Matsue's Rihaku Takes On the Future with Pouch Sake and 20 Years of Data

Rihaku Shuzo is a sake brewery in Matsue, the capital of Shimane Prefecture on the Sea of Japan coast. It was founded in 1882 (the 15th year of the Meiji era), and according to its fifth-generation president, Yuichiro Tanaka, the original buildings are about 140 years old. Centred on its flagship brand, Rihaku, the brewery makes sake that is rich in umami yet finishes cleanly, and that goes well with food. The local television station Nihonkai Television reported on how this long-established brewery keeps changing in three areas: exports, containers and brewing methods.

About 40% of sales come from overseas, with shipments to Europe

At Rihaku Shuzo, overseas markets account for close to 40% of sales. It exports to 14 countries and regions, and in the brewery’s shipping area parcels bound for Germany, Switzerland, Spain, Australia and the United States were lined up. Exports began under Mr Tanaka’s father and have continued for more than 30 years. Mr Tanaka, however, names United States tariff policy and the strict conditions for exports to China as sources of concern. At home, the price of rice, the main raw material, is also rising, and he says the situation has reached a point where the company’s own efforts are no longer enough. He therefore believes it must open up new markets at home as well as abroad.

Choosing a pouch instead of a bottle

One attempt aimed at new markets is the sake in pouches (bag-style containers) that the brewery launched in 2024. Its standard sake is filled into resealable pouches with a cap. They are lighter than bottles and do not break, which makes them easy to carry. Mr Tanaka says the idea came to him when he saw that many products in drugstores had moved to pouches, and that he could find no other example of a sake brewer making resealable pouches itself.

There are advantages for the producer as well. To preserve quality, sake undergoes heat sterilisation known as “hiire”. Bottles are heated to about 60 degrees, but sudden rises and falls in temperature can make them crack. Pouches can withstand temperatures of up to 80 degrees and rapid temperature changes. Bottles are better suited to ageing sake for 10 or 20 years, but for sake meant to be drunk sooner, Mr Tanaka takes the view that quality is more stable in a pouch.

Twenty years of data, without relying on a toji

Most Japanese sake breweries have traditionally hired a craftsman known as a “toji”, the head brewer, together with his team for the brewing season (at Rihaku Shuzo, from September to the end of April), and have made sake relying on experience and intuition. Twenty years ago, Rihaku Shuzo began recording the condition of the rice, the progress of fermentation, the working environment and other details as data. Using the previous year’s data as a reference, including for the brewing schedule, it now makes sake with its own employees alone, without a toji. Behind this lie the ageing of craftsmen and a shortage of successors. Mr Tanaka expresses respect for the craftsmen who learned through their bodies without using numbers, but says that finding a talented person and training them to become a toji is far harder than collecting data.

If you would like to enjoy it in Europe, look for the name “Rihaku” at importers and specialist shops that handle sake in Germany, Switzerland, Spain and elsewhere. This is sake made to be drunk with food, so its qualities should be easier to appreciate alongside salty or umami-rich dishes than on its own. The report does not mention whether the pouch products are sold in Europe. With tariffs and rising rice prices continuing, it will be interesting to see how data-driven brewing supports the quality of exports that have continued for more than 30 years.