300-year-old sake brewery becomes wholly owned subsidiary of an investment company: Kitsukura Shuzo, Nagano

A long-established brewery joins an investment company

Nagano Prefecture is an inland region in the centre of the Japanese archipelago, surrounded by mountains. In the Usuda district of Saku, in the east of the prefecture, Kitsukura Shuzo has been brewing sake for more than 300 years, and it has now reached a major turning point. According to the Shinano Mainichi Shimbun, Japan Investment Adviser (JIA), a Tokyo-based company listed on the Prime Market, the top tier of the Tokyo Stock Exchange, which is active in investment and related businesses, has acquired all of the brewery’s shares and made it a wholly owned subsidiary. The purchase price, the management line-up and the brewery’s future brewing policy are not clear from the publicly available part of the reports.

Why would an investment company buy a sake brewery?

In recent years JIA has been investing in sake breweries in regional Japan, and this acquisition fits into that pattern. Most Japanese sake breweries are small family companies handed down through generations, and each has dealt in its own way with problems such as ageing buildings and equipment and the question of succession. Mitsuzakura Shuzo in Gifu Prefecture, for example, moved to Hokkaido, some 1,000 km away, after its brewery grew old. Tonada Jozo in Chiba Prefecture decided at one point to suspend brewing, but found a way to carry on making sake. Kitsukura Shuzo’s decision to accept outside capital and entrust the whole company to an investor adds a new example to these options.

What should European enthusiasts look out for?

Even when the owner changes, what shapes the flavour of a sake is still the local water and rice and the skill of the brewers. When you pick up a Nagano sake in Europe, check the brewery name on the back label or in the importer’s materials, and if you see Kitsukura Shuzo, spare a thought for the 300 years of history behind it. How a brewery that has come under an investment company’s umbrella changes, or does not change, its exports and product range may become one more piece of evidence for thinking about where the sake industry is heading. If a particular brand catches your eye, asking the shop for news of the brewery is another way to enjoy the sake.