Kiminoi Shuzo

From our Winter 2026 Club write-up:
In the Edo period (1601-1868), gold from Sado, rice from Niigata's plains, and salt from the Joetsu coast made their way to Edo and Kyoto markets via the Hokkoku Kaido, today the route of the Hokuriku shinkansen. Along with trade, this highway was vital to feudal daimyo who were required to spend every other year living in the capital under the Shogun's watchful eye. As daimyo traveled, they demanded sake for themselves and their entourage, so even small post towns like Arai-juku, in the heart of Niigata's snow country, gave rise to breweries. Thus Tanaka Sake Shop was founded in 1842 to serve the (waning) needs of traveling dignitaries and merchants. Though its name changed to Kiminoi in 1951, the Tanaka family has long espoused the poet's philosophy of fueki ryuukou (不易流行）, an acknowledgement of the balance between the immutable and the fashionable. Kiminoi's sake is old school, but there's a throughline of innovation that connects it to the present. For example, in the wake of back-to-back seasons of nationwide microbial spoilage in 1920, Daigoro Tanaka became an early adopter of enamel tanks in Niigata-- moving away from porous wood. In the 70s, the Tanakas resurrected the much-forgotten yamahai method, which they now use exclusively. Within their otherwise modern brewery, wooden tools are still used for gradual temperature control, itself an example of fueki ryuukou.