After a difficult time, in-house brewing is back for the first time in 30 years

Sawada Sake Brewery was founded when the first head of the family, Sawada Teishirou, started brewing sake using rice harvested in the neighborhood while running a dyeing business in Goido. In 1899, the third head of the family, Sawada Teijuro, began full-scale sake brewing as a sake brewery.

After that, the fourth head of the family, Sawada Teijiro, studied brewing science and made a great contribution to improving the quality of the sake. The fifth head of the family, Sawada Teiko, created the current representative brand "Kankikou" while also being active as a vocalist, and the brewery has grown into one of Nara's leading sake breweries despite successive generations.

In the Heisei era, due to the aging of the production staff, it became difficult to continue brewing in-house for a while, and the main production process was outsourced. However, with the cooperation of other companies in the industry, in-house brewing was revived in 2020 for the first time in about 30 years. In 2023, the current owner will become the seventh generation, and as the birthplace of Japanese sake, Nara continues to pass on the traditions of Nara sake to the present day.

"Kankikou" inherits the traditions of Nara sake and brings joy to all who drink it

Due to the suspension of brewing, there are no experienced brewers who know the sake brewing methods of the time, but they continue to make sake faithful to the basics, which is possible only in a small brewery. They pay attention to even the slightest changes in the mash, and are particular about small batches of brewing in order to ensure strict temperature control and uniform fermentation. Their passion and delicacy are reflected in their daily sake brewing.

Launched in 1975, "Kankikou" is a high-quality brand that focuses on Junmai sake, and uses Yamada Nishiki rice from Hyogo Prefecture for all of the koji rice and kakemai for the ginjo class, and for the koji rice for the junmai sake. With a rich flavor and crisp acidity that inherits the traditions of Nara sake, it brings joy to the drinker.

They also have the "Kashiba Mind" series, which is based on the slogan "Locally produced, locally brewed," and is committed to producing genuine local sake brewed only with ingredients from Kashiba. The aim is to promote local agriculture, pass on traditional techniques and culture, and promote Japanese food culture to the world, and with pride in being the birthplace of sake, they are connecting the sustainable production of Nara sake to the future.

Aiming for the 200th anniversary with the mission of bringing joy to people

Sawada Sake Brewery's mission is to "brew joy for people" through sake, health, and music, and the brewing scientist Teishi, the fourth-generation head of the family, established the health food business, and the music school business that began after the death of the fifth-generation head, Teishi. Over the years, the brewery has poured its love and effort into improving the quality of its sake.

The hiatus has allowed Sawada Shuzo to think outside the box and maintain a balance between tradition and innovation as it looks forward to the future. With its 200th anniversary just around the corner, the brewery will continue to make sake.