[Munemasa Sake Brewery, Arita Town, Saga Prefecture] An article introducing the president of Kozo Yamazaki and chief brewer Ohno!

■President Yamazaki

Munemasa Sake Brewery was founded in 1985, making it a relatively new brewery.

However, it was originally a sake brewery in Hiroshima Prefecture for a long time, but it was forced to go out of business during World War II.

The company's predecessor, who moved to Saga, revived it as a shochu brewery, and five years after its founding, it began to pursue its long-cherished desire to produce sake.

Many of the brewers are relatively young, and they work hard every day to brew sake with passion.

■President Yamazaki
Arita Town is located in the western part of Saga Prefecture and is a place blessed with a rich natural environment, including beautiful countryside that has been selected as one of Japan's top 100 rice terraces and the Kurokami Mountain Range.

There are few earthquakes and floods, and the temperature difference between morning and evening makes it suitable for growing sake rice, so sake production is popular. In particular, the locally produced Yamada Nishiki has large grains that are easy to shave, making it possible to make good quality sake.

The water quality is super soft, with a soft and mellow taste. Suitable for rich and plump sake.

*Super soft water = about 20

■Mr. Ohno

When I graduated from high school, I was offered a job at a company in my hometown of Imari, but I couldn't shake my passion for manufacturing, so I turned it down and joined Munemasa Sake Brewery.

I made shochu for 14 years after joining the company, but I was not satisfied with the mechanized production method and started to want to get involved in handcrafted sake brewing.

However, the reality was harsh, and due to staffing issues at the site, I was not immediately transferred. A few years later, his wish finally came true, and he trained under a former brewer for two years with the aim of training his successor in sake brewing, and has been on his own for four years now.

■Mr. Ohno
This is a Junmai Daiginjo brewed during the second year of sake brewing.
This was the first time I had ever been allowed to make something on my own, and it was a project that carried a great deal of responsibility, as it was delivered on New Year's Day.

Since it marks the beginning of the year, failure is not an option. Meanwhile, I also uploaded a blog every day for 50 days. I barely made it in time, but I vividly remember the pressure, tension, and sense of accomplishment I felt at that time.

■Mr. Ohno

I want to achieve results because this is the path I chose.

Make yourself, your family, your colleagues, and your company happy first.

We also want to make all the businesses involved, including the customers who drink Munemasa Sake Brewery's alcohol and the producers who make the rice, happy.

To achieve this, we believe that we must create ``alcohol that sells and tastes good'' that everyone can enjoy.
Sake still has a lot of potential, so I want to dig deeper into it.

■President Yamazaki

We would like to become a company that produces unique Japanese sake that everyone can recognize as ``rich sake, sweet sake, delicious sake, and easy-to-drink sake = Munemasa Sake Brewery.''