Tsukasabotan Junmai Masugu

Tsukasabotan Masugu Junmai (純米酒 司牡丹 まつすぐ) is one of the two sake in the 'Junmai Sake Series Recommended by Yoshida Rui' (吉田類お薦め純米酒シリーズ). Yoshida Rui is a sake connoisseur and 'bar poet' travelling across Japan to promote the charm of bar culture. Mr Yoshida wrote the poem on the label and designed the calligraphy.


Masugu Junmai is light, dry, and representative of Tosa sake. Rich in umami, it has a soft and smooth finish. Created as an "evening drink," it is recommended to pair it with grilled mackerel, grilled eel, teriyaki chicken, gouda cheese, and sweet and sour meat dumplings.

2022 edition:

Sakawa, nestled in the heart of Kochi Prefecture, is a picturesque basin surrounded by the Shikoku mountain range. It is situated along the Yanase River, a tributary of the Nyo River. Renowned for its natural beauty, Sakawa boasts one of Japan's top 100 cherry blossom spots, Makino Park, and two of Tosa's three great gardens. It's also famous as the birthplace of geology in Japan. During the Edo period , it flourished as the Fukao clan's castle town, the Tosa Domain's chief retainers. The town is steeped in history, producing numerous loyalist samurai during the Meiji Restoration . The "Meikyokan" school and the "Aoyama Bunko" library, which houses the works of these samurai, add to the town's historical charm. Sakawa's climate is warm and humid, with significant temperature differences between day and night, making it ideal for cultivating tea, pears, and apples. The town's central area features a 90-meter-long row of white-walled warehouses, built in the late Edo period and designated as a town cultural property. Part of this complex now houses the "Sake Gallery Hotei," showcasing the rich culture of sake brewing in Tosa.

Founded in 1603, the brewery's origins can be traced back to a "御酒屋" (onsakeya, a sake brewer who supplied sake to the feudal lord) who accompanied Fukao Shigeyoshi, the chief retainer of Yamauchi Kazutoyo (who was granted 240,000 koku of land in Tosa by Tokugawa Ieyasu ), to Tosa. This sake brewery was known as "Kuroganeya" and had deep connections with the "Sayaya" family, the ancestral home of Sakamoto Ryoma , who was also involved in sake brewing. In 1918, the sake brewers of Sakawa came together to establish the current brewery. Tanaka Mitsuakira, a native of Sakawa and a prominent figure in the Meiji Restoration, named the sake "Tsukasabotan," meaning "the supreme among peonies," symbolizing the highest quality. In 2005, a new brewery building, "Heisei-gura," was constructed, consolidating facilities from various locations within the town. Equipped with state-of-the-art rice polishing and koji-making machines, the brewery further enhanced its brewing precision.

The brewery's four pillars are rice, water, technique, and heart. Almost all their sake and koji rice is made from the premium Yamadanishiki variety. Since 1996, they've been contract-cultivating Yamadanishiki and other sake rice varieties using the Nagata farming method in local areas. The brewery uses crystal-clear soft water from the Nyo River system, known locally as "Kaminogawa." This water, combined with the traditional techniques passed down through generations of Hiroshima toji (brewmasters), results in high-quality sake. Despite the challenges of wartime and postwar periods, the brewery has always adhered to its principle of prioritizing quality. Currently, 70% of their production is speciality sake, to reach 100% in the future. Tsukasabotan sake is characterized by its clean, dry flavour, unique umami, and rich aroma.