We are a brewery operating in the easternmost district of Kochi prefecture, which was founded in 1873. Our representative brand “Bijofu”, which means “a beautiful and respectable man”, reminds us of Sakamoto Ryoma, the great patriot of Tosa. It tastes refined, refreshing, well-focused and acid. The water used in brewing Bijofu is the subsoil water of the Nahari River, whose source is in the Jinkichi forest in the Yanase district, which is famous for its Yanase cedar, the tree of Kochi Prefecture. The route leading to the brewery runs through a rich natural environment such as beautiful forests and refreshing valleys where pure water splashes. It is human beings of the brewery who engage in turning rice into sake, but without the grace of heaven and earth there is no way to start work on sake brewing. We wish to provide the local people with delicious sake produced by the natural blessings of this land alone. Wishing for that, we carefully produce not only Ginjo sake, but also sake of any grade, shochu, and even liqueurs of local citrus. Beautiful, rich and smooth sake. The only goal of Bijofu’s brewery is “the production of good sake”.

Our brewery is located in Yasuda-Cho, 50 km east of Kochi City, one hour by car. It was founded by Kyukichiro Minami, the twelfth owner of Yamagata-ya, in 1869. Fortunately, we are blessed with nature, facing the magnificent Pacific Ocean in the south and surrounded by the Yanase forest in the north, which is known as one of Japan’s three greatest forests. On the side of the brewery flows the clear stream of the Yasuda River, which provides us with good quality water indispensable for sake brewing. We have a well from which clean water like crystal springs inexhaustibly, so our first product was named “Tamanoi (Well of Gem)”. In 1998, we launched a new brand “Minami” with the desire to brew sake that prides itself on the name of the family. All the sake of either kind is brewed carefully with Hako-Koji. They are dry, yet rich in flavor and smooth, and each sip of them delights the connoisseurs. We will keep this taste carefully in the future.

Over a thousand years ago, when his mission as Governor of Tosa (Kochi) was complete, Kino Tsurayuki was on the way home to Kyoto, watching the blue sea and a group of cranes dancing in the pine forest, and composed a poem with plenty of love for Tosa. “Those birds that live in the branches of the pine trees seem to think of the trees as friends of a thousand years.” The brand “Tosatsuru” (Cranes of Tosa) was named after the crane described in this poem, which is considered as a lucky figure. The majestic natural beauty of Tosa that has been present since long ago. People of Tosa who love sake and dreams. The climate of Tosa has survived many thousands of years and are breathing deeply. “Tosatsuru”, the biggest brewery in Shikoku, is situated in Yasuda-Cho, Aki County in eastern Kochi Prefecture, where Muroto cape can be seen, and right there flows the clear stream of the Yasuda River, where you can see sweetfish jumping. The abundant good-quality water pumped up from the well of Tosatsuru is classified as mild hard water, which is said to be the best. The appropriate amount of minerals contained in the water promotes healthy and vigorous fermentation. Excellent water, carefully selected rice, home-grown yeasts, traditional techniques to make dry sake and our passion for sake brewing continue to brew “Tosatsuru”. Our policy, “Quality First” and “Quality Sake You can Take Pride in to the Market”, has been handed down since its founding and we have participated in the National Sake Contests (sponsored by the Alcoholic Beverages Research Institute) in pursuit of quality and won as many Gold Medals as any other sake brewer nationwide.

Kikusui has been praised and loved by many people since long ago. They portrayed this sake as “You cannot find a man who is ignorant of Kikusui, the taste of Tosa.” Kikusui’s brewery, abundant in green and sunshine, is located in Tosa’s Geiyo (Aki-shi), which commands the fine view of Muroto Cape, Katsura Beach and Ashizuri Cape, facing the Pacific Ocean where the Kuroshio Current flows, and with the Shikoku Mountains rising behind. Tosa is a historical land where many great men have been produced and patriot samurais would get in and out. Starting from the Shikoku mountain range, the water vein called “sacred water” flows deep underground and supports the brewing of Kikusui. Chrysanthemums have been said for a long time “to prolong the life span”. This sake was named Kikusui after a legend that a person drank chrysanthemums’ dew and lived to be over 700 years old. Since this sake has a pure and rich flavor unique to the sake of Tosa, many people in and outside the prefecture have enjoyed drinking it since the Edo period. In recent years, in addition to sake and shochu, we have been developing liqueur for women. We aim to produce unique sake with the sensibility peculiar to female brewers.

