KADOGUCHI Hokko Masamune

Founded in 1869. The prefecture's most northerly brewery is located in the town of Iiyama, in Nagano prefecture, on the border with Niigata prefecture, one of Japan's snowiest regions, with over 3 meters of snow in winter. The founder's philosophy is that "local sake is only truly local when it is loved by local people", and it is drunk by both local residents and visitors to the region. Hokko Masamune takes its name from the Big Dipper, a dipper-shaped star that shines brightly in the northern night sky. The brewery uses the pure, rich water of Mount Nabekura, one of Japan's most beautiful peaks, with its cold, crystalline air and pristine beech forests, as well as the highly refined rice varieties of Nagano, Kinmon-Nishiki, Miyamanishiki, Shirakaba-Nishiki and Hitogochi, and draws on the skills of twenty-something Iiyama Toji (brewmaster) Hiroya Muramatsu, as well as the experience and passion that the brewery staff have developed over the years in the brewing process. The brewery brings the experience and passion of its brewers to the sake brewing process.