Sachihime Sake Brewery is located in Kashima City, Saga Prefecture, where sake production is popular, and is the sacred sake brewer of Yutoku Inari Shrine, one of Japan's three major Inari shrines.
It is a sake brewery with a proven taste and track record, having won awards at sake competitions sponsored by IWC, U.S.A., and liquor stores in Tokyo. Also, as a tourist sake brewery, Yukihime Sake Brewery welcomes many tourists from Japan and abroad, so you can not only tour the brewery but also enjoy tastings and the brewery's original local sake soft serve ice cream.
This time, we would like to introduce Hirofumi Minematsu, the head brewer of the Kashima Sake Brewery Tourism Promotion Council, who is also passionate about local activities!
Yukihime Sake Brewery 5th generation brewer
Hirofumi Minematsu Mr.
The sake brewer is Hirofumi, the eldest son of company president Yukihiro Minematsu. After graduating from the brewing department at Tokyo University of Agriculture, he trained at the Kumamoto Prefectural Sake Brewing Research Institute, and is now the chief brewer at Yukihime Sake Brewery.
Table of contents
- About Yukihime Sake Brewery
- Representative brand “Sachihime”
- About Kashima City
- How I got involved in sake brewing
- The most difficult thing about sake brewing and sake brewery management
- What made me happiest about sake brewing and sake brewery management?
- Thoughts and future vision behind sake brewing
- Finally
About Yukihime Sake Brewery
The Minematsu family originally farmed red shellfish, but because of the unstable factors such as the amount of catches that were affected by the weather, it is said that they started brewing sake, which was consistently popular at the time.
Therefore, it is a relatively new sake brewery, having been founded in 1934, and since the brewery was first run by a female until the third generation, the owner was the son-in-law.
My father was born as the long-awaited successor, and now my younger brother and I are working in the brewery, which is a first in the history of Sachihime (lol).
Perhaps that's why there are so many initiatives aimed at ``firsts''.
In 1988, as the first tourist sake brewery in Kashima, we set up facilities so that the general public could tour the sake brewery, and developed our local sake soft-serve ice cream so that families with children and drivers could enjoy it.This was the first sake brewery in Kyushu to be featured in the national media, and it is still popular today.
The handwriting in the warehouse was written by his mother. (lol)
It's less common these days, but in the past, there were many people who would open things in sake breweries without permission, so I think they wrote this as a pun.
Even if you just call it Japanese sake, there are a wide variety of flavors.
Before the coronavirus outbreak, we were always free to try and compare over 10 types of alcohol.
Currently, tastings are only available by specifying the brand, but when you come to the brewery, please take a close look at the differences in taste.
For those who don't drink alcohol, there are other options besides local sake soft serve ice cream. You can enjoy the light, natural sweetness of amazake without any additives such as preservatives or sugars.
Representative brand “Sachihime”
The trade name and representative brand, "Sachihime," were named with the hope that the only daughter of the founder, who was from a female family, would grow up happily, as I mentioned earlier.
Among the breweries in Saga Prefecture, which is said to produce a lot of sweet sake, our brewery aims to produce ``sake with a sharp taste.'' As an introductory guide to Japanese sake, we aim to create sake that is easy to drink and that can also be chosen as an accompaniment to a meal.
I think the sake brewing method is similar to the one in Tohoku.
About Kashima City
https://saga-kashima-kankou.com/feature/20888
Saga Prefecture has been a thriving rice producer since ancient times, and the underground water (soft water) provided by its rich nature is suitable for producing high-quality sake, so it is said that at its peak in the Meiji era, there were as many as 700 breweries in the prefecture.
The Kashima/Ureshino area, which flourished as a post town, is no exception, and at its peak there were around 30 breweries, making it famous as a thriving area for sake brewing. In fact, the density of sake brewing (the number of sake breweries relative to the area) is one of the highest in the country.
Currently, six sake breweries from five companies are brewing sake in Kashima City.
Although the number has decreased, this is a small city with a population of 30,000 people, so don't you think it's understandable that it is said to be the prefecture that drinks the most sake in Kyushu?
Regarding the quality of sake, this region is known for its strong food seasonings and the taste of soy sauce, which is why the taste of sake is sweet and many of the sakes are strong.
https://saga-kashima-kankou.com/event/8245
In Kashima City, where sake is produced, there is a “Kashima Sake Brewery Tourism“There is.
This is a simultaneous brewery opening event for 6 breweries in Kashima City and 3 breweries in neighboring Ureshino City, and is held every year on the Saturday and Sunday at the end of March, and in 2019 it attracted approximately 100,000 visitors over two days.
In recognition of our efforts, we received the 2019 Hometown Development Award from the Ministry of Internal Affairs and Communications, which is given to organizations and individuals who have contributed to the creation of vibrant communities.
I happened to be the chairman of the event, so I received the award as a representative, but the event was canceled in 2020 and 2021 due to the coronavirus, so we are currently looking for a new format to hold it next year with the coronavirus.
https://www.tabirai.net/sightseeing/tatsujin/0000571.aspx
Kashima City is also called "Chinzai Nikko" and is one of the three major Inari shrines in Japan.Yutoku Inari Shrine” is famous.
We make the sacred sake and offer it as an offering.
Sake is called "national sake," but to begin with, national sake refers to local sake produced in a particular region. Thankfully, Sachihime has taken root in the local community, has been offered to the gods, and has been widely loved by people.
We will never forget to be grateful for the blessings we have received from God and everyone, and we hope to deliver joy and inspirational benefits through this national sake.
By the way, the blessings of "Yutoku-san" are wide-ranging, including prosperous business, prosperous family fortune, traffic safety, and matchmaking, so please be sure to visit the shrine.
How I got involved in sake brewing
It all started when my father, who foresaw that the era of the owner's chief brewer would come, encouraged people to learn how to make sake.
After that, I trained at the Kumamoto Prefectural Sake Brewing Research Institute Co., Ltd. for three years (winter only) and returned to my parents' home.
My first real experience as a working adult was working at my parents' home.
The most difficult thing about sake brewing and sake brewery management
Making something that you don't know whether it will sell or not...
This requires upfront investment (equipment, purchase of rice).
It's a very difficult place to build a brand.
What made me happiest about sake brewing and sake brewery management?
After all, I would be happy if the sake I made was delicious.
Also, I was able to go abroad (lol)
It was a great experience for us to travel around Europe together for about two weeks, including market research.
Thoughts and future vision behind sake brewing
Now, I would like many people to recognize "Sachihime" and consider it as one of their options.
Please drink Yukihime and have a blissful time!
Finally
From 19:00 on Saturday, October 30th, we will be holding a blind tasting event at home with Mr. Minematsu! Please feel free to join us.
2 comments
大大大好き
ジェトロの利用は？
https://www.jetro.go.jp/case_study/2021/12.html