The brewery was founded in 1903. The clear water from the “Akano River” system, where sweetfish jump, is soft, so it is suited for brewing soft sake. It is produced in a small quantity with an annual production of 300 Koku. Our brewing building was built in the Edo period, which is older than the foundation of our brewery, is small but has its presence. Our spirit is “to spare no time nor effort to spend on the production of sake.” Despite being in Tosa, where people prefer dry sake, our sake is soft, round, and has gentleness that makes people warm. We are aiming for sake with “gentleness” that nourishes the heart rather than glamorous sake. We want to spread from this area the sake which will be beside you whenever you want to spend time relaxing, indulge in thought alone or have a good time with your friends.

Founded in 1903. We have been engaged in brewing for over 100 years in a village of eastern Kochi prefecture, which is rich in nature and commands the fine view of the Pacific Ocean in the south. Our brands include “TosaShiragiku”, which has been produced since the beginnning, named after the founder Kikutaro Sento’s “Kiku (chrysanthemum)”, “TosaShinkai”, the world’s first ginjyo sake brewed with Muroto ocean deep layer water, and “Mishio” released in 2014. Besides sake enthusiasts, we are trying to make people who do not drink sake and young people appreciate the taste of sake more. Based on the philosophy of “handmade brewing” that does not spare time nor effort, we carefully do most of the work by hand, including “rice washing” and “koji making”. Under the concept of “fresh & fruity”, we pursue “relaxing sake easy to drink”. We use a variety of rice including “Gin-no-Yume” developed in Kochi prefecture and other diverse rices including Yamada Nishiki, Hattannishiki, Omachi, Shizukuhime, which make a lineup of sake that you can enjoy every season. At “SAKE COMPETITION 2017” to judge the best sake in the world, we won the first prize in the junmai ginjyo division. We have won a number of awards at other competitions, too. In addition, we manufacture rice shochu, chestnut shochu and liqueur, with the flavor of ingredients skillfully extracted.

We have two brands, “Toyonome” and “TosaKinzo”. Our brewery is located in Akaoka, about 20 kilometers east of Kochi City. Although Akaoka is small, it has festivals known nationwide, namely the Dorome Festival and the Ekin Festival, and it is a very unique town that has put resources into sightseeing and revitalization of the community. We have operated in this place for over 130 years and have shared every step with Akaoka. We have two traditional sake. One is called the sake of the third generation, which is a light and dry sake poured into a large cup at the Dorome festival. The other is called the sake of the fourth generation, which is an unrefined sake produced brewed in the summer with early-crop rice. We have developed a sake that is sure to become the mainstay product of the future, which has made a step forward beyond the sake which makes us feel the tradition of Tosa, and named it the sake of the fifth generation. The fifth owner, who has inherited the last Tosa master brewer’s skill, is now producing the sake which will make you experience Tosa under the keywords of ①ingredients of Kochi, ② delicately handmade, ③ uniqueness and ④ refinement, with all his heart. Sake has walked together with the food, climate and people of the land, and has made the attractive cultures of local areas. We believe that sake should not be a boom but the essential attraction of Japan. With that belief in mind, we will be deeply rooted in Kochi and continue to brew a sake full of charm of Kochi, namely the “local sake that makes you experience Tosa”.

Established in 1898. Currently the fifth generation owner, who is also a master brewer, brews Ginjo sake. In order to thoroughly manage the mash, one lot of BunkaJin is manufactured with a small amount of ingredients of 1000 kg or less. After squeezing the mash in a traditional vessel (sakafune), the sake is heated only once, cooled rapidly and kept at ice temperature in freezer, so you can enjoy the taste of freshly squeezed sake. We aim to brew fresh and refreshing sake that delights you every time you drink it under the motto, “Take time and effort until you squeeze it and add nothing thereafter.”

Tosayamada-Cho, our hometown, is located 18 km northeast of Kochi city, at the northern end of Kacho Plain, with the Monobe River flowing in it. This town, adjacent to Kochi Airport, has ruins of the Yayoi period, Ryuga Do Cave, and the Hokigamine Forest Park, etc. with the beautiful skies and tons of green hills. Tosa Clan’s governor Kenzan Nonaka (1615 – 1663), who is famous for the important remains in Tosa’s industrial and cultural history, built a weir in the Monobe River, developed new rice fields and had wells dug along the road on the plain of Sakaino to create a new town. This is called KogiTsurui, out of which clear water was gushing and so many people migrated there, which led to the foundation of today’s Tosayamada-Cho. Shokichi Matsuo, the sixth descendant of Shobei, who moved to this place at that time, began brewing in 1873 (Meiji 6), and since then we have been operating at the same place. The current owner, who is the seventh generation, aims for the production of sake drunk mostly in Tosa, so few of the products are shipped outside the prefecture. The sake sincerely brewed with severe quality control using pure water from the underwater flow of the Monobe river, known as Tosa Yamada’s “MatsuOkina”, “DoyoMasamune” and “Yamada Taiko”, have received a constant patronage of our sake connoisseurs.

