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Gold signboard of Mitsutake Brewery
A variety of products waiting to be shipped.
A tank used to make shamo, the base of sake, from steamed rice, unground rice, water, and yeast.
Labeling of sweet potato shochu
Label work workshop
In this tank, alcoholic fermentation proceeds to make sake.
Entrance to Mitsutake Brewery Headquarters
The heavy top cover of the malt tank.
Entrance to the brewery where sake "Kinba" is brewed.
10,300 liter mash tank
comment
In recent years, we have been focusing on the so-called "mellow umikuchi," a type of sake with a fruity aroma and sweetness that is easy to drink, and we are proud of our sake that is perfect for everyday drinking. I am also the president of the town development corporation, and we are working to increase the number of lodging facilities and Japanese restaurants. I would like to make the most of the traditional facilities, including the Minematsugura (https://www.hizennya.com/kanko/reservation.html) sake brewery, and to make the whole town more enjoyable, as it is designated as a Hizen Hamashuku: Important Traditional Building Preservation Area. I hope you will enjoy the whole town more.
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Description
This is a sake brewery with a very long history that goes back to its founding in 1688. It is located in a Preservation District for Groups of Traditional Buildings, and the main building, built in 1881, is also recognized as a Saga Prefecture Heritage Site. During the Edo Period (1603-1867), it was a “Konya” (a factory that used indigo to dyed cloth blue), but in 1868 it made a foray into the sake brewing industry. These days, the brewery focuses so much effort on the education of "Toji" (master brewers) that it has earned the nickname "Mitsutake School" within Saga Prefecture because of all the Toji it has produced. The brewery has spent roughly the past 40 years focusing on ginjo sake and has won numerous honors at sake award competitions. In recent years, it has also won high acclaim in various international competitions, including a gold medal at the International Wine Challenge (IWC), one of the largest alcohol festivals in the world. Around 20 years ago, the brewery began producing shochu, which is a distilled spirit with a higher alcohol content, and in 2020, production of craft gin began. Mitsutake is a company that is not afraid to face challenges head-on, developing products suited to the times while keeping tradition alive.
Minematsu Sake Brewery, which is located in the Preservation District for Groups of Traditional Buildings, was integrated into Mitsutake Sake Brewery in 2019 and now operates Hizenya Sake Brewery, which is open to tourists. It was founded in 1916.
Taste-testing of the more than 40 different kinds of alcoholic beverages made by Mitsutake, including not only Japanese sake but also authentic shochu, fruit wine, and potato shochu, is available for free here. Visitors can experience a simulation of "Kaiire", the process that involves stirring the ingredients for sake brewing, and take a commemorative photo with the cauldron that was used for making steamed rice in the past.
Another highlight is the “Showa Room”. This room houses a collection of electrical appliances, magazines, dolls, and other items from Japan's period of rapid economic growth (primarily from 1954 to 1973).
These items were stored unused in a sake brewery, but the decision was made to display them because they could not bear to just throw them away, and the room became a popular photo spot. These days, people who have seen the room will sometimes send in their own items from that era.
Depending on the age of the visitor, this room can feel both nostalgic and unusual, so people of all ages are welcome to stop by.
Cultural property information
【Opening hours】
Mitsutake Brewery: Closed to the public. The lodging facilities in the building are temporarily closed due to the Corona disaster.
【Closing day】
Jan. 1 - Jan. 3
【Fee】
None
Back to cultural properties in Kashima City, Saga Prefecture
