Sakeology

For many small sake breweries in Japan, the brewing season has come to an end. The “kurabito”, or brewery workers, have returned home and the breweries are quiet and empty. However, outside in the fields that surround the breweries, it’s quite a different story.

At the core of it all, quite literally, is the rice (sakamai). Many breweries opt for the house of Yamada Nishiki from Hyogo, well known for being the "King of Sake Rice."

Rika Asano is the head of her family's 120 year old brewery in Shimane, the spiritual home of Sake. As the first female master brewer in her family and one of a handful across Japan, here is her story.

As with most aspects of the production process, everything is done by hand - even down to the individual placement of the labels on the bottle, each painstakingly glued and positioned by a careful eye.

#TojiDiaries - Hideki Horikoshi, current Master Brewer of the 426 year-old award-winning Ryujin Brewery in Gunma introduces one of our best-selling sakes - their Oze no Yukidoke Junmai Daiginjo.

Ryujin has been brewing sake for 426 years in Gunma prefecture, winning countless awards and three consecutive International Wine Competition Gold Medals. This is their story.

Join us on a 360 VR Tour of Toshimaya, Tokyo's oldest sake store.

Meet Rika Asano. Mother, Wife, Daughter, Master Brewer, Renaissance Woman.