Proud to be Miyagi's Largest Brewer
With a Family-like, Warm Corporate Culture
Continually Creating New Saké with an Open Mind

Ichinokura is located in Matsuyama, Osaki City, a well-known rice-producing region where there is an abundance of high quality groundwater. With a production capacity of 13,000 koku and more than 170 employees, it is the largest brewery in the prefecture. The exterior of the building reminds you of a mechanized factory, but when you enter the brewery, you can see many people. Even today, we still place an importance on making saké by hand to maintain quality and tradition, such as making koji with steamed rice from the koshiki (steaming vat) and maturing koji using koji boxes.
"Saké brewing creates an environment where microorganisms (which perform the essential role of fermentation) can grow comfortably each day. Saké is brewed by hand and finally tasted by the gods," remarks Yasuji Nagai of the marketing department about his thoughts on saké brewing. That's why the brewers start work each morning by praying at the brewery’s shrine.

"Manufacturing means making something by humans for humans," says Master Brewer Toyohiko Kadowaki. When it comes to saké, not only skill and technique, but feelings and intuition are also important.
The brewery’s flexible and forward-looking approach has emerged from the company’s warm, family-like culture. In 1977, when the saké tax system had a discrepancy between the classification of saké and saké quality, Ichinokura introduced the “Mukansa Honjozo (R)” ("mukansa" means “not evaluated” or “non-inspected”) saké. At that time, brewers were to submit their saké for evaluation for a grading of “First Class” or “Special Class.” The higher rating helped increase the reputation of the saké, but it also resulted in the brewery paying higher taxes on their yields, forcing the brewers to pass on expenses to consumers. Ichinokura sold their new saké without evaluation to consumers so they could enjoy good saké at low prices. In addition, with the aim of revitalizing the Japanese saké industry, the brewery has been developing low-alcohol saké for more than 30 years, and have introduced innovative products such as Himezen and Suzune. Ichinokura has managed to attract new fans that did not consider themselves saké-lovers.