Our Two Breweries

Masumi's original kura, or brewery, still operates at Suwa Moto-machi, where the ancient Koshu Kaido road meets the road leading up to the Kirigamine highlands. This area is also called Shimizu-machi, or Clear Water Village, and for good reason. From before the Edo Period (1600-1868), sake breweries, drinking places, and tea shops lined the roads in this area, and the famed Gozensui, the water used to make the local lord's tea, still flows from the nearby Akiba Jinja Shrine.

The man in charge of Suwa Kura's brewery staff since 2005 is Master Brewer Kenji Nasu, born in the small Suwa-area village of Tatsuno. While relatively young for a master brewer, Nasu attributes his rise to the twenty-plus years he spent in apprentice to Masumi's previous brew masters.

"Looking back on the years I worked under Master Kubota and later Master Amemiya, I have come to realize that what they taught me was not just technique but an entire way of thinking about sake brewing. Simply put, if you take good rice and brew it carefully, then good sake is the obvious result. But beyond that, if you learn to trust the feel of your own two brewer’s hands and add a little of your own inspiration, you can always make good sake even better."

Masumi's string of gold medals and the widening popularity of its Yeast #7 caused sales to sky-rocket, and by the end of the 1960's it was clear that the original Suwa Kura could not keep up with the growing demand while maintaining superior quality. It was then that a plan was hatched to build a new brewing facility. Nearly ten years in the making, Fujimi Kura started production in 1982. The plant, situated in a pristine forest just above the Suwa basin at an elevation of 960 meters, has a commanding view of the Yatsugatake mountain range.

Master Brewer Kazuyuki Hirabayashi, who was also appointed in 2005, is at the helm of the Fujimi Kura. While the facility has its share of computer-controlled brewing equipment, Hirabayashi is quick to point out to the kurabito (brewery workers) that technology on its own can't make superior sake. "I encourage our workers to come up with new ideas and new ways to apply technology, but I also always remind them that there are some things that can never be left up to the machines. Hard work performed by skilled hands will always be required to brew great sake."