Lake Suwa Nine Sake Brewery Tour 03/Kamisuwa Five Breweries
A 'kagi-no-te' (crank) is a place where the main road makes a sharp turn in a post town or castle town. It served as a strategic military point, acting as a defensive line to block invading enemy armies from advancing straight through. Since the kagi-no-te in Kamisuwa on the Koshu Kaido road is located directly below the old Takashima Castle, it may have been laid out by the Kai Takeda clan during the Sengoku period to govern Suwa. Alternatively, it is possible that it was established during the Edo period in anticipation of an invasion of Takashima Castle by land.
Within a 50-meter radius to the north and south of this kagi-no-te intersection, there are four long-established breweries, each with a passionate fan base. It varies by the day, but since there were two spots open today, I parked my car in the Honkin parking lot.
Maihime
Maihime, located the furthest north, was founded in 1894 (Meiji 27).
It seems the brand name 'Maihime' was adopted in 1912 (Taisho 1).
In 2016, it gained sudden attention after winning a gold medal in the Junmai Ginjo category at the Annual Japan Sake Awards. Since then, it has received various awards for its ginjo sake.
Although it is a brewery skilled in ginjo sake, for my tasting comparison—since I don't like sweet sake—I will have them enter their dry honjozo.
They also incorporate cute anime-style characters, which are popular. Perhaps because it was the year-end holiday, it was crowded with tourists on the five-brewery tour.
Now, for the next brewery, Reijin, it is just a few dozen meters—or should I say a few steps—away, three doors down.
Reijin
Reijin was founded long ago in 1789 (Kansei 1).
The progression goes 'kajin' (beautiful person) to 'reijin' (belle) to 'bijin' (beauty), and 'reijin' refers to a beauty of a higher rank than a 'bijin'. One of the sakes under this beautiful brand name is a junmai sake called Ginka, and I have heard it has a reputation for being crisp and refined.
While successfully getting a small bottle of Ginka, I also ended up getting my hands on the honjozo barrel sake next to it. It is no longer an amount that the two of us can finish during the New Year.
From Takaten in Okaya to Maihime, Reijin, and the next one, Yokobue, these are all brands I have yet to experience.
From in front of Reijin, you can already see the kagi-no-te intersection, as well as the Nunoya and Yokobue breweries.
Ito Sake Brewery (Yokobue)
The history of Ito Sake Brewery is short compared to other breweries, having been founded in 1958 (Showa 33).
However, it has a brilliant award history, having won gold medals in the ginjo and junmai sake categories for three consecutive years starting in 2012 at the Kanto-Shinetsu Regional Taxation Bureau Sake Awards.
Adjacent to the brewery, they operate the Ito Modern Art Museum, which primarily houses the founder's collection of Japanese paintings. It is an art museum also known for its building, which is a renovated brewery.
The name 'Yokobue' comes from a lady-in-waiting to Kenreimon-in during the Heian period. She was a master of dance who, after a tragic romance with a samurai named Saito Tokiyori who served Taira no Shigemori, passed away at the foot of Mount Koya. She was 19 years old.
The sake I chose at this brewery was their flagship Junmai Yokobue. When I left the shop, the main destination, the Nunoya brewery, was right across the Koshu Kaido road.
Nunoya (Honkin)
Honkin is a brand popular among connoisseurs.
Founded in 1756 (the 6th year of Horeki), Nunoya takes its name from the trade name Shimofuya. According to their website, there were 13 sake breweries in Kamisuwa Motomachi at the time. It seems only Miyasaka Brewing and Nunoya remain today.
The closure of sake breweries was caused by high liquor taxes to fund war efforts starting with the First Sino-Japanese and Russo-Japanese Wars, and then by the decline in the quality of sake distributed during the Pacific War, which made it difficult to pass on brewing techniques.
Nunoya also struggled to secure a master brewer and managed to keep the brewery going by the skin of its teeth. It is not just Nunoya; long-established breweries across the country have all overcome the hardships of war to be where they are today.
The 'Gokuraku Set' for 3,000 yen, which allows visitors to taste and tour the five breweries, is popular with tourists. It seems the tasting barrel at Honkin had just run dry, and there was a bottleneck of customers overflowing the shop. I was surprised by this. I usually visit on weekdays, so I had never encountered such a large crowd. Moreover, there were many young people. It has been a long time since people started saying that people were turning away from sake, but it seems the fan base for sake among all ages and genders is still deeply rooted.
I purchased my usual Junmai sake. It is the 'Karakuchi Taichi,' named after the famous master brewer from Otsuki, Fujimi, who supported the taste of Honkin after the war and won a gold medal at the Annual Japan Sake Awards. This is the real deal.
I can see Yokobue through the lattice door.
With this, I finish the 50-meter four-brewery walk.
Lolly is waiting in the parking lot, wagging her tail as if to say, 'I've been waiting for you.' I know, I saw you sleeping soundly until just now. It's a pity she has to stay behind so much today, but it's better than leaving her at home. This is something that can only be done in winter when the temperature is low and the car doesn't get hot. It's about 100 meters to Motomachi, but I'll move the car to the Masumi parking lot so as not to be a nuisance.
Miyasaka Brewing (Masumi)
This is the Motomachi intersection. Miyasaka Brewing is located right in front of you when you come down the steep prefectural road from the Kirigamine area and hit the Koshu Kaido. Those who have visited Tateishi Park, which became famous overnight thanks to an animated film, may have noticed the large cedar ball (sugidama).
Founded in 1662, it seems the Miyasaka family turned to brewing after being retainers to the Suwa clan, the direct line of which was destroyed by Takeda Shingen.
In 1943, they were selected as number one at the National Sake Appraisal, the highest honor for Ginjo sake, making their prowess known to the world.
I have already mentioned that the 'Association No. 7' yeast was discovered at this brewery in 1946.
In a sense, this place can be called the holy land for those who prefer a crisp, dry taste.
The depth of this old brewery lies in the fact that while they develop gorgeous Ginjo sake, they also have regular, affordable sake as a mainstay in their lineup. If you want to know the true power of Association No. 7, you can get a sufficient taste of it with 'Ginsen,' which can be bought at any supermarket in the Suwa region.
Furthermore, I am a huge fan of 'Masumi Gold,' which is so widespread that it is even available at convenience stores. It is blended with rice shochu and is so crisp that I sometimes think it's just spring water. It would be no exaggeration to say that Masumi Gold is the easiest sake to drink in all of Japan.
The Masumi brewery is usually crowded with tourists, so I rarely stop by because I don't like crowds, but since I came all this way, I chose a Junmai sake called Kayairo instead of Ginsen. It is the only sake among their top-tier brands that is not a Ginjo.
Across the street from the brewery is the site of the Juo-do Hall. Originally, this was the place where Yorimizu Suwa, the first lord of the Takashima Domain, displayed the severed head of a man he had executed after burning down Eimei-ji Temple. Fearing a curse, the local people built the Juo-do Hall to hold memorial services. It later gathered a following but was abolished during the Meiji Restoration. The Masumi brewery likely flourished in the Edo period, situated in front of such a popular temple.
Touring the Nine Sake Breweries of Lake Suwa 1
https://note.com/shucream_note/n/n6dbba048be08
Touring the Nine Sake Breweries of Lake Suwa 2
https://note.com/shucream_note/n/n443d3f877fd9
Reference Site
Maihime
Reijin Shuzo
Ito Sake Brewery
Nunoya Honkin Sake Brewery
Masumi