When rich nature and the wisdom of the people who live there are combined, various "treasures" are born in that land. Numerous shining "treasures" are born in various parts of Kagoshima Prefecture. They are now attracting attention from around the world. A journey around "Kagoshima, the treasure box of the south". This time, we visited Nakamura Shuzojo, a prestigious brewery in Kirishima that produces the premium potato shochu "Nakamura". "The brewery must not be too big." With this belief, what is the challenge that Shinya Nakamura, the 6th generation master brewer, continues to undertake...? We will also introduce two shochu bars in Kagoshima City where you can enjoy authentic Kagoshima shochu.
Kagoshima Prefecture has the most breweries of "honkaku shochu," a product registered as an intangible cultural heritage by UNESCO, in Japan.
In December 2024, Japan's "traditional sake brewing" was registered as an intangible cultural heritage by UNESCO. The subject of the registration is a type of alcohol called "kokushu" made using Japan's unique techniques using koji mold, one of which is "honkaku shochu." Kagoshima Prefecture, with 12 breweries (as of March 109) producing over 2025 brands of shochu, is the number one prefecture in Japan in terms of both the number of breweries and the number of brands. It can truly be called the home of shochu. Each brewery scattered throughout the prefecture has its own unique techniques and produces shochu with a unique flavor. Nakamura Shuzojo, which we visited this time, is one of the breweries that continues to preserve a particularly unique production method.
A red brick chimney and storehouse standing in a peaceful rural area - Nakamura Sake Brewery (Nakamura Sake Brewery Ltd.)
Driving clockwise from Kagoshima City along Kinko Bay, you can see the beautiful mountain range of the Kirishima Mountains on your left, and then you enter Kokubu, Kirishima City. As you drive along a single road in a tranquil rural area, you will see a row of red brick chimneys and warehouses, as if to welcome you. It's a familiar sight that you may have seen somewhere before. This is Nakamura Sake Brewery.
"Don't make the storehouse bigger." A belief passed down in the Nakamura family
There is a phrase that is almost like a belief that has been passed down at Nakamura Sake Brewery. That phrase is "don't make the brewery bigger." True to that belief, the size of the brewery is surprisingly small. This small brewery produced "Nakamura," an imo shochu that has gained enduring popularity among shochu lovers. It is said that when drunk straight, it has a subtle honey-like sweetness, and it is no exaggeration to say that this imo shochu was born precisely because of its small size.
Nakamura was created by the company's president, Toshiharu Nakamura, and his second son, Shinya, is currently the sixth-generation master brewer.
The red brick storehouse and chimney remain the same as when the brewery was founded in 1888 (Meiji 21). It is a scene that evokes a sense of nostalgia. (© Nakamura Sake Brewery)
What the three letters "handmade" on the label mean
The three characters "handmade" are written on the label of not only "Gyokuro", the representative brand of "Nakamura Sake Brewery", but also "Nakamura". Although we use the word "handmade" casually in our daily lives, according to Shinya, the definition of "handmade" is strictly defined.
"The regulations state that only pot-distilled shochu made from koji that is produced in a wooden box in a wooden warming room through natural ventilation, aeration and manual stirring can be advertised as handmade shochu," Shinya explains without hesitation.
In the case of Nakamura Sake Brewery, the koji room corresponds to a "wooden warming room" and the "wooden box" corresponds to the "koji lid," so the brewery can undoubtedly claim to be "handmade."
However, Shinya fears that today this word is too easily used even in the shochu industry.
After studying brewing at Tokyo University of Agriculture, Shinya spent two years training at a sake brewery in Yamagata Prefecture, and then gained experience in distribution. "All of that experience has helped me now."
Rice koji grown in a stone koji room
Nakamura Shuzojo has a stone koji room inside, lined with wooden boards. The biggest feature of Nakamura Shuzojo's shochu production is the Japanese sake-style method that uses the koji grown in this room. This method is extremely rare among shochu breweries, with only a few in Kagoshima.
Shinya showed us around the koji room. Unfortunately, it was not the season for cultivating koji, and the room was neat and tidy, but there was an openable vent in the ceiling. This vent plays an important role in "natural ventilation and air circulation." During the koji cultivation, this vent is frequently opened and closed to regulate the temperature and humidity. The opening and closing of this vent is entirely down to the intuition of Shinya and the other craftsmen. During the koji preparation season, people stay overnight to work there every day.
It is not the season for cultivating koji, so the inside of the koji room is very clean. However, the so-called "muro-tsuki koji" is quietly sleeping inside the koji room.
The task of infusing new rice with koji mold is hard work. Temperature and humidity control are all achieved through years of experience. In addition to using koji that lives in the koji room, they also purchase it from Kawachi Genichiro Shoten, a long-established store in Kagoshima. (© Nakamura Sake Brewery)
"The rice that is the source of the koji is also important. The brand of rice used by Nakamura Sake Brewery is "Hinohikari." It is newly grown using a very labor-intensive cultivation method called "Kalgen Farming," which uses fertilizers to replenish calcium and sulfur."
