Minakuchi Shuzo of Dogo moves to a new management team with an eye on overseas markets
Minakuchi Shuzo, which has brewed in Dogo Onsen, Ehime, since 1895, moved to a new management structure on 1 October and is speeding up its overseas push around its flagship brand NIKITATSU.
Minakuchi Shuzo, the only sake brewery in Dogo Onsen (Matsuyama, Ehime Prefecture, Shikoku), which is regarded as one of Japan’s oldest hot-spring towns, has brewed there since 1895. On 1 October 2026 it moved to a new management structure. Led by Kosuke Minakuchi, sixth-generation brewery owner and president, an executive team of specialists from different fields will pursue high-quality sake brewing and the development of overseas markets.
A family motto: “Break the noren”
The founding family has handed down the teaching “Do not protect the noren; break the noren.” A noren is the cloth hung at a shop entrance and, in Japan, a symbol of a business’s credibility and tradition. The saying means that one should not merely guard tradition but deliberately break through it and move forward. Having reached its 130th year, the brewery has set out a vision of “From Dogo to the world, from the world to Dogo.” The new management team will focus on raising the value of tokutei meisho-shu (the premium categories of sake that meet standards on ingredients, rice polishing ratio and so on), opening up overseas markets, creating food-culture experiences in partnership with the local area, and building a management system that can be handed on to the next generation. Mr Minakuchi says he aims to make sake that is still loved around the world 100 years from now, and that makes people want to visit Dogo after a single glass.
Three bottles from the flagship brand NIKITATSU
The new brand NIKITATSU (仁喜多津), launched in February 2026, is the face of the new management structure. On 30 September and 1 October the brewery exhibited for the first time at “Wakate no Yoake”, an event for young brewery owners held in Tokyo, where it showed three bottles. The top-tier junmai daiginjo has a showy aroma and full, rounded rice flavour, and is a bottle for toasts. The junmai ginjo muroka nama genshu is a special freshly pressed edition that is neither filtered, heat-pasteurised nor diluted; it is characterised by aromas from a yeast taken from flowers, delicate acidity and a faint sparkle. The junmai-shu has a crisp, rather dry character and is brewed as a food sake that can be enjoyed chilled or warmed.
Awards and a broad range of products
Minakuchi Shuzo has won gold at the National New Sake Appraisal seven times in total. Besides sake, it is a comprehensive producer that also makes “Dogo Beer”, shochu, liqueurs and spirits. The brewery’s own “pure ice” technology is also said to be used in finishing its sake.
If you want to find the brewery’s sake in Europe, the quickest route is to ask sake specialist shops or importers under the name “NIKITATSU” or “Minakuchi Shuzo”. The junmai-shu is a good first bottle. Its character changes with temperature, so tasting it chilled and then warmed to around 40 degrees makes the differences in the rice flavour easier to appreciate. The junmai daiginjo is best enjoyed from a white-wine glass to appreciate its aroma. It will also be worth watching which markets exports begin to serve under the new management.
Sources
- PR TIMES (Minakuchi Shuzo): https://prtimes.jp/main/html/rd/p/000000023.000140111.html
Sources
This article was written by The Sake Wire editorial team, summarising the public sources listed above. Images are our own.
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