Echizen Ono, the City in Which our Kura is Located
Echizen Ono is in the central part of the western area of Japan, in the inland part of the section known as the Hokuriku region. It is a town steeped in history and culture and is sometimes referred to as “little Kyoto.” It is a triangular valley surrounded on all sides by mountains that are a thousand meters high. The region is famous for both its sake rice production and its water, which has been nicknamed Oshozu and is known as one of the 100 best water sources in Japan. These, combined with the cold and snowy winters, make it a wonderful place about which it has been said “this place was created for making sake for the gods.”
Sake Rice
Echizen Ono is surrounded by mountains, has great differences between the daytime warmth and nighttime cold, clean air and copious amounts of water. As such it is extremely suited for growing good sake rice and is in fact one of best places in Japan for it in terms of both quality and quantity.
The Brewing Personnel
Thanks to the tenacious and diligent nature of people from snowy regions like ours, a nature that makes them particularly suited to the precision and management that is necessary in sake brewing, the area has produced many famous toji (master brewers).
The Managawa river, the source of our outstanding water
The Managawa river, from which our company takes its name, runs north and south through Echizen Ono, and supplies us with plenty of delicious water that is used in both growing the rice and making our sake.
The Heikedaira Forest
The aqueduct that is the source of the Managawa river is Heikedaira, is a huge primeval virgin forest of Buna (Japanese Beech) trees.
Mysterious Water, “The Water of Ten Thousand Years”
Echizen Ono is a valley about ten kilometers in diameter. Under the ground of the Ono valley is a bowl-shaped layer of stone that acts like a water aquifer and functions like an underground dam. This layer of stone gently holds and protects a copious amount of water. It is said that less than 100 meters below Echizen Ono sleeps a supply of water that is ten thousand years old.
Oshozu: One of the Best One Hundred Waters in Japan
The mountains of Echizen Ono have some of the most snow in Japan, with much falling and accumulating each year. This melts each spring, and after being absorbed into the ground it then rises up into wells, and it is honorifically referred to as the Oshozu of Echizen Ono. It is soft on the palate and can seem just a little bit sweet, and was once ranked by NHK (Japan’s national television station) as the best water in Japan. Long ago, only the local lords were permitted to drink it, but these days it is used as everyone’s normal drinking water, and of course, we use it in brewing our sake. Sake made using this water is both soft and delicate.
Clean Air and a Starry Sky
Far from the ocean, Echizen Ono is surrounded by rice paddies, forests and rivers and is famous for its crisp, clean air. In fact, it has even been certified by the Ministry of the Environment as being the town with the best night view of the stars in all of Japan.
Legendary Lake: Karikomi-ike
This lake is a symbol the beauty of Echizen Ono. In the autumn, the colorful foliage is beautifully reflected on the surface of the lake.
The Castle in the Heavens: Echizen Ono Castle
This castle was built in 1576 by a military commander of the Warring States Period named Nagachika Kanamori. The castle mysteriously looks as if it is floating in the clouds and is a magnificent sight that is the product of Echizen Ono’s history, topography, climate and beautiful nature.
Kuramoto – Toji: Keisuke Izumi
Keisuke Izumi studied fermentation, sake brewing and microbiology at Tokyo Agricultural University and the National Tax Administration’s Brewing Research Center. In 1998 he took over Manaturu Shuzo as president, and from 1999 he also took over as the toji (brew master). The very first ginjo that he brewed as toji won the top score in the prefectural sake tasting that year. He then won gold medals in the Kanazawa Regional Tax Division New Sake Tasting competition and the National New Sake Tasting Competition, immediately thrusting him into the limelight. His sake has won many awards since then.