Nito Banzai 70 Junmai Namagenshu

Nito Banzai 70 Junmai Namagenshu (二兎 萬歳70 純米生原酒) is a junmai unpasteurised genshu (純米生原酒) brewed using locally produced ingredients, including Banzai rice (萬歳米) cultivated in Okazaki. The rice variety Banzai was historically presented to the Imperial Court during the Taishō period, but later disappeared from cultivation before being revived in Okazaki City. Maruishi Jōzō is currently the only brewery using this revived rice for sake production.

Originally released under the Banzai (萬歳) label, the product has since been renewed under the Nito–Banzai (二兎・萬歳) name. The sake has a fresh profile typical of new-season unpasteurised sake, with a clean aromatic character, gentle rice-derived sweetness and umami, and a clear acidity. Residual carbon dioxide from fermentation may remain in the bottle, imparting a lightly effervescent character when opened. Flavour balance evolves with changes in temperature, exposure to air, and time after opening.

Because fermentation-derived carbon dioxide may remain, pressure can build inside the bottle, and the inner stopper may release suddenly when opened.

Maruishi Jōzō (丸石醸造) began brewing Japanese sake in 1690 in Okazaki (岡崎), Aichi Prefecture (愛知県), and has continued sake production for more than 330 years. Okazaki, where the brewery is located, is known as the birthplace of Tokugawa Ieyasu (徳川家康, 1543–1616), the shōgun who established peace and inaugurated the Edo period. Surrounded by mountains and rivers, the area has long benefited from favourable natural conditions for agriculture and brewing.

The history of Maruishi began when the founder, Nagemachi Sandayū (長町三太夫), learned sake-brewing through contacts along the Tōkaidō (東海道), the main highway linking western Japan with Edo (江戸). After acquiring farmland and allocating substantial rice production to brewing, he established sake operations in 1690. During the Meiji period (明治時代), the company expanded into cotton trading, banking, and other businesses. In 1900, a brewery was constructed in Nada (灘), in Kubo-chō, Nishinomiya (西宮市), and sake production began there as well. Sake brewed in Nada was marketed under the name Chōyō (長誉), while production at the Okazaki headquarters was sold under the name Mikawa Bushi (三河武士).

The company later diversified in Okazaki into shōchū, mirin, miso, soy sauce, and related products, and the business prospered. During the Second World War, air raids destroyed most of the brewery facilities in Okazaki. After the war, operations were rebuilt starting from the surviving miso factory in Nakamachi (中町), and sake production resumed. Among the many ventures undertaken since its founding, sake brewing has remained the only activity continued without interruption from the beginning to the present. From its base in Okazaki, Maruishi Jōzō continues this brewing tradition today.