We have been striving for high quality sake brewing in abundant water and fresh air for 140 years since the foundation in 1877 in the Tosa Ryohoku district, northern part of Kochi Prefecture. Tosa-cho, our hometown, is located in the Shikoku Mountain Range and in the quiet natural surroundings of Sameura Lakeside, a source of the Yoshinogawa River, the aqueduct of Shikoku. The rice paddies in the mountains, where the temperature difference between day and night is quite large, produce good quality rice. Snow may cover this area during winter, when sake making is under way. Even though the production amount is small because it is handmade, utilizing nature’s blessings, we will continue to make good sake that will delight people.

Tosa’s sake “Suigei (drunken whale)” was named after “Geikaisuiko” (the whale is drunk in the sea), “the other name of Toyonobu Yamanouchi, lord of Tosa of the late Edo period, famous for the poem that reads, “I drank in the south of the bridge yesterday and today I am drunk in the north of the bridge. I have sake, so I should drink it. I should get drunk.” “Suigei” is brewed in Nagahama, Kochi City, which is adjacent to the scenic “Katsurahama”. Founded in the Meiji era, we have selected different rice for each product and reflected the characteristics of each rice in the taste. We are brewing little by little using superior technology and reliable facilities, having broken away from the stereotype that cold weather is indispensable in producing good sake, and are working on sake brewing based on our beliefs. We approach Tosa’s sake, which is characterized by its lightness and dryness, with a new technology and spirit, to bring you Tosa’s “Suigei”, which tastes full-bodied and well-focused and goes down your throats smoothly. Please drink it like the big whale, swimming in the Pacific leisurely.

In 1943, the war situation gradually became severe, and due to the corporate development law applied to each industry, half of the breweries had to change their business or were abandoned, and 28 breweries in Kochi City, Nagaoka County, Agawa County and Tosa County were integrated. In 1944, Kochi Sake Brewery Co., Ltd. was established. At this time, “Sake Hana-no-Tomo (Friend of flower)” was born as a joint brand. (Part of it was separated afterwards. Currently, the breweries that used to have such brands as Wakatake / Tosaizumi / OguroMasamune / Takiarashi / Niyodogawa / ChiyoYoshinogawa / Suginoizumi / Kikuwakaba / Tamayanagi / Yachiyomori / Hazakura / Minenotsuru / Iwanoi / Hinode / Aratama / Sennari / Kamogawa / Keisen / Yononaka keep the integration. ) Initially, they were operating in Kutanda, Kochi City. Because it was the center of Kochi city, the brewery was obliged to relocate because the iron and salt content became to be detected in the groundwater as the land was populated. In the fall of 1974, it moved to Maezato, Kochi City. However, the modernization rapidly proceeded there too, and the water quality again worsened. In the winter of 1990, we moved to Kano, Ino-Machi, for good quality water. We at last met the good water we have been seeking for years here. According to “Tosa Fudoki”, the Niyodo River was once called the Miwa River, a large river with its source in Iyo, and because its water was pure, it was used to make sake dedicated to the Great God. Miwa also had a meaning of God, so the sake dedicated to God was called Miwa in the ancient language. It is said that Great God refers to Sugimoto Shrine located downstream of the Niyodo River. Today, the Miwa River is called the Niyodo River, and is still a sacred river where clear water still flows. That groundwater was just like an angel. Just because the water is good, good sake can be brewed. We, who have relocated so many times, sincerely wish everyone to take care of water.

Our brewery, founded in 1897, is located in Tosa City, an industrial city blessed with sunlight and water, in the central part of Kochi prefecture, with the Pacific Ocean, where the Kuroshio flows, facing in the south, and the Shikoku Mountains rising in the north. Since the era of the clansmen government, we have used the spring water that never ran out in any drought, so our sake was named “Kamesen”, the fountain of ten thousand years. From that time on, with quality first in mind, we have been pleased and encouraged with favorable evaluations and have made efforts. This sake of 100% home-brewing is light and dry, goes smoothly down your throats. From now on, we will continue to make further efforts in sake brewing which uses only rice of Kochi, water of Kochi, yeast of Kochi, which will be highly appreciated by connoisseurs.

