Nestled among the mountains making up the Aso caldera and very close to the exact middle of Kyushu lies the town of Yamato in Kamimashiki County. Yamato is known for its beautiful scenery and traditional stepped rice paddies, as well as the Tsujunkyo aqueduct that irrigates the local farms. Sake from Tsujun Shuzo lets you taste the beauty of Yamato while also supporting the local community.

The story of Tsujun Shuzo began in 1770, when Bizenya Seikuro, operator of the Bizenya shipping company, decided to make sake as a way to help small communities struggling to pay land taxes. During the Satsuma Rebellion, the brewery was used as the headquarters of the Satsuma army, and was where Saigo Takamori, leader of the rebel forces, lodged.

In 1963, the brewery changed its name from Hamamachi Shuzo LLC to Tsujun Shuzo, and further emphasized involving local people, rice, and water in sake-making. “In spring, the brewers go out to the fields to grow sake rice, and in winter they store this rice in their storehouses. That’s how we make sake at Tsujun: using local water, rice, and people,” states Aiko Yamashita, 13th generation sake maker at Tsujun. Yamashita grew up playing at the brewery: “My grandma used to make amazake from freshly made koji, and I loved eating the monmochi rice cakes left over when steaming the sake rice.” For Yamashita, sake making isn’t just her job—it’s her home and her family.

Yamashita’s father, Yasuo Yamashita, is the 12th generation owner of the brewery, and used to work at a bank before working at Tsujun. “Owner-brewers are becoming more common now, but I’m a manager first and foremost. There’s a lot to be seen without going on the brewery floor,” says the elder Yamashita about his expertise at running his brewery. An example of this is the junmai ginjo sake Hotarumaru, inspired by a legendary katana of the same name. This sake made waves thanks to its impressive design, use of SNS, marketing towards women, a booth at the Comiket comic fair, and it generated new fans around the world who previously had little interest in sake.

By working together with the local community and being innovative, Tsujun Shuzo has earned a place as a brewery to look out for.