
Junmai Ginjo Yama no Katakana
Higashi no Fumoto Sake Brewery | Yamagata Prefecture
Higashi no Fumoto Sake Brewery
Located in the Okitama Basin in southern Yamagata Prefecture, upstream of the Mogami River, with the Azuma Mountain Range to the south and the Dewa Hills to the north, Higashi no Fumoto Sake Brewery is a sake brewery.
INDEX
Azuma no Fumoto Sake Brewery was founded in 1896. The brewery was named after its location at the foot of Ise Kumano Taisha Shrine in the Tohoku region.
The Okitama Basin is blessed with clear air, harsh winters, and pure, abundant water. In this area lined with numerous wineries, this sake brewery is loved by locals as the only sake brewery in Nanyo City, Yamagata Prefecture. Due to its high altitude and fertile soil, it produces a lot of high-quality sake rice, and has long been known as a famous sake-brewing region.
The history behind the company's founding dates back to the Edo period, when Endo Eiji, the sixth generation, took over the sake brewing division of Sakataya Riemon, a local merchant who received special privileges from the feudal lord in the Miyauchi district of the Yonezawa domain. Since then, the company has continued to make "sake that satisfies the heart of the drinker" while upholding its traditions.
Although it is a small sake brewery, Higashi no Fumoto Sake Brewery has a strong commitment to using local rice and water, and has also been working hard to pass on the techniques of ginjo brewing. Since 2010, their daiginjo "Higashi no Fumoto" has won the gold medal at the National New Sake Tasting Competition for five consecutive years, and their techniques and flavor have been highly praised.
Their representative brand, "Higashi no Fumoto," which bears the same name as the brewery, mainly uses sake rice produced in Yamagata Prefecture. In particular, they carefully select and polish pure white sake rice such as "Yuki Megami," the highest quality sake rice developed by Yamagata Prefecture in 2015, and "Dewa Sansan," a sake rice developed in 1984, and brew it with care. The umami flavor that is born as a result of the brewery's pursuit of quality is their main feature.
Higashi no Fumoto also has a wide lineup of sake, from daiginjo to junmai to regular sake. The fact that you can choose the sweetness or spiciness based on the drinker's taste and mood is a perfect embodiment of the brewery's commitment to "sake that satisfies the drinker's heart."
From caring for the rice koji to checking the water absorption and squeezing the bags, they are committed to tradition and handcrafting. At the same time, they are also focusing on nurturing the future leaders of sake culture.
Hoping to make young people familiar with sake, they are also working on a new brand, "Tenkyu." "Tenkyu" is a sake jointly developed with students from the local Tohoku University of Art and Design, and is characterized by its fruity and easy-to-drink taste, which they hope will attract more young people and women.
The satisfying sake that can only be produced in the Okitama Basin. Higashi no Fumoto Sake Brewery will continue to produce carefully brewed Yamagata local sake in Nanyo City for the future.