“Nihonshu” Now: The Source of Kikuyoi’s Quality Runs Deep

Brewer-owner Aoshima Takashi at home in Fujieda in central Shizuoka Prefecture. Behind him stretches the Ōi River, which nourishes the region’s thriving sake industry as well as its fertile rice paddies.

As a tōji (master brewer), Aoshima Takashi adopted the professional name Denzaburō in honor of his mentor, the brewing scientist and pioneer Kawamura Denbei.

The Aoshimas (brewer-owner Aoshima Takashi, center, with his father Hideo and mother Hisako) in front of their small family brewery, whose foundations date back to the Edo period.

Aoshima Shuzō makes several varieties of Kikuyoi, including the junmai daiginjō “Matsushita-mai 40” (left), made with a special local strain of Yamadanishiki rice, organically grown and polished to 40% of its original weight. Light, drinkable, and low in acidity, Kikuyoi is considered an exemplar of Shizuoka-style sake.

Aoshima Takashi can be found out in his agrochemical-free Yamadanishiki rice paddy.