With a little help from some friends

While attention is still focused to some degree (and rightly so) on the devastation of the Noto Peninsula and its sake breweries, other areas are also in need of support – and finding it both locally and from new sources within the industry. 

The village of Tōhō on the border of Fukuoka and Oita Prefectures was badly hit by the heavy rains that struck Kyushu in July 2017, which were severe enough to destroy bridges and wash away the tracks of the local JR Kyushu Hitahikosan Line. (Due to low passenger numbers the line was never restored and the village is currently served by buses.) The area is also famous for Koshiwara or Nakano ceramics.

The village had only one sake brewery, Kataoka Shuzō, founded in 1898, which was inundated with earth and sand after the heavy rain caused landslides and flooding. But in fact the brewery had ceased production some years previously due to the shrinking population – down from a high of 8,666 in 1950 to just 1,800 in 2020.

And, although the brewery might have felt it impossible in 2017, they they reopened on 28 April 2024 thanks to support from the local community with a kurabiraki where visitors could try their sake in Koshiwara vessels. Owner Takuyuki Kataoka was delighted to see his brewery reopen, and grateful for everyone who was trying to revitalise the village.

And meanwhile in Kyoto, a former manager at Gekkeikan is also taking the fate of struggling sake breweries into his own hands. 

Makoto Ohbe used to work with mergers and acquisitions at the giant sake producer, and after retiring he gathered some former co-workers to found Yume Shuzō in January 2022, a company that specialises in management support specifically for sake breweries. Ohbe recognises the efforts of some small and local breweries who have broken out into new markets by appealing to non-traditional drinkers, including women, young people and city dwellers.

But many more, who relied on demand from the local community, are struggling due to the decline in rural populations and the lack of a clear successor for the business. Ohbe also points out that sake breweries are being taken over by companies in other sectors or receiving foreign investment, which worries him when it comes to the potential for recovery or development of the sake industry.

It was during his time with mergers and acquisitions at Gekkeikan that Ohbe came across Yoshida Shuzō in Shiga Prefecture, as a potential target for acquisition. The brewery was founded in 1877, and current owner Hajime Yoshida (now in his early 60s) reminisces about the days when their production was not only 10 times what it is today but also mostly consumed in their city. He points towards rural depopulation and a general decline in alcohol consumption as factors that were hurting the brewery’s sales even before the pandemic hit in 2020.

Shortly afterwards, his path crossed with Ohbe’s again as Yume Shuzō stepped in to help them with tank repairs, and their collaboration continued for a second year with more extensive maintenance work throughout the brewery. The brewery also supplemented their flagship label Chikubujima with a new line, and Yume Shuzō are making sure their efforts bear fruit by using connections made at their former workplace to get the sake into local and national bars and restaurants as well as trying to export. 

Ohbe plans to continue supporting Yoshida Shuzō for a third year, and then go on to support other sake breweries.

(NHK News Web 28 April 2024, Japanese, text and short video)
(Nordot 29 April 2024, Japanese, reporting by Mayuka Ueda for Kyodo News)
Kataoka Shuzō (Japanese)
Yume Shuzō (Japanese)
Yoshida Shuzō (Japanese)