59jo (Gokujo)

"59jo" (Gokujo) is a unit formed by five sake brewery successors in Nagano Prefecture born in 1984 (Showa 59).
The members consist of successors from five breweries: Hokko Masamune (Kadoguchi Shuzoten), Kutsukake Shuzo, Wakamidori, Kurosawa Shuzo, and Igaya Shuzojo. Their concept is "to create something only our generation can make," aiming to pass on the traditional sake brewing culture to the next generation.
They release an original sake "59jo-shu" with unified standards under a different theme every year, working on technical exchange and regional promotion across brewery boundaries.
With Junmai Ginjo having a rice polishing ratio of 59% as the basic standard, they use different sake rice from Nagano Prefecture each year (Miyama Nishiki, Hitogokochi, Shirakaba Nishiki, Kinmon Nishiki, etc.) to express the diversity of Nagano's rice and techniques.