Enjoy Miyagi's Sake Series Vol. 5 - Recommendations for Sake, the Pride of Miyagi, a Rice-producing Prefecture - [One-day Shiogama Course

Miyagi
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2024/12/26

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Saura Brewing (photo courtesy of Urakasumi Brewery, Saura Co.)

There are many places throughout Japan that produce delicious sake, but did you know that Miyagi Prefecture also has many delicious and unique sake products?
Sake from Miyagi has a deep connection to the famous warlords of the Warring States period, and the sake brewed by each sake brewery in this land of rich nature is exquisite!
In this issue, we will introduce a total of 9 tours of Miyagi's sake.
We are also planning tours for limited departure dates, so please visit us and enjoy the environment where Miyagi-style sake is brewed, the marriage of Miyagi-style sake with local products, and meet the people who make it their profession. You will be captivated by Miyagi sake. (Please see the bottom of the page for tour details.)

Sake Brewing in Miyagi

The roots of Miyagi's sake brewing

Miyagi sake is said to have been first brewed in 1604 by Takeda Genzaemon in Watari, an area in southern Miyagi Prefecture, who started brewing sake as a merchant.
A few years later, in 1608, the Sendai clan's official sake brewery was established by Date Masamune, the founder of the Sendai clan, who was a gourmand and a great lover of sake.
Through the mediation of Yagyu Tajima no Kami Munenori, Masamune granted Mataemon, a resident of Kayanomori in Yamato (Nara), the family name "Kayanomori Mataemon", a ten-man support grant, and ten ryo of cut rice, and gave him a brewery and residence south of the San no Maru of Aoba Castle to start his own sake brewery. The sake brewery was built by Lord Masamune. The brewery is said to have been built by Lord Masamune himself.
Along with the development of the domain's sake breweries, town sake breweries also appeared in the Sendai castle area, and as they competed with each other in brewing techniques, Miyagi's sake brewing was refined.

90% of the sake is high quality sake

Miyagi sake is one of the highest quality in Japan. Since the "Declaration of Miyagi as a Prefecture of Junmai Sake" in November 1986, we have increased the percentage of high-quality "Tokutei Meishu" sake produced that meets the requirements of rice milling ratio and ingredients. Currently, 90% of Miyagi's sake is tokutei meishu, which is higher than the national average of approximately 40% and the average of approximately 70% in the Tohoku region.

Shiogama Day Trip Course - 5th in Miyagi's Sake Savor to the Fullest Series

In this fifth installment of our series on fully enjoying Miyagi's sake, we introduce "Saura" from the Shiogama area!
The Shiogama area is located on the Pacific Ocean side of central Miyagi Prefecture, and nearby is Matsushima, a scenic spot known as one of the "Three Great Views of Japan.
Shiogama is a historic port town with Shiogama Port, one of the largest fishing ports in Japan, and attracts many tourists as a town with a long history and vibrant people, with the Shiogama Shrine, which is said to have been built before the Nara period (710-794), and other buildings from the Edo and Meiji periods still existing. The city has been working hard to rebuild after the Great East Japan Earthquake that occurred in 2011, despite the damage caused by collapsed buildings, and has restored the city and coastal areas to their original appearance, and is now promoting fresh, high-quality marine products to the rest of Japan and the world, especially Sanriku Shiogama Higashi-mono (bigeye tuna), which has an excellent taste.

～Saura - 300 years of being nurtured by the climate, and the next 100 years with the local community

Established in 1724 (Kyoho 9). Urakasumi" has spun its history in the scenic Shiogama area, and the quality of its sake has been nurtured in tandem with the local food culture. With a basic policy of "carefully making and carefully selling authentic sake," the company has continued to brew sake with the mission of bringing comfort and enrichment to many people through sake.

Saura: Exterior view (photo courtesy of Urakasumi Brewer, Saura Co., Ltd.)

The spirit of Hirano-style sake brewing, the treasure of the Nanbu Touji clan, faithful to the basics in all matters

Sagoro Hirano and Shigekazu Hirano, two of the greatest treasures of the Nanbu Touji, who built the foundation of Urakasumi's sake brewing, left behind at the brewery not only the techniques of koji molding and low-temperature, long-term fermentation, but also the spirit of "thoroughness in all things," which is to adhere to the basics and carefully perform each and every task. The two men's specialty, highly aromatic ginjo sake, has won awards at various sake competitions every year.
The late Shigekazu Hirano, the honorary toji, was the master of the art of sake brewing and created the famous sake "Urakasumi Zen". It was a light, dry sake that changed the image of postwar sake and ushered in the subsequent ginjo and jizake (locally brewed sake) boom. Urakasumi's sake, which inherits the Hirano-style of sake brewing, has been highly acclaimed at various sake competitions since Sagoro's generation, and has won gold medals at the National New Sake Competition, honors at the Nanbu Toji Homebrew Sake Competition and the Tohoku Sake Competition, as well as awards at the International Wine Challenge and the National Sake Competition.
Sake brewing is a people business. Each brewer understands the thoughts of the master brewer and sincerely engages in the process he or she is in charge of with the same feelings, and does the obvious things with care and faithfulness to the basics. This spirit, inherited from Sagoro Hirano and Shigekazu Hirano, is the basis of Urakasumi's sake brewing.

Saura HP

This is a limited offer only for this tour! French cuisine with seafood from the port town of Shiogama and sake from two of Shiogama's representative breweries

Now, if you have visited the port town of Shiogama, how about "Shiogama French cuisine"? Restaurant Cheneux is a two-minute walk from JR Shiogama Station, and has been in business for over 40 years. Chene Nou" means "in our house" in French. The interior is inspired by a French country house, with off-white as the base color, creating a bright, relaxing, and comfortable space. The restaurant is committed to local production for local consumption and uses fresh, high quality seafood and seasonal ingredients from the Tohoku region. For this special event, Dr. Kenya Hashimoto, a leading sake researcher who will accompany the tour, will introduce the pairing of Shiogama French cuisine with sake from "Saura" and "Abekan Sake Brewery". You will surely be intoxicated by the stories that will expand your enjoyment of the cuisine and sake unique to this region.

Restaurant Cheneux HP

The 5th tour in the Miyagi Sake Enjoyment Series, limited to departure dates

The tour will include a visit and tasting of the sake brewery introduced here, and a marriage of the sake with local ingredients.
Mr. Kenya Hashimoto, a Miyagi Prefecture official and a leading sake researcher with about 30 years of experience, will accompany the tour!
This is a rare opportunity to hear the real voices of sake breweries and to learn and discover!
Departures from Tokyo and Sendai are available.
Please enjoy the Shiogama and Matsushima area, the pride of Miyagi, with sightseeing.

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The contents and services in this article are subject to change.
Tour availability is subject to change.
All images are for illustrative purposes only.

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