A historic brewery dating back to 1789
The brewery was founded by Rinbee Tanaka, expanded the family business in the first year of the Kansei Era (1789).
At this time the brewery was founded, textiles were the central Tanaka family business, but the family also had a hand in a range of business ventures, loans, pawnbroking, property rental and soy sauce production. However, following a Showa era wartime government order, the family decided to re-centre their business around sake brewing.
During the Edo Period under the Date clan’s rule, they supplied sake to a number of government offices (including that of the local governor) in Miyagi-ken’s Kami-gun, a political center at the time, under the brand name “Toka Masamune”.
The origin of the brand name “Manatsuru” comes from the wife of a lord of a local castle, the poet Makuzu Tadano. It refers to the cranes she saw in the castle gardens, which she dearly loved and wrote of in her poems.
A young and energetic Toji making a buzz
Born in the same town in which the Iwate Nambu Toji Association was founded, having acquired his head brewer qualification, Mr. Morikawa has built experience working at more than ten different breweries across the country and has had a hand in the production of numerous reputed sake brands.
He joined the Tanaka Sake Brewery (known for its traditional production methods and use of yamahai fermentation starters) in 2016, and began making “his own sake” from the 2018 brewery year.
During the brewing season Morikawa stays in a temporary living space next to the brewery and begins a period living in constant contact with the sake he is making. His goal was to make a sake an energetic, powerful Junmai sake.
The sake Morikawa makes is “beautiful, strong and not in the least bit sloppy”, with a focus on drier styles that pair well with food and with a clear lift on the finish.
The cold winds that blow from the Ou Mountains create excellent conditions for sake brewing.
The brewery is located in the northwest part of Miyagi Prefecture in town of Kami.
Kami is situated between the Ou Mountains, bountiful forests, with the Naruse River flowing through its centre making for fertile land.
Located inland, its climate is notable for its large diurnal range, and the mountains and hilly areas of the city experience heavy snowfall.
Today, Kami is noted as the home of the Sasanishiki rice variety, and the cold northwest winds that blow down from the Ou Mountains provide excellent conditions for sake brewing.
Brewing with Yamahai fermentation starters and Tray Koji
The distinguishing features of the Tanaka Sake Brewery’s production methods are the use of Yamahai fermentation starters and Koji-making using trays, traditions that have been kept up for many years.
Yamahai is a fermentation starter method that uses naturally occurring lactic acid bacteria and is known for cultivating a strong yeast population. It is a labour-intensive method, but the result, a rich sake with great depth of umami and remarkable smoothness, makes it worthwhile.
“Futa” are small trays used in the Koji-making process. In order to regulate temperature, the trays must be restacked constantly, a labour-intensive progress required to ensure that a consistent style of Koji is produced.
Japanese cedar wood from Akita Prefecture is used to make thetrays – many breweries reserve this for Daiginjo-level sake only, but at the Tanaka Sake Brewery, koji is made using these trays without exception.
