Takada Shuzojo (高田酒造場)
Takada Shuzojo is a shochu distillery in Asagiri, Kuma District, Kumamoto, making handcrafted kuma shochu (rice shochu) in buried pots in small batches near the Kuma River. It was founded in 1902.
What kind of distillery is Takada Shuzojo?
The Takada family were village headmen in the Edo period, and each head took the name Matasuke. Shochu making began in 1902 under the ninth Matasuke, Kanji Takada, with the brand Akiho. The business passed to the tenth and eleventh generations, and Takahiro returned home at 24 to become the twelfth. In 1988 the distillery released the oak-barrel-aged Oak Road. The twelfth generation developed shochu using aigamo-farmed rice and flower yeast, and his daughter Yasuna develops liqueurs. The distillery marked its 100th anniversary in 2003 and rebuilt its brewing house.
- Water
- Brewing water is good groundwater plus rock spring water from a mountain at 1,000 m.
- Ingredients
- Uses local Asagiri rice (Hinohikari), pesticide-free aigamo-farmed rice and home-grown Yamada Nishiki, chosen per brand.
- Yeast
- Makes kuma shochu with wild flower yeast.
- Style
- Koji is made by hand in a stone-built koji room, and mashing is done in pots buried in the ground.
- Other
- Five kinds of oak barrels in the stone storehouse are used to age the shochu.
Can you visit Takada Shuzojo?
- Tours
Brewery tours are available by advance reservation; large groups should check by phone beforehand.
Hours and booking rules change, so check before you go. Official website
Other brewery tours in Kumamoto
Compiled with AI from public pages, mainly the brewery’s own site (not yet checked by the brewery)Sources: takata-shuzohjyo.co.jp