A Sake Named After the Town's "Treasure Sword"

Where Houken Shuzo is Located
Houken Shuzo is a brewery located in Hiroshima Prefecture. While Miyajima Island and the Atomic Bomb Dome are registered as World Heritage sites, Hiroshima is the only prefecture with two World Heritage sites. In terms of food, okonomiyaki and oysters are particularly famous. Many people from Hiroshima even eat okonomiyaki as a "shime" (finishing dish) instead of ramen. Of course, we brewers from Hiroshima also enjoy "Okonomiyaki Nikutama Soba" to finish our meals.

50 Minutes East of Hiroshima Station by Train
Kure City, with a population of about 250,000, is famous for being Japan's top producer of oysters and for being the place where the battleship Yamato was built. Fifty minutes by train, and upon alighting at "Nigata Station," one finds an unmanned station where the rails seem rusted, perhaps because so few trains pass through. Yet, even in Nigata Town, surrounded by mountains and sea, there is a "number one" in Japan: "files." With the highest production and shipment volume nationwide, accounting for about 90 percent of the national share, it is said that in Nigata Town, many swordsmiths once worked to create these files. It is believed that the sake brewed there was named "Houken" (Treasure Sword) from this history.

Brewing Process
Since 1994, Houken Shuzo has been brewing sake using its own staff, without relying on a toji (master brewer). Incidentally, I, Tetsuya Doi (Doitetsu), began brewing sake as the production manager, the toji, in 1997.

"Spring Water"

Brewing Water
At "Houken," spring water wells up within the brewery grounds. Rain and snow that fall on Mt. Noro, located in the national park behind the brewery, are naturally filtered by the earth over approximately 120 years, yielding 16 tons of water per day. It is said that springs are extremely rare in the Kure area. The water is slightly soft and rich in minerals, making it a renowned water suitable for sake brewing. By the way, we use this spring water in our bathtub at home, and it doesn't have that tingly feeling compared to tap water. It's very soft.

A Regrettable Incident
In Hiroshima dialect, "XX suru ken" means "to do XX." The word "ken" is added at the end of a sentence. Thirteen years ago, a certain phrase was popular in the local area: "Houken, mazui ken" (Houken is bad). I was deeply shocked when I heard this rumor. I felt pathetic about myself, thinking, "I'm brewing delicious sake," and I drank excessively that night. No matter how much I drank, I couldn't get drunk, and I couldn't stop crying out of sheer regret.

The Revival of Houken
About three years after being told "Houken, mazui ken," we wanted to somehow make people drink delicious sake.──At that time, Houken Shuzo was selling sake under a different brand, not with the "Houken" label, because "Houken" had such a bad reputation and didn't sell. However, Houken Shuzo, which has continued for about 140 years, has been revived with the current label, hoping that one day people will say, "Houken, umiken" (Houken is delicious). It was a very small start back then, with only about 700 bottles of 1.8-liter size.

The Brewers' Two Mottos
Currently, there are three of us, including myself, brewing sake, and we have a motto between us.
The first is, "Brew 100% Sake!!"
As a toji with 14 years of experience, I probably cannot yet brew sake that I consider to be 100% perfect. It doesn't mean brewing a "perfect" sake, but rather, if we have 100 pieces of knowledge, we should give our all, using 100% of our effort! That is the meaning behind it.

The second is, "Guts!!"
It might sound like Animal Hamaguchi (laughs), but we dedicate ourselves to sake brewing for about six months without a break. When we are tired and sleep-deprived, people naturally feel a bit anxious and want to rest. If we give up even one piece of our 100 pieces of knowledge, we will regret it later. When we feel like giving up, we believe that the spirit (guts) to push ourselves forward is essential in sake brewing.

"Spring Water"

Finally
Do you all like the scent of osmanthus flowers?
I detest them. I used to love them, though. I detest them because the time when the cluster amaryllis blooms and the osmanthus flowers give off their fragrance is also when we begin the brewing season (and once we start, we lose our freedom). Lest you think I dislike sake brewing, that's not the case (laughs). Please remember us brewers when you catch the scent of osmanthus flowers from now on. Think that we in the sake breweries have begun our work!

And as you read my story now, I, Doitetsu, am working hard on sake brewing with "100% effort" and "guts." For the sake of "Houken, umiken"...

I love cherry blossoms very much. I look forward to meeting you all again somewhere in April, when the cherry blossoms bloom.

Houken Shuzo
http://www2u.biglobe.ne.jp/~houken/index.html

Win Houken Limited Super Dry Junmai Sake!

We are giving away a 720mL bottle of sake, introduced in each installment of the "Wajo Waraku SAKE Academy" series, to three lucky winners.

If you wish to enter, please apply using the form below.
Winners will be contacted directly.

Application Period: Monday, November 1, 2010 - Tuesday, November 30, 2010 (until 12:00 PM)

Applications are now closed.
Thank you for your many applications.