Where there is good rice and water, there is good sake. Where there is good sake, people gather.
The Chikumanishiki Sake Brewery’s origins date back to 1681, when one of Kai Takeda Shingen’s 24 generals was assigned control of the Saku Iwamurada area and decided to establish a brewery there. Chikumanishiki’s name is derived from the dazzling autumn colours that adorn the banks of the Chikuma River.
The Saku area has long been home to many sake breweries due to the large diurnal range of the region and its abundance of limpid underground water. Historically, the area was also a prosperous post town at the intersection of the Nakasendo and Saku-Koshukaido roads. Unsurprisingly, sake consumption was high, and brewing businesses in the area flourished.
The natural blessings of the Sakudaira plateau and the Chikumagawa river
The Chikumanishiki Sake Brewery is located in the town of Saku-shi, on the Sakudaira plateau. At an elevation of 700m, it is surrounded by nature, with the Asama mountains to the north and the Yatsugatake mountain range to the south. The town is also located in the upstream area of the Chikuma River, which is the longest river in Japan.
Saku-shi is also noted for its abundant rice crops, even within the larger Shinshu area. Blessed with this high quality rice, as well as a cold climate and abundant water from the Chikuma River, the area is perfect for sake brewing.
Despite the large number of sake breweries in the area, the water used by each brewery comes from a variety of sources, including the aforementioned Asama and Yatsugatake mountains, and the Tateshina and Chikuma Rivers, and each different source seems to result in a different style of sake.
The Chikumanishiki Sake Brewery is one of those breweries whose water source originates in the Asama Mountains. The mineral-rich subterranean water is drawn from wells on the brewery premises. This water is combined primarily with Nagano-grown Miyamanishiki rice.
The resulting style at the Chikumanishiki Sake Brewery can be described as contoured in structure, with prominent, firm umami.
Keeping a flexible approach to sake brewing
The Chikumanishiki Sake Brewery’s current president, Mr. Kamata, has embarked on a reform of brewery’s old internal company structure, restructuring the organisation to enable flexible decision-making.
The revamped organisation allows the brewing and sales teams to operate more freely, enabling the company as a whole to push ahead with new initiatives.
When Mottox approached the brewery about making a nigori sake together, we were able to engage in a very detailed level of communication with the Toji, brewing and sales staff throughout the various stages of product development, including numerous test brews in pursuit of what we consider to be the ideal nigori sake. We’re deeply grateful to them for their flexible and positive attitude and their sincere response to our taste preferences.
2025 is the debut of this collaboration, but we plan to keep conducting more collaborative experiments with the brewery in the future.
What is nigori sake?
Popular with core sake fans for its thick, rich and unique flavour, nigori sake is the term for cloudy sake, white in appearance. The cloudiness and colouring are due to the fact that the sake is pressed with a coarse filter during the sake production process, allowing more solids to pass through.
These solids, also known as lees, are comprised of rice, yeast and other substances that would normally be separated out at pressing, but in this case they form the basis for nigori sake’s characteristic aroma, flavour and texture. They are said to contain various nutrients such as protein, vitamins B1, B2 and B6, folic acid, dietary fibre and amino acids.
Nigori sake is often served chilled and drunk straight, but it can also be enjoyed on the rocks or with soda water to make the most of its robust flavour. You can add lemon or lime with a mint leaf garnish for a stylish cocktail.
When we worked on the naming and labelling for Powan, our collaboration with the Chikumanishiki Sake Brewery, we wanted to capture how it feels to drink the nigori sake the brewery has made for us.
Many sake fans are already very familiar with nigori sake, but there are also lots of people who haven’t tasted it before and might find it hard to imagine the thick, ricey taste.
In such a situation, the first thing we did was to try to capture the roundness, umami, and fresh yoghurt-like acidity through colour and shape, using soft pastel colours and smooth edges. The name Powan is Japanese onomatopoeia. It’s the sound of flopping down on a soft, pillowy cloud, the feeling of being in a good mood after getting pleasantly tipsy – the same feeling we hope you’ll get when you taste this fluffy, soft nigori sake.
