Gyokusendo Shuzo

From mass production to quality: In pursuit of delicious sake…

Founded in Yoro, Yoro Province in 1806. In the 1940s, they stopped using the “Reisen” brand name and began to focus on mass production. However, from the late 1970s, the brewery moved away from mass production and returned to its roots of small, hand-made brewing. Aiming to produce “sophisticated and elegant sake,” the brewery strives to do all it can to brew sake, from rice, polishing, preparation, brewing, pasteurization, bottling, storage, and management. The brewery continues to pursue new possibilities and brew fine sake.

Soft, pure water produces elegant sake

The abundant brewing water comes from underground water of the Yoro Mountains, which originates from Yoro Falls, known for the legend of a filial son, and the spring water of Kikusui Spring, one of Japan’s 100 famous waters. The brewing water, which is essential for sake brewing, comes from groundwater that springs up from beneath the brewery. This area is blessed with both water quality and quantity, and even today most households use well water. The water is extremely soft, soft and pure. In pursuit of an “elegant and refined taste,” we make sake that takes full advantage of the characteristics of the soft water.

A special sake named after the legend that the water from the spring turned into sake.

In the province of Mino, there was a poor young man named Minamoto Jounai, a woodcutter who cared for his aged, blind father. One day, Jounai fell asleep in the mountains and smelled sake in his dream. When he woke up, he saw a spring gushing out fragrant sake. Jounai was delighted and gave the sake to his father, who then regained his sight. The emperor at the time, Emperor Gensho, commented, “This is likely a sign that the gods of heaven and earth are praising the virtue of filial piety.” The emperor himself, upon seeing the beautiful spring that had turned into sake, commented, “This beautiful spring is a sacred spring, the water of rejuvenation,” and changed the era name to “Yoro,” or the Year of Rejuvenation. The sake was named “Reisen” based on this legend.

Every sake is made with the highest quality and soul

The sakes brewed with this commitment, from the highest quality Junmai Daiginjo to the more affordable Honjozo class, all have a consistent “Reisen” feel to them. What’s even more amazing is that even within that “uniqueness,” the texture that comes from the raw rice, yeast, rice polishing ratio, and brewing process are all beautifully expressed. It is only thanks to the “heart” of the brewer, the master brewer, and the brewers that careful preparation and quality control are carried out in every detail, resulting in the color and individuality of “Reisen” and making it one of the top-level sakes in Japan.