Daiichi Shuzo is the oldest sake brewery in Tochigi Prefecture, founded in 1673. Brewing sake in Sano since the era of the Tokugawa Shogunate, it has a prestigious history of sending its sake to Edo (modern-day Tokyo) via the Watarase River.
A defining characteristic of the brewery is the spirit of "Nojo Ikkan"—integrated agriculture and brewing—where employees are involved in both growing rice and brewing sake. They use high-quality sake rice cultivated in their own paddies and pure groundwater from the same source as the Izuruhara Benten-ike pond (one of Japan's 100 remarkable waters), combining them with master craftsmanship.
Their flagship brand, "Kaika," was named after the "Bunmei Kaika" (Civilization and Enlightenment) of the Meiji era, with the wish to "bloom flowers of joy in people's lives." Known for its fruity aroma and refined flavor that highlights the rice's natural umami, Kaika has won numerous domestic and international awards, earning global recognition as a premier sake representative of Tochigi.