Yokota Shuzo Co., Ltd.

Sake brewing is often described as “polishing life.” The sake brewed by the Nanbu school, renowned for its expertise in ginjo-style brewing, is highly regarded as a fine sake worthy of the name, infused with the soul of the master brewer.

Two Centuries of Sake Brewing in Sakitama

Yokota Shuzo was founded in 1805 (Bunka 2). It all began when Shōemon Yokota, a merchant from Ōmi who had moved to Edo, opened a sake brewery in this area in search of good water.After apprenticing at a sake wholesaler in Nihonbashi, he struck out on his own. At that time, he adopted the phrase “Never forget your original aspirations” as his family motto, which is why he chose “Nihonbashi” as the brand name for his sake. This name also embodies his wish that Yokota’s sake would spread throughout the country, using “Nihonbashi”—the starting point of the Five Highways and the heart of Edo—as the brand name.

Located near Higashi-Gyoda Station on the Chichibu Railway, which retains its old-world charm, this region is renowned for its abundant underground water from the Arakawa River system—which originates in Chichibu—and is a source of famous spring water. The soft water drawn from our own deep well, “Fukuju-sen,” located on the premises, promotes gentle fermentation, resulting in a mellow and flavorful sake.Our other sake brand, “Ukijo,” takes its name from the legend of Oshi Castle in the local town of Gyoda, which withstood a water siege by the forces of Ishida Mitsunari and never fell.

Designing Sake from Brown Rice

At Yokota, in addition to sake-brewing rice varieties such as "Yamada Nishiki" from Hyogo and "Miyama Nishiki" from Nagano, we source all our rice—including local Saitama varieties like "Asano Hikari" and "Wakamizu"—as brown rice and mill the entire batch in-house. This is because it is essential to accurately assess the quality and condition of the rice, which varies slightly each year, right from the brown rice stage.At our brewery, we use a large-scale rice polishing machine—a type of equipment now rarely found in breweries—and our master brewer and staff carefully and meticulously polish the rice. Polishing every grain in-house is the source of our pride and dedication.