When I saw the three of them making sake, they looked like they were having a lot of fun. I wanted to brew sake with them," said Mitsuya Nakai, who will join the brewery this fall. He is the eldest son of Takashi Nakai, the 10th generation head brewer of Nami-no-one Brewery (Nami-no-one), which has a history of over 200 years in Otsu City, Shiga Prefecture.

Naminon is said to have been founded in 1805. We have it on record that we received the name 'Nami-no-one' from the monk Lu on Mount Hiei in that year, so we date the founding of the brewery to 1805. I think they were probably making sake before that," says Takashi.

Nami-no-one is located near Ukimido, which is depicted in the "Eight Scenic Views of Omi: Falling Geese in Kata. The brewery has a long history of brewing sake while listening to the rippling waves of Lake Biwa. The "three people" that Mitsuya saw were his father, Takashi, and his brothers. For the past 20 years, the three brothers have been brewing sake together at Nami-no-one.
After I took over, the famous Noto Touji, Taiichi Kanai, came to our brewery in 1995 and studied sake brewing from the very beginning. At the time, Mr. Kanai was 70 years old. Because of his advanced age, he asked us three brothers to learn the skills in five years to ensure that we would inherit Toji Kanai's knowledge and techniques, which is how we started working together. It ended up taking seven years," says Takashi. The Naminoto sake brewed by the three brothers has a clean, clean taste with a hint of elegant sweetness, which they have inherited from Tôji Kanai. Mitsuya, who will be joining the brewery this year, says, "I have been looking forward to finally joining Naminode, but I am a little anxious because of the Corona disaster. I am now ready to step up to the plate.

After graduating from high school, Mitsuya experienced life overseas in Australia, New Zealand, and Canada. He then spent four years training at a sake brewing company in Aizusaka-machi, Kawanuma-gun, Fukushima Prefecture, in order to take over Namino Sound.
Fukushima is an advanced sake prefecture. I am very happy to have been able to learn there. Not only the sake brewing, but also the management of the sake after it is made was very thorough. I am now looking forward to fusing the good things that Naminode has to offer with what I learned in Fukushima," he said.

Since high school, Mitsuya had been getting up at 4:30 a.m. in the fall to work part-time at Naminode and had seen the sake brewing process in action, but some of his thoughts changed when he went to Fukushima for his apprenticeship. Before I went to Fukushima, I was thinking that if I could join Naminode and maintain the status quo, I would be a good candidate for ....... But the moment I got involved in sake brewing in Fukushima and saw the sake being squeezed out, I was very happy. I felt that sake brewing is fun! I felt that sake brewing was fun!
Just before going to Fukushima, he married Chisa, whom he met while overseas. Chisa also worked at a sake store in Fukushima to prepare for the future.
The experience of living in a foreign country prior to his training is also likely to bring changes to NAMINOON. Japanese cuisine is very popular abroad," he says. But sake is not so popular. Knowing this, I went to sell sake myself when I was in Canada. I learned a lot from that too. I want to raise the awareness of sake overseas and spread it around the world.

Nami-no-One preserves the traditional method of making koji using a wooden tray called a koji lid. The monthly event of selling koji by weight at the store is also very popular.
When I asked Takashi, who is now trying to pass on to the next generation the system that the three brothers have devised, "Is there anything you absolutely want them to inherit or protect? He replied, "There is no such thing. It's freedom. My father died suddenly when I was 19, so I couldn't talk much about alcohol. So I thought about it on my own and did it. In the same way, you should think for yourself and do as you please. From now on, I may develop overseas sales channels or focus on online sales. There is no right answer. However, you need a reason to change. One by one, we will discuss it slowly."

In the words of his father, "I never want to go back and make things worse. I don't want to go back and make things worse," said Mitsuya. "Even if I can't make sake that everyone will enjoy, I want to make sake that someone else will enjoy.
Chisa's support is also a part of the challenge that is about to begin after four years in Fukushima. I feel that the local people in Kata are very warmly connected. I would like to support the challenge here as a public relations person.
Sake brewing has been practiced along the lakeside since the Edo period. This autumn, a new page will be added to the history of the brewery, and will mark a new "Nami-no-Oto-ness" to the history of the brewery.

■ Shiga Prefecture
［13-1 Kinoshita-cho, Otsu City, Shiga Prefecture, Japan
［175-4 Kido, Otsu City, Shiga Prefecture, Japan
［Koizumi [0748-23-2666] 228-5 Aobacho, Higashiomi-shi, Shiga Pref.
［Tokuji Sake Shop] 526-3, Shimokasa-cho, Kusatsu City, Shiga Prefecture, 077-565-0070
［Kitada Sake Shop] 3 Kitanakakoji, Ritto-shi, Shiga, Japan, 077-552-8070
［Ltd. 2-1-31 Hamaotsu, Otsu City, Shiga Prefecture, Japan
［Doi Sake Shop, Ltd. 328, Nakamomori-cho, Omihachiman City, Shiga Prefecture, Japan
［5-10 Funamachi, Hikone City, Shiga Prefecture, Japan
［Sake no Hashimotoya] 847 Kamiteru-cho, Nagahama City, Shiga Prefecture, Japan 0749-62-3170
［2-11-18 Imajuku-cho, Moriyama-shi, Shiga, Japan
［8-16-14, Oiwake, Kusatsu-shi, Shiga, Japan, 077-562-0038
［1-6-17 Oji, Kusatsu City, Shiga Prefecture, Japan
［12-27 Motohama-cho, Nagahama City, Shiga Prefecture, Japan

■ Kyoto Prefecture
［Maruman Shoten] 92-4, Terada Kitayamada, Joyo City, Kyoto, 0774-52-3582, Japan
［20 Minamikata-cho, Nishikyogoku, Ukyo-ku, Kyoto-shi, Kyoto, 075-313-0212, Japan
［Nomura Ryu Sake Shop] 075-933-2103 22 Kaedehata, Chikkanai-cho, Muko City, Kyoto, Japan
［Sagawa Sake Shop] 075-611-1188 12-318 Shinmachi, Fushimi-ku, Kyoto-shi, Kyoto
［AEON MALL KYOTO Sakura-Kan 1F, 1 Nishi-Kujo Toriiguchi-cho, Minami-ku, Kyoto City, Kyoto Prefecture, Japan
［Umeda Limited] 075-841-3595 27 Mibu Goshonouchi-cho, Nakagyo-ku, Kyoto-shi, Kyoto