August 2005

Martin St-Pierre

Most people in Japan will admit that Wakayama is not really on the radar screen when it comes to nihonshu, better known as sake in English. In fact, people from Wakayama will often say that nihonshu from Wakayama tends to be rather futsu, or average. At this I take offense. There are quality brews from all parts of Japan and Wakayama is no exception. Perhaps the fact that Wakayama isn’t such a famous place, in term of breweries and nihonshu as a whole, helps breweries and master brewers focus on what’s really important; making good stuff simply with quality rice, excellent water and a lot of know-how.
At the beginning of the Meiji Restoration, the amount of nihonshu and breweries, known as sakagura, grew all over Japan. With more opportunity for everyone, more freedom and a wider distribution of wealth across the nation, luxuries―　most-notably culinary ones　― became part of the cultural landscape and alcohol followed suit. Since nihonshu had few competitors, apart from distilled alcoholic beverages called shochu, and that it was more closely related to rice, an important staple of Japanese cuisine, it retained that quintessential Japanese identity, and thus flourished. At one point during the Showa period, there was over five times the number of sakagura currently holding a brewing license in Wakayama Prefecture. Over 40 years ago, the now-famous ginjo-boom made drinking nihonshu once-again fashionable and the quality of brewing increased as did the demand for forms of nihonshu more pure than the last. This frothy supply and demand nihonshu bubble mirrored the very rise and downfall of Japan’s economic bubble.

For the last 20 years or so, many smaller and more rural sakaguras in Wakayama, indeed across Japan, have shut down. The very character of local brews, often associated to German, Dutch,Belgian and British beers, French wines and scotches in Scotland has been slowly decaying before our very eyes. It is a sad fact that sake breweries in Japan and their local character, so cherished in other parts of the world, are unknown to most members of the international community. Even nowadays, many Japanese people are more interested with the current shochu-boom fad than the culturally rich world of nihonshu and sakaguras.
All is not lost though. The closing of many sakaguras throughout Japan has forced serious master brewers to outdo themselves year
after year, thus raising the quality of nihonshu to an unparalleled perfection.
A few sakaguras in Wakayama have successfully survived this process of natural selection and are doing quite well, in Wakayama and outside its borders.
Here are a few names from Wakayama city that should be discovered.
Sekai Itto has had a brewing legacy for quite some time now. Still owned and operated by the Minakata family, it has a large facility near the Nankai Shieki station and the Wakayama Shiminkaikan. Bombed at the end of WWII, as was its neighbor Tamanohikari who now operates out of Fushimi in Kyoto, it soon rebuilt and started making nihonshu the very next year. Sekai Itto's master brewer is Kenji Inoue, a charming, quiet and sensitive artiste of the nihonshu-brewing world. He and his team have recently changed the strain of yeast for their top-quality brew. The result is a far more fragrant ginjo and daiginjo, fruity and lively in the nose, while still smooth and long on the throat. Sekai Itto's distribution system in Wakayama city is impressive and most Izakaya’s serve at least one of their numerous nihonshus. Sekai Itto does not give tours to the general public so visiting your local drinking establishment would be best to experience their Ichi, Minakata Kumagusu brands, among many others.
Another important brewery is in Kuroe, Kainan city. Kuroushi is owned and operated by the Naté family and their main brands are Kuroushi and Hitotsukami. Mr. Naté is a friendly self-effacing man who loves to welcome people into his world of traditional sake making. At Kuroushi, one can taste and feel the original atmosphere of a sakagura. While most of the brewing machinery has been modernized, the original large post and beam buildings remain with all the antique tools for making nihonshu. A visit to Kuroushi is like stepping back in time. Mr. Naté’s product has been well-received across Japan as a superior brew and John Gauntner, commonly referred to as “The Saké Guy” and nihonshu expert said this of Kuroushi’s Junmaishu: “This sake, over the past three of four years, has risen to immense popularity, basically out of nowhere. “…It has a light, layered, and complex flavor, blessed with very light fruit essences and a rice-flavored foundation. Clean and complex in structure – very good indeed.” The Saké Companion, Running Press, 2000, P.121.
It has been exported to the United States and few countries in Europe. Something to be very proud of when one thinks that there are hundreds of top-quality nihonshus to choose from.
Other local Wakayama City and the surrounding area breweries include, Nakano Breweries, or Chokyu, who like to do a lot of bioengineering work with their brews. Sounds scary but there is no need to worry. The result is often incredibly surprising, especially with their flavored liqueurs and slightly aged nihonshu products, something most sakaguras stay away from.
There is also Rashoumon, a brewery located between the JR Wakayama Station and the Big Ai. It has won several prizes at major competitions in Europe and their nihonshu is quite popular with some locals. Their gift-box packaging is especially luxurious and some of their higher-grade sakes can be quite expensive. You live only once though.
Saika is also a brand to get your hands on, if you can find it. The Saika family in Wakayama city is well-known for its vinegar but it does produce a small quantity of top-quality nihonshu. Most of it gets sold in the Tokyo area, and it seems somewhat strange to me that such a historically significant name and family in the Wakayama city area would make their high-grade nihonshu so difficult to find here in town. The power of marketing will never cease to amaze us I guess. One store that sells their ginjo, is located on the corner of Kokutaidoro and Teramachidori streets. The owner’s basement cellar is stocked with an impressive selection of nihonshus from most prefectures.
Of all the 26 currently operating sakaguras in Wakayama Prefecture, most are small and produce brews for their immediate local clientele. The list above, while not exhaustive, has one common denominator other than their geographic proximity; the fact that they all, except Kuroushi and Chokyo in Kainan, use water from the very same well in downtown Wakayama city. The well is the same that was initially used by the Tokugawa Shogunate at the beginning of the Edo period. Just one block west of the castle grounds and almost under an existing church, this water is the softest in all of the Kinokawa river basin and is available only to breweries.
It seems fitting that nihonshu is closely associated to a higher form of pure water. That is why I like to call it an “eau-de-vie”. That’s French for “water of life”. So, discover our local brews and kampai to all!

Posted on August 2005 in the following categories: Food and Dining