Yamaguchi Shuzojo (株式会社山口酒造場)
Yamaguchi Shuzojo is a brewery in Kurume, Fukuoka, making sake under the Niwa no Uguisu and Uguisujirushi brands. The family has brewed in Kitano since the early 1800s, using local rice and water. KIKI lists 3 of its bottles.
- Bottles listed
- 3
- Makes
- Sake
- Japan Sake Awards
- 2 golds
Where to buy
What kind of brewery is it?
The brewery traces its roots to a merchant family that traded under the Furuteya name before the Edo period ended. In 1832 it received a sake brewing licence from the Arima domain. Most of the present brewhouse buildings date from the late Edo and early Meiji periods. From around the 1970s it moved toward junmai-shu and specially designated sake, avoiding large-scale equipment. In 2022 it changed from a partnership into a stock company, and the eleventh-generation owner now leads the brewery.
What makes it distinct
- Water
- The brewery describes the area as one where good water wells up.
- Ingredients
- Niwa no Uguisu Kitajima Yamadanishiki 80 uses only Yamada Nishiki grown by a farmer in Asakura city.
- Yeast
- The nine series is built on the concept of a Kyushu brewery, Kyushu-grown Yamada Nishiki and No. 9 yeast.
- Style
- The brewery has focused on junmai-shu and specially designated sake since around 1975.
Visiting
- Shop
A retail shop at the front entrance of the main house sells the brewery's products. Hours are 9:00 to 17:00, open on Saturdays, Sundays and public holidays, closed over New Year, Golden Week and the Obon holiday. Brewery tours and tastings are not offered.
Compiled with AI from public pages, mainly the brewery’s own site (not yet checked by the brewery)Sources: niwanouguisu.com
Bottles from this brewery
The app finds 19 bottles from this maker by their label (3 on this site).
Japan Sake Awards
A prize-winner in 8 of the 9 contests from brewing year 2017 to 2025, with a gold prize in 2.
- Prize (nyusho)庭のうぐいすPDF
- Prize (nyusho)庭のうぐいすPDF
- Prize (nyusho)庭のうぐいすPDF
- Prize (nyusho)庭のうぐいすPDF
- Prize (nyusho)庭のうぐいすPDF
- Prize (nyusho)庭のうぐいすPDF
- Gold prize庭のうぐいすPDF
- Gold prize庭のうぐいすPDF
Source: the prize lists of the Japan Sake Awards (National Research Institute of Brewing and Japan Sake and Shochu Makers Association). Brewing year 2019 had no final judging, so no gold prizes.