand with a history of over 500 years, the oldest in Japan, and embodies the philosophy of the family precept "Stay like a stopped clock." It continues to preserve the unchanging taste of Kenbishi by adjusting different conditions every year (rice polishing ratio, aging period, rice variety) with blending technology without being swayed by trends. It is characterized by a unique brewing method that maximizes the umami of rice through high-temperature long-term fermentation and maintains a yellowish hue and deep umami with minimal filtration. Although it is an "ordinary sake" not classified as specific designation sake, it emits a unique presence in Nada even in modern times as one of the three great famous sake of the Edo period, with a balance of dryness and umami and a soft mouthfeel.

"Kiku-Masamune" is a brand representing the traditional "Nada's masculine sake," known nationwide as a synonym for Nada's dry sake. As one of the earliest sake brands registered as a trademark in the Meiji era, it is cherished as sake that matches a wide range of dishes as dry and crisp meal sake. It is characterized by a balanced taste that makes you feel the umami of rice while being sharp and dry. With a wide lineup from popular to high-end sake, it is a brand that continues to protect Nada's traditional sake brewing.

"Hyaku Moku" is a new brand born for the first time in 130 years since "Kiku-Masamune," developed as a modern premium sake. with the concept of "the most delicious cold sake" and "sake with individuality that elevates cuisine together," it proposes new value beyond the framework of conventional meal sake. Using 100% contract-cultivated Yamada Nishiki from the Special A district Yoshikawa and brewed with Miyamizu, it is characterized by dryness balanced with umami and elegance. With a diverse lineup such as Junmai Daiginjo, Junmai Ginjo, and Alt.3, it is a brand embodying Kiku-Masamune's new challenge.

"Nihonsakari" is a representative brand whose philosophy is to provide high-quality daily sake as "evening drink sake for every day." It aims for accessible and friendly sake utilizing the three major advantages of Nada-Gogo (Yamada Nishiki, Miyamizu, Rokko Oroshi) and the techniques of Tamba Toji. It develops products that even beginners can enjoy, such as Junmai Daiginjo Namasake, which has a fruity ginjo aroma, banana-like fruitiness, and low astringency. It also works on innovative product development such as health-oriented sake with zero sugar and zero purines, continuing to convey the charm of sake to a wide range of people.

"Tokuwaka" is an auspicious brand derived from a line in a celebratory song "Tokuwakani Go-banzai." It contains the meaning of "flourishing eternally young" and expresses wishes for longevity and prosperity. Centered on brewery direct sales, it provides sake that maintains freshness and umami that only brewers can taste, such as freshly pressed unfiltered genshu and traditional "Shizukuzake" (drip sake) by bag hanging. It is a brand for connoisseurs where you can enjoy the original taste and aroma of genshu with minimal filtration.