Brand introduction

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  History of the brewery

  Our brewery was founded in 1872, the 5th year of the Meiji era. Originally producing unrefined sake for local consumption, we honed our skills and by the early Showa era, we had become a brewery specializing in high-quality sake, winning numerous awards at national sake competitions. In 1938, we were honored with an honorary award. Our founder, the first Tamura Mosuke, named our sake "Chitose" with the hope of eternal youth and longevity. In 1922, we adopted the name "Chitosemori" in the hope of world prosperity and the continued longevity of people. After a wartime merger and postwar turmoil, Tamura Sake Brewery was renamed Kazuno Meishu Co., Ltd., and in 2019, it was renamed Chitosemori Sake Brewery Co., Ltd., where it remains to this day. This is a "True Landscape Map of Hanawa Town, Kazuno County, Akita Prefecture," published on December 5, 1916. A red circle marks the location of "Tamura Sake Brewery Co., Ltd."

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  The communal well called "Osedo" near the storehouse is bustling with people.

  The area where the brewery is located has long been an area with an abundance of natural spring water. There is still a communal well nearby, and many people come from far away to draw water. The brewing water for Chitosemori is natural underground water from the Shirasu Plateau, located above the brewery. Over the years, the meltwater from the abundant snowfall absorbs many active ingredients that promote fermentation, such as phosphoric acid and chloride, making it ideal for brewing sake.

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  During sake brewing season, brewers carrying koji rice run up to the koji room above.

  The rice used as the raw material is locally grown in Akita Prefecture (*1). Chitosemori is produced using the "Akita-style long-term low-temperature fermentation method," which involves slowly brewing Akita-grown rice over a long period of time in the cold climate. Kazuno is the coldest region in the cold region of Akita. By taking the time to brew the mash at low temperatures from preparation to fermentation, the raw rice slowly dissolves. This allows the rice's flavor and gorgeous aroma to stand out. (*1) Yamada Nishiki rice from Hyogo Prefecture is used in some of the ginjo sake.

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  The texture of the floor, where many brewers have walked, tells the story of the store's history.

  The brewery, where careful small-scale brewing takes place, is quiet in the summer. The brewery, which utilizes sloping land, has a koji room at the top, making it a very rare semi-underground structure. Even as times change, as the only sake brewery in Kazuno, we continue to make sake, hoping to continue being a brewery that can contribute to the local community and keep the flame of Kazuno sake brewing alive.