In 1603, the chief retainer, Shigeyoshi Fukao, Governor of Izumi, who came into Tosa following Kazutoyo Yamanouchi, was ordered to take charge of Sagawa’s reign. The “official brewer” that followed Shigeyoshi Fukao at that time was the predecessor of Tsukasabotan Brewery. In its long history, the brewery is said to have a deep relationship with Sakamoto Ryoma, Tosa’s hero, and is also known as “Ryoma’s most intimate brewer”. Traditional brewing technology was inherited to Sagawa, and in 1918 the brewers there gathered to set up a corporation. Earl of Mitsuaki Tanaka (captain of the Rikuen-Tai after Ryoma Sakamoto and Shintaro Nakaoka died), who was a patriot from Sagawa and was a Minister of the Meiji government, drank this sake and sent letters of encouragement saying, “This sake has outstanding richness and will be the king of sake in the future.” and named the sake “Tsukasabotan”. It means “Peony is the king of a hundred flowers, but you should further become the commander of the peonies.” Since then, this sake has been drunk by the two Prime Ministers from Kochi Prefecture, Yusuke Hamaguchi and Shigeru Yoshida and many other great people, and by Sake fans in Japan and in foreign countries. However, without worrying about such fame, we have provided local farmers with farming instructions to secure high-quality rice produced in Kochi prefecture or built “Heiseigura (Heisei brewery)” to combine traditional techniques and modern brewery facilities. We also continue to brush up the quality little by little every year by adding freezing storage facilities that can keep minus 5 ℃ or less. And we take advantage of the purity of the spring water (soft water) of the Niyodo River System called “the most clear stream in Japan” or “the clear stream of miracle”, while brewing the sake that will boost the taste of the foods from the bottom to enrich the lives of the drinkers.

In Kure, Tosa-Machi, Kochi Prefecture, known as “the town of single-rod fishing in Tosa”, Nishioka Brewery was founded by Jinsuke Nishioka Izutsuya in the middle of the Edo period, 1781. Since then, we have handed down the tradition of the oldest brewery in Kochi prefecture to this day. Sake “Yukiyanagi” (Willow in the snow) is a brand that has continued since the foundation, named after the proverb, “the branches of the willow endure the weight of the snow”, which is made with the old-fashioned method for connoisseurs. Sake “Junpei” is made from rice and organic rice cultivated specially for us in the adjacent village of Onomi, which has the source of the Shimanto River, and brewed with the pure water sold nationwide under the name of “Shimanto Water Trip”. We will carefully keep our tradition and will continue to be careful and hearty in brewing from now on.

Since our establishment in 1896, we have been engaged in the making of sake for the four generations at Kubokawa district, Shimanto-Machi, located upstream of the Shimanto River, which is the optimum clean stream for sake brewing. The Kubokawa District is located in a basin at 210 meters above sea level, so it is cold in winter, suitable for sake brewing, and around the brewery there are rice fields spreading, where the famous Niita rice is harvested. Sake Momotaro is brewed in this beautiful place. Under the motto of quality consciousness, we will continue our efforts to develop our skills and improve the facilities.

“Do not be proud of the title, do not decorate, care about honesty and brew local sake making the most of nature” In Meiji 26, over one hundred years had passed since the brewery was founded in the green mountains of the Shimanto River Basin. Our company name Mutemuka (renamed from “Chiyonobori” in 1986) derived from our attitude of sake making since the establishment and has firmly kept native and non-additive brewing which has made use of local resources. The brewing of local sake peculiar to the Shimanto River basin has been realized by the clean water that springs out of the mountains of Shimanto and carefully selected local ingredients such as high-quality rice and pesticide-free rice harvested at the fertile ground of Shimanto. We have a rich lineup of unheated and heated sake including our junmai genshu “Mutemuka” made from 100% pesticide-free rice and our traditional brand “Chiyonobori”, which has over 100 years of history. In addition, the amber-colored sweet ripe sake “Koremasanikoshunari” which was aged long-term (stored in 1990) in the natural beauty of the Shimanto watershed is highly appreciated because of its rare flavor, and is enjoying popularity as an aperitif or a medicinal sake from young women as well as from sake lovers.

We are the only sake maker in Nakamura City, which is called a small Kyoto, rich in fine underwater water from the Shimanto River, known as the last clear stream of Japan. We pride ourselves on having won the gold prize eight times at the National Sake Contest, and we believe that our efforts for Ginjo sake have been rewarded. Even in the standard sake brewing, we examine all the rice, aiming for the brewing of high quality sake. We will further improve our technology and quality. We sincerely look forward to your continued patronage.