Apricot Village

This year, the "Onbashira Festival," a grand festival held once every seven years, took place in the Suwa region of Nagano Prefecture. I've heard that sake consumption in the Suwa region during an Onbashira year nearly doubles compared to years without the festival.

The Onbashira festivities, including the mountain procession (Yamadashi) and village pulling (Satohiki), are not just confined to the main festival period of about a month. Preparations begin nearly two years prior, and once the Onbashira year arrives, the Suwa region truly becomes immersed in the spirit of the festival, with preparations and practice sessions happening all around. As the saying goes, "Where people gather, there is sake," so seeing the atmosphere in Suwa during an Onbashira year, it's easy to believe the figure of more than double the usual consumption.

Inside the shop

Sake has long been an indispensable part of Japanese culture, intertwined with festivals, governance, and sacred rituals. While it plays various roles and holds diverse meanings in different contexts, at its core, I believe it all connects back to a sense of gratitude towards the gods and nature.

Therefore, when brewing sake, we believe that the greater the gratitude felt by the brewers towards nature, the farmers who cultivate the rice, and everyone involved in the sake-making process, the more delicious the sake will become.

We want to deliver the sake brewed by such artisans to our customers, adding our own gratitude towards the brewers. That is our philosophy.

Sakano Ikusakaya
1852-1 Yashiro, Chikuma City, Nagano Prefecture
Tel. 026-272-0143
FAX. 026-272-1208
http://ikusakaya.blog.ocn.ne.jp/