Nihonshu-English

Abe (あべ): One of the Very Few Sake Brands You Can Read with Only Hiragana Knowledge. Most sake labels are written in kanji, and many use uncommon characters or unusual pronunciations. As a result, even native Japanese speakers sometimes struggle to read them. But the sake I want to introduce today is different. Even someone […]

The world is too small to hold this sake. Dassai. The sake that got me hooked on nihonshu — the first one I ever drank properly — and yet I’m only introducing it now, far too late.  The world is too small to hold this sake.  The one that has even pushed into fermenting in

Who can be against Cup Sake – they’re strongest. (菊水) Soju — Korea’s representative drink. It’s the most popular alcohol that virtually every Korean has tried at least once. If a Korean says “I only drink Chamisul,” nobody around them finds it strange. But there’s a magic phrase that makes someone sound like an alcoholic:

Mie’s iconic sake Jikon, and Takasago, a brand reborn after nearly 200 years.
Today, we’ll explore Kiyasho Brewery, one of Mie Prefecture’s most renowned sake breweries and the maker of both of these labels.
And we’ll also answer a question many sake fans have:
Is Jikon really produced in such limited quantities?

The Most Traditional, Yet the Most Trendy Sake — The Aramasa(新政) History Aramasa Shuzo, founded in 1852 along the coastal area of Akita City, Akita Prefecture. Today, the brewery is led by Yusuke Sato, the eighth-generation kuramoto to carry on the family tradition. A yeast discovered inside a brewery approximately 100 years ago was adopted

Big Poppa of Rare sake, Juyondai(十四代) History The brewery behind Juyondai, Takagi Shuzo, was founded in Yamagata Prefecture in 1615. Juyondai was created in 1994 by Akitsuna Takagi, who inherited the brewery as its 15th-generation master — more than 300 years after its founding. Although he was the 15th generation, the sake was named after

Beyond Kumamoto, Beyond Kyushu — Ubusuna Sake Is Now Taking Korea by Storm There are many types of nihonshu with a sparkling character, but the kind of carbonation that Ubusuna delivers—only Ubusuna can create it. The sake I’m introducing today is Ubusuna, a bottle that stands alongside Nabeshima as a representative of Kyushu—so popular that

Born the Same Year as Hello Kitty: The Story of Denshu, Aomori’s Legendary Sake In 1974—22 years before I was born—a sake called Denshu was released in Aomori Prefecture. As of 2026, it ranks 5th nationwide on Sakenowa and 29th on Sake Times. Its birth required a bold decision—to go against the mainstream. And the

Akabu Brewery: The Samurai Spirit of Rising Again After Disaster The brewery I’m introducing today, Akabu Shuzo, carries a history that forced it to rebuild itself from the ground up. It was originally founded in 1896 in a town called Otsuchi, in Iwate Prefecture. Then, in 2013, a new brewery was established in Morioka. The