Ishimoto Shuzo
石本酒造
Ishimoto Shuzo
Prefecture
Niigata
Chubu (中部)
Founded
1907
Toji School
Echigo Toji
Water Source
Draws from underground springs in Niigata's Uonuma district, recharged by snowmelt from the Echigo Mountains.
About
Ishimoto Shuzo in Kameda, Niigata creates the legendary Koshi no Kanbai, the sake that ignited the jizake (local sake) boom of the 1970s. When food writer Inoue Shinichiro championed it, demand skyrocketed and transformed how Japan thought about regional sake. The brewery's Muku (Innocence) expression remains a benchmark of Niigata's clean elegance.