Hita's Long-Established Inoue Shuzo to Be Rebuilt with Investment from a Regional Bank's Fund

Two Blows to a Brewery That Has Lasted 220 Years

Inoue Shuzo (Inoue Shuzo) is a sake brewery in Hita, a town surrounded by mountains at the western edge of Oita Prefecture in northern Kyushu. For more than 220 years, since the Edo period, it has continued to brew sake in this area. In recent years, however, business has been difficult. The brewery was damaged in the 2017 Fukuoka and Oita floods. After that, the Covid-19 pandemic caused sake consumption to fall sharply. Even for a brewery with a long history, when natural disasters and a shrinking market follow one after another, the funds and stamina available to recover are limited.

A New Structure with a Regional Bank’s Investment Company

In March 2026, an investment subsidiary of Oita Bank, a regional bank based in Oita Prefecture, invested in Inoue Shuzo, and a new management structure began. The former president has stepped back from the front line of management and will concentrate on brewing. The company is pursuing recovery by dividing management and sake production between different people. The local newspaper Oita Godo Shimbun describes this fresh start as an “offensive stance”.

Most sake breweries in Japan are small family-run companies, and it is not unusual for the head of the house to handle cash flow and sales as well as being the person responsible for brewing. This model, in which a local financial institution injects capital and supports management so that the brewers can focus on making sake, is one answer to the question of how to keep long-established breweries alive, and it reflects changes in the sake industry.

How to Enjoy It in Europe

If you are looking for Inoue Shuzo’s sake in Europe, try searching specialist sake shops and importers’ lists for “Inoue Shuzo” or the place of origin, “Hita, Oita”. Terms on the label such as “junmai” (sake made only from rice, rice koji and water) and “ginjo” (sake made from rice polished down and fermented slowly at low temperature) also give a guide to the flavour. At a brewery under new management, the character of the sake can change over several years. Comparing the same brand year by year, and judging for yourself whether the brewers’ sharper focus on brewing has paid off, is a pleasure that only readers far away can enjoy.

References and sources

• Oita Godo Shimbun, “Hita’s Inoue Shuzo starts new management structure after receiving investment; former president to focus on brewing, aiming for recovery with an offensive stance”