The rice that is the basis of the koji is obtained through a contract cultivation agreement with a farmer near Kirishima Shrine that has been in place for nearly 30 years. (© Nakamura Sake Brewery)
"We have been procuring this rice through a relationship we have had with a farmer near Kirishima Shrine for nearly 30 years. Infusing this rice with koji mold is quite a difficult task. It's hard work, and you'll be drenched in sweat until midnight, and by the end you'll have no grip strength at all."
By carefully nurturing the koji mold and yeast that live in the brewery and promoting fermentation in this way, Nakamura Shuzojo produces its unique, mellow shochu with a reduced alcoholic taste.
After distillation, the raw liquor is stored in earthenware jars that have been used since the company was founded.
The abundant spring water is a blessing from the Kirishima mountain range.
It's not just rice. The main ingredient, sweet potatoes, are all fresh and of high quality, obtained from contracted farmers in Kagoshima. And water. The Kokubu area of Kishi Kirishima City, located at the foot of the Kirishima mountain range, is an area rich in groundwater, and even within the grounds of Nakamura Shuzojo, abundant groundwater with the ideal hardness and mineral balance for shochu production springs from a depth of 120 meters. It could be said that it is this spring water that makes shochu production possible.
The underground water that reaches us from deep underground in the Kirishima mountain range has a good balance of minerals and hardness, making it the perfect brewing water. (© Nakamura Sake Brewery)
The first new brand in 6 years, created entirely by the sixth-generation master brewer, Shinya
In 2021, Nakamura Sake Brewery added a new brand to its lineup. This is the Amazing Series, which was created entirely by Shinya, the head brewer. It was the brewery's first new brand in 25 years.
"We released two lines, "Still Life" and "Tear Drop," but we had a particularly hard time making the koji for "Tear Drop."
According to Shinya, "Still Life" has a fruity scent similar to grapefruit and lime combined with the aroma of black tea, while "Tear Drop" has a high-quality aroma similar to pancakes, yogurt, and honey.
"But strangely enough, in the stone storehouse, not only black and white koji but also the rare yellow koji naturally grows, which gives the sake a unique flavor. Thanks to these two series, we sold out, and now we are selling the successor series, "the traditional."
"Still Life" (left) and "Tear Drop" (right) from the "Amazing Series," for which Shinya was the head brewer and was responsible for all of the production. The adorable illustrations on the labels were created by up-and-coming artist Rei Imai.
Because it is not a large-scale sake brewery, they are able to pay close attention to detail and try various things. For example, they are making shochu using new ingredients. Shinya continues to challenge himself day and night in order to fuse tradition with evolution.
"'Don't make the brewery too big.' That's what my father has been telling me for a long time. I've come to appreciate it again."
Nakamura Sake Brewery
915 Kokubunminato, Kirishima City, Kagoshima Prefecture
Tel: 0995-45-0214
*Sake brewery tours are not available.
Two shochu bars you should definitely visit at night in Kagoshima
Kagoshima Shochu Bar Shika
In addition to 600 different brands of shochu from all breweries in Kagoshima, the shop offers almost every type of alcohol made in Kagoshima, including whiskey, spirits, and liqueurs made in Kagoshima. The shop also features a beautiful display made up of the caps of XNUMXL bottles from each brewery, as well as a map of all the shochu breweries in the prefecture, hand-made by the owner. The name of the shop, "Roku" (deer), comes from the character that is common to both "Rokumeikan" and "Kagoshima."
Kagoshima Shochu Bar ROKU
Kagoshima Prefecture, Kagoshima City, Yamanokuchi-cho 3-14 Peonia Building XNUMXF
099-224-6886
Business hours: Monday to Friday 20:00 to 2:30 (closing time) Saturday and the day before a holiday 19:30 to 2:30 (closing time)
Closed: Sundays (open if Monday is a public holiday, closed the following day)
Bar Suke: Enjoy Kiriko and Sakeware
As the name of the shop suggests, behind the counter, there is a beautiful display of sake vessels, including Satsuma Kiriko and Edo Kiriko, as well as Satsuma ware and tinware, from which you can choose your favorite drink. Some of the vessels are museum piece grade glass, which makes the poured sake look even more beautiful and delicious. They also stock the major brands of Kagoshima authentic shochu, wine, and champagne.
Bar Suke: Enjoy Kiriko and Sake Ware
Kagoshima Prefecture, Kagoshima City, Yamanokuchi-cho 7-16 Yuzuki Building 2F
Business hours: Monday to Saturday 21:00 to 2:00 (closing time)
Closed: Sunday
Photography by Azusa Todoroki (Bowpluskyoto)
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A trip around Kagoshima's "treasures"
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