An unofficial guide to Yamaguchi Prefecture and its nihonshu
Imada Shuzo Honten is in Higashi-Hiroshima city, some 90 kilometers up the Seto Inland Coast from where I sit. It's a small brewery, producing around 300 600 (correction) koku a year, but its presence in the sake brewing industry is growing increasingly prominent. It is currently run by kuramoto/toji Imada Miho--one of the few women... Continue Reading →
From Left to Right: Chiyomusumi Goriki 50 Junmai Ginjo (Chiyomusubi Shuzo, Tottori); Gassan Junmai Ginjo (Yoshida Shuzo, Shimane); Sake Hitosuji Honjozo (Toshimori Shuzo, Okayama) ; Kamoizumi Junmai (Kamoizumi Shuzo, Hiroshima) ; Gokyo Daiginjo Saito no Shizuku (Sakai Shuzo, Yamaguchi) On Saturday, November 21 the Hiroshima Tax Bureau sponsored an online seminar to show off sake... Continue Reading →
The tax office in Hiroshima sponsors a yearly sake tasting and networking event, and this year they included 50 spaces specifically for foreign residents of Japan. The sake world is looking more and more outward, and from the top down the whole industry is focusing more on international appeal. The opening ceremony tasting demonstration. The... Continue Reading →
This is a lovely Junmai Ginjo from Imada Shuzohonten in Hiroshima. The brewery has attracted some attention because they have one of the few women Toji in Japan. Miho Imada was recently profiled in Sake Today, in fact, so one can hope that this great kura will be getting more attention in the future. And... Continue Reading →
Maboroshi, meaning "Illusion, phantom" is a junmai ginjo made with Hiroshima's Hattan Nishiki rice milled to 55%. I like that this is a local sake made with a local strain of rice, much like Saito ni Shizuku made Yamaguchi sakes. It appeals to my sense of symmetry, and I know when I go to Okayama... Continue Reading →
I picked this little beauty up at a local shop based on the label design alone. Isn't it pretty? This is a honjozo, meaning it's made with a 60% milling ratio like a Ginjo, but also includes some brewer's alcohol in the process, as opposed to a junmai. This is actually... Continue Reading →
An event report from Shunan, Yamaguchi's Achi Kochi Marche Sake fest.
This is a bottle I drank over yakitori, as is my wont, with the family at a local restaurant. Hiroshima has a very strong sake tradition, and a huge number of well respected kura. Aihara Shuzo, with their famous Ugo no Tsuki label, is certainly among the best known. This is their "special" honjozo unpasteurized,... Continue Reading →
Yamaguchi Sake 