Heir to a quake-hit Noto sake brewery begins training at the brewery that supported his family

On the Noto Peninsula in Ishikawa Prefecture, which juts out into the Sea of Japan, many sake breweries were damaged in the Noto Peninsula Earthquake of 1 January 2024. Sakurada Shuzo, in Takojima-machi, Suzu, at the tip of the peninsula, was one of them, and its brewery was completely destroyed. On 1 April 2026, Sakurada Shintaro (22), heir to the brewery, joined Kurumata Shuzo in Hakusan, also in Ishikawa Prefecture. Kurumata Shuzo is known for its “Tengumai” brand. As reported by the Hokuriku Chunichi Shimbun, the story is of the next generation of a stricken brewery learning the craft of sake brewing from scratch at the brewery that stood by them.

Training at the brewery that offered support

After the earthquake, Kurumata Shuzo gave Shintaro’s father, Sakurada Hirokatsu (54), full support, letting him use its equipment and providing him with sales channels. A brewer who has lost their brewery needs two things to keep making sake: another brewery’s equipment and somewhere to send the sake they make. Shintaro is learning to brew at Kurumata Shuzo with gratitude for that support in his heart. His resolve is to contribute to his region’s recovery through sake brewing, a tradition of Noto.

A first day at work, starting from temporary housing

On the morning of his first day, Shintaro was in “deemed temporary housing” in Kanazawa. This is private rental housing leased by the authorities for disaster victims. Wearing his new uniform bearing the Tengumai logo, Shintaro received a homemade packed lunch from his father. His father, asking whether he had forgotten anything, was reportedly anxious in the way only a parent can be. Shintaro himself says he was nervous but that he has now put his doubts aside and knows he simply has to do his best. His goal is first to learn the tradition and eventually to rebuild Sakurada Shuzo together with his father.

A note for readers in Europe

Japanese sake brewing is not something that is complete within a single brewery. In times of disaster, breweries share equipment and sales channels, and by training people they keep their region’s sake alive. If you spot sake from Ishikawa Prefecture in a specialist shop in Europe, check the label for the brewery’s name and location. The path of the Noto breweries towards reconstruction will be a long one, measured in years. Looking forward to the day new sake is born, it may be worth remembering the names of the brewers of Noto and Ishikawa, which could make future news and new bottles all the more interesting.