Uozu Shuzo, Founded 101 Years Ago, Ceases Operations Amid Succession Problems
Uozu Shuzo, which has brewed sake in Uozu, Toyama Prefecture, since 1925, ceased operations on 31 August 2026; reports cite a lack of a successor.
A long-established Toyama brewery closes after 101 years
According to the credit research firm Tokyo Shoko Research’s Toyama branch, Uozu Shuzo (Uozu, Toyama Prefecture; president Bungo Tanaka), a sake producer, ceased operations on 31 August 2026. The company was established in 1925 under the name Honjo Shuzo and had been in business for 101 years. Toyama Prefecture lies in the Hokuriku region, in central Honshu on the Sea of Japan, and the city of Uozu sits in the east of the prefecture, on Toyama Bay. The headline of the report gives a lack of a successor as the reason for the cessation. Further details, such as the amount of debt and the procedures to follow, cannot be confirmed from the reports at present.
Succession: a problem shared across the industry
Most sake breweries in Japan are small companies, and the same family has often looked after the brewery for generations. If the next generation does not take over, or no one can be found to run the business, it becomes difficult to carry on, however long the history. On the other hand, there are cases where a new custodian appears for a brewery on the verge of closing. According to the sake media outlet SAKE Street, Sanzo Shuzo in Ueda, Nagano Prefecture, had stopped brewing because of a lack of a successor and poor business performance, but a businessman from another industry took over, and in spring 2023 brewing resumed for the first time in eight years. Whether a brewery’s history ends there or continues in a new form depends greatly on whether someone is ready to take it on.
Enjoying regional breweries in Europe
Among the sake available in Europe, many bottles come from small and medium-sized regional breweries. When choosing a bottle, it is worth looking at the brewery name, location and year of founding given on the label or in the importer’s description. Knowing which region a sake comes from, and how long the brewery has been making it, may broaden the ways you can enjoy it. With sake from a coastal region such as Toyama, one idea is to pair it with white fish or shellfish. If you find a sake you like, remember the name of the brewery and ask a specialist shop or importer about other sake from the same brewery. Choosing sake from a small brewery can also be a way of supporting it from afar.
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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