Hokkaido's Only Working Female Toji Heads a Brewery on a University Campus

Obihiro University of Agriculture and Veterinary Medicine is located in the Tokachi region of eastern Hokkaido. On its campus stands Hekiun-gura, a brewery that makes sake, where deputy toji Momoka Yamane (33) became toji as of 1 September 2026, as reported by the local newspaper Tokachi Mainichi Shimbun. She is the first female toji at Kamikawa Taisetsu Shuzo, the company that runs the brewery. She is reportedly the only working female toji at any sake brewery in Hokkaido.

What is a toji, and why does this promotion matter?

The toji is the person in charge of production at a sake brewery, with the final say over the taste of the sake, from how the rice is steamed and how the koji is made to the temperature control of fermentation. The role is close to that of a head winemaker in wine. In the past, it was taken for granted that the work was done by a group of male craftsmen who lived at the brewery throughout the winter, and there were times when women were even kept from entering a brewery at all. In recent years the number of female toji has been growing slowly across Japan, but this report shows that Hokkaido still has only one working today. The fact that she was promoted internally from deputy toji also suggests that the brewery is passing on its skills with its own people.

An unusual setup: a brewery inside a university

Hekiun-gura stands on the campus of Obihiro University of Agriculture and Veterinary Medicine, which specialises in agriculture and veterinary science. It is run by Kamikawa Taisetsu Shuzo, which is headquartered in the town of Kamikawa in central Hokkaido. Breweries located on university grounds are not common even in Japan. Tokachi is known as one of Japan’s leading regions for arable farming and dairy farming, and having a place of agricultural study and a sake-making site on the same grounds is what gives this brewery its character. From now on, a female toji in her thirties will lead the brewing there.

How to enjoy it in Europe

When looking for Hokkaido sake in specialist sake shops or online shops in Europe, the names “Kamikawa Taisetsu” and “Hekiun-gura” are good clues to search for. When a toji changes, the sake’s direction can reflect that person’s way of thinking. If you can compare sake brewed this season onwards under the new toji with earlier bottles, you can enjoy picking out the differences between makers. As Tokachi is a dairy region, you might also pour the sake chilled into a white wine glass and pair it with European cheeses.

Source

• Tokachi Mainichi Shimbun, “Deputy toji Yamane promoted to toji, the only working female toji in Hokkaido, Hekiun-gura” https://kachimai.jp/article/index.php?no=2026091400653