History

Masumi Brewery was founded in 1662 at the foot of the Kirigamine highlands. The sake brewed by this establishment was named for the Masumi Mirror, meaning mirror of purity and truth, a national treasure enshrined just across the valley at the Suwa Taisha Shrine. The sake lived up to its namesake and soon became a regional favorite for its fine, pure taste. Local legend has it that Masumi became the favorite sake of Tadateru Matsudaira, sixth son of the first Tokugawa Shogun and part-time resident of Suwa. Legends aside, wider recognition would have to wait several centuries, until 28-year-old toji (master brewer) Chisato Kubota made his debut in the middle of the Taisho Era (1912-1925).

Through endless trial and error, Kubota pursued his dream of brewing truly exceptional sake, and in 1936 Masumi took what would be the first of many top honors at the National Sake Appraisal. His hard work and unwavering commitment to quality also began to pay off in less visible yet ultimately far more significant ways, for in 1946 the national sake brewing research institute discovered a superior variety of yeast in use at Masumi's Suwa Kura (brewery). Dubbed "Yeast #7", this variety has become the industry standard and is now used to brew top-grade sake at more that 60% of the nation's breweries.

Kubota's genius for getting the best out of good raw materials also extended to his raising of the next master brewer. When long-time apprentice Ryoji Kubota took over as toji, he quickly demonstrated that what he had learned from his master was not merely his exacting brewing practices, but more importantly his relentless pursuit of ever-higher quality. Kubota the younger developed his own techniques that added new brilliance to Masumi's flavor. He also carried on the tradition of carefully selecting and nurturing the current generation of master brewers: Kenji Nasu, toji of Suwa Kura, and Kazuyuki Hirabayashi, toji of Fujimi Kura.