A Drink to Toast an Uneventful Day

Ten'ei Village, in the mountains of Fukushima Prefecture, is home to the 200-year old Suzunoi Sake Brewery, a legendary sake that for a long time was almost unknown, even within Fukushima Prefecture. 

However, thanks to the hard work of owner Rina Suzuki, the carefully crafted sake that has been secretly passed down from generation to generation is beginning to attract wider attention.

A month after she arrived, a toji (master brewer) and his group of brewers from Iwate came to live in the house and began making sake. Her first job was to prepare meals for the brewers. 

They complained about the toughness of the greens, but she worked hard at improving her cooking skills in her assigned role. The days passed while she only looked at the pots and the house; soon she was blessed with two daughters. Before she knew it, twenty years had passed.

It was then that Suzuki began to discover the true enjoyment of sake brewing. She began to compare sake from all over Japan, and to look objectively at what made Suzunoi unique.

“After tasting sake from all over Japan, I realized that ours has a certain originality that cannot be found anywhere else. Fukushima's sake industry has a history of learning from the methods of other breweries and adopting new techniques.”

“However, our brewers are all quite old and we haven't changed the taste or the way we make sake from long ago. Before I became interested in sake, I thought it was just an old-fashioned sake brewery in the countryside, 

but as I compared the sake brewed here with that of other breweries, I began to think it was actually something new. The taste that has been preserved through the ages seems rather fresh in this day and age.”

Suzunoi's sake is said to be "sweet," and during the dry sake boom that began in the 1980s, it was even ridiculed as "the sweetest in Fukushima.” 

However, the brewery refused to pander to the times, believing that the mellow, sweet sake that had been loved by the local community for generations should maintain its traditional taste.

In recent years, fruity and fragrant daiginjo sakes have been gaining popularity in the sake industry. 

While Suzunoi's sake has a fruity aroma, it has a mouthfeel similar to that of water. It has an unpretentious elegance that makes you feel as if you are effortlessly embarking on a search for the complex flavors and tastes that lie deep within.

Isao Nagayama, the master brewer at Suzunoi Sake Brewery, started brewing sake about 50 years ago. Many people have fallen in love with his faithful sake brewing skills and his personable character, and covet the sake he makes.

“I started working at Suzunoi when I was 18 years old. In those days, the toji would come from Iwate with the brewers in the winter. We would wake up at three in the morning, put wood in the kiln, and start the fire. Those were the days.”

Nagayama's Maboroshi no Sake - Daiginjo won a gold medal at the 2019 National New Sake Awards. This was the start of the name recognition of Tenei Village's Suzunoi. 

The Jugetsu series, brewed from Fukushima rice grown by Nagayama himself is also a typical Sake with its light taste and deep flavor. Both are brewed using subterranean water from the mountains at the rear of the brewery, where wasabi is grown and fireflies live in abundance.

Nagayama said that the first task of every year as a toji is to clean the brewery. Sake brewing starts and ends with cleaning. 

Sake is a very delicate drink, created by the action of microorganisms. Changes in the environment of the brewery can greatly affect the taste; simple tasks such as cleaning and taking care of the tools contribute to the quality of the flavor.

“You can't make good sake if you're not a fastidious type," Suzuki notes.
“Even if you have good water and rice, it doesn't mean the sake will turn out delicious. 

If you cut corners, even just a little, it will come out tasting unpleasant. That's why our creed is to never neglect the simple tasks. The sincerity of Toji Nagayama and the other brewers is reflected in our sake.”

Fukushima Prefecture was severely hit by the Great East Japan Earthquake on March 11, 2011. At Suzunoi, the chimney and walls of the brewery collapsed and about 300 bottles of sake were broken.

Fortunately, there was no major damage to the tanks and bottling lines, and soon the brewery was able to resume production after conducting radiation tests on the ingredients, water, and the bottled products.

Since the sake was mainly consumed locally, the impact of rumors about radioactive contamination was minimal, but after the earthquake, the downturn in consumer activity hit the business hard. 

Demand for gifts decreased, and the number of banquets where sake was drunk dwindled. Even so, the company was able to continue because of the support it received from many people.

At the end of the day, you drink it and say, "I'm glad nothing bad happened today.” To me, I think that kind of sake is "the best sake.””

“The sake we aim for is one that enriches lives. I want it to be a sake that connects people, that can enrich their time even if they are enjoying an evening drink alone, that exists as a solace for life. 

Climbing up the mountain behind the house, you can hear the chirping of birds and the sound of flowing spring water. 

Fukushima Prefecture was struck by an unprecedented earthquake and tsunami, then faced a nuclear accident. However, the Suzunoi Sake Brewery has managed to keep up its traditional ways, hoping for continued peace and tranquility in this region.