On the wall of a building in the rural landscape of Mizuguchi, Koka City, are the words "Shinkai" and "Nature" written in large letters. Shinkai" is the representative brand of Fujimoto Sake Brewery, which has been brewing sake in this area for more than 250 years since the Edo period.

The origin of the name "opened by God" dates back to around 1766. The people of the time, who were worried about the quality of their sake, dug a well at the oracle of the nearby Yamamura Shrine, and good quality water gushed out, enabling them to make good sake. The water from the well, located on the Fujimoto Sake Brewery premises, is still used for brewing sake today.

The water has a sweet and soft taste. Fujimoto Sake Brewery has been using this water to produce sake with a robust and robust flavor that is typical of Japanese sake," says Nobuyuki Fujimoto, president of the company, who is originally from Nara Prefecture. Nobuyuki Fujimoto, the brewery's president, is originally from Nara Prefecture. He came to this brewery when he was 19 years old.

The brewery was originally run by my uncle and aunt, but they told me that they had no successor. ...... I heard that the brewery had been running for more than 200 years, and I wondered if I should let it go out of business. I was worried about whether I should shut down the business since I heard that it had been running for more than 200 years. Mr. Fujimoto was underage and had never had a drink. Moreover, he was attending college to become an elementary school teacher. However, an intuition that "this sounds interesting" pushed him toward the path of sake brewing. He re-enrolled in an agricultural university and studied brewing.

He took over the brewery and has been pursuing his own sake as the toji (master brewer) since about five years ago. He is so enthusiastic about sake brewing that he says, "It's my calling now.
When I entered a sake brewery at the age of 19 and continued my studies, I felt the thought, "If it were me, I would.... Now, I am giving shape to those thoughts one by one. I think we probably make the most unusual sake in Shiga. Looking at the lineup, there is certainly a wide variety.

For example, sake made using the "mizu-hashiro" method, which originated in the Muromachi period (1333-1573), tastes like a sweet and sour milk beverage. Usually, rice is steamed before brewing, but this sake is made from raw rice. Instead of steaming the rice, it is left at 25 degrees Celsius for a week to attract lactic acid bacteria. In addition, kijo-zake, which uses sake in the brewing process, is also available.
There is a This is a Heian-era method of making ice wine, which is said to have a sweet taste like ice wine.
When I finally decided to build it myself, people around me asked me if I was sure I could do it. Then I said, "I can make such an unusual sake! I said, "I can make such unusual things," and all I got was unusual sake (laughs).

Currently, about 30% of the product lineup is "unusual sake. Mr. Fujimoto knows that they "are not for everyone. Nevertheless, Mr. Fujimoto's belief is the reason why he continues to make them.
I want to make sake that only one person out of ten will say it's really good, rather than nine out of ten people who think it's good. We are aiming for "great" rather than "delicious. We have sake that tastes like grapefruit or banana shake. Anyway, my stance is to give it a try first. Recently, I've had customers ask me, "What are you going to do at Kamikai this time? I've been receiving comments from customers such as, "What are you going to do next at Kamikai?

The "Shiga-ness" of the labels, such as the Otsu-e design, is also typical of the Fujimoto Sake Brewery. This can also be seen in their attention to rice. Most of the rice used is grown in Shiga Prefecture, and this year the brewery began growing Yamada-Nishiki, known as an excellent sake rice, in Mizuguchi, where the brewery is located. The brewery is surrounded by rice fields. We want to brew sake with rice grown in a visible place, so we ask farmers to grow it for us. Since rice production is so active, I think we can produce good sake rice. We also have rice paddies, so eventually I would like to grow my own rice.

Divinely guided water and Shiga rice. And Mr. Fujimoto's spirit of challenge. We will continue to pay attention to this sake brewery, which continues to produce more and more "amazing" sake by adding uniqueness to traditional sake brewing.

■ Shiga Prefecture
[Ogawa Liquor Store] 077-524-2203 / 2-1-31 Hamaotsu, Otsu City, Shiga Prefecture
[Kato Liquor Store] 077-522-4546 / 13-1 Kinoshita-cho, Otsu City, Shiga Prefecture
［Takatsu Sake Shop] +81-77-563-0650/18-2, Nomura 1-chome, Kusatsu City, Shiga Prefecture
[Omasuya] 0748-27-0014 / 447 Yamagamicho, Higashiomi City, Shiga Prefecture
［Nakagawa Sake Shop] 0748-83-0388 / 605 Miyamachi, Shigaraki-cho, Koka City, Shiga Prefecture

■ Kyoto Prefecture
［075-221-2441 / 194 Higashi Uoya-cho, Tominokoji Higashi-iru, Nakagyo-ku, Kyoto-shi, Kyoto
［Nishimura Sake Shop] 0120-678-910/3 Kitanoshirakawa Kubota-cho, Sakyo-ku, Kyoto-shi, Kyoto
[Nishimoto Sake Store] 075-221-0452 / 480 Aneyakoji-dori Nishinotoin Nishiimiyakicho, Nakagyo-ku, Kyoto-shi, Kyoto Prefecture
［AEON MALL KYOTO Sakura building 1F, 1 Nishi-Kujo Toriiguchi-machi, Minami-ku, Kyoto City, Kyoto Prefecture, Japan
［Ueda Sake Shop] 075-781-5265 / 7 Yamahata Kawahara-cho, Sakyo-ku, Kyoto-shi, Kyoto