Scene of the city of Murakami, in the Niigata Prefecture, known as the region producing the best Japanese Sake in the world… this, mostly due to the snow! Every year, big amounts of snowfall influence Niigata’s Sake in three ways:
(1) Snow melt and run-off have led to some of the finest, most pristine rice paddies in the world.
(2) Water: pure melted snow leads to a pure brew, bringing out subtle aromas and flavors that less pristine waters could mask.
(3) Niigata’s winter acts as a natural air purifier. Creating an atmosphere free of pollutants, germs and other micro-organisms.

The primary ingredient of Japanese Sake, aside from water, is rice. Premium Japanese Sake is brewed from a special rice, called shuzo kotekimai (Sake rice). We use the best quality rice, farmed in the city of Murakami, in the Niigata Prefecture. This rice is larger and stronger, and contains less protein and lipid than the ordinary rice commonly eaten in Japan.

The rice used for Hiro Sake in three different stages, starting from left to right with the top grade rice called shuzo kotekimai (Sake rice), before being milled or “polished” to remove the outer layers; a medium phase in the process; and the final core or center of the grain, which is so precious it resembles a ‘pearl’. Hiro Sake is made with an unusually high polished ratio versus the national Japanese average, providing a light and refreshing flavor.

Koji is steamed rice that has had an exquisite and benign fungus introduced onto it. This delicate mold creates several enzymes that break the starches in the rice into sugars, which are then fermented by the yeast, creating the alcohol. Without koji, there is no Japanese Sake…

Group of brewers o Kurabitos dividing the rice into equal parts in the ‘koji room’.

Our group of Kurabitos includes a To-ji (Head / Master Brewer or Sake Master), who is very well respected in the Niigata Sake industry. His highly regarded skills, experience, and intuition play the most important role in the production of Hiro Sake. Our handcrafted Japanese Sake is the perfect combination of art and science, requiring great devotion from our Kurabito to preserve our tradition of being the best.

The first stage in the cultivation of our Sake rice in Murakami, Niigata Prefecture.

Stunning green rice fields in the Murakami plains

Our Toji or Sake Master in the rice fields.

Ready to start the production that will create Japanese Sake, Hiro Sake!

Group of brewers, also known as ‘Kurabitos’ at Hiro Sake production’s facility in the city of Murakami, in the Niigata Prefecture. The Kurabitos are responsible for producing our world-class handcrafted Japanese Sake.

Hiroemon Takeda, renowed Samurai and Japanese Sake connoisseur who inspired by a love of Japanese Sake and his devotion to his feudal lord Naito San, aspired to create more than 200 years ago, a Japanese Sake recipe that would be received as a work of art and would serve as his legacy for all time. Hiro Sake!

Taiyou Shuzou was awarded the Grand Prize Prize in the Junmai Ginjo category in the Kanto-Shinetsu Sake Awards held by the regional taxation bureau in 2018.

Our president at the award ceremony, accepting the Grand Prize in the Junmai Ginjo category.

Group at the ‘Kanto-shinetsu National Tax Bureau Sake Contest’ ceremony, held in October 2018, in which Hiro Sake won the Grand Prize.