Otsu flourished as a port town for water transportation on Lake Biwa, a post town on the Tokaido, and a temple town for Mii-dera Temple. Part of that bustling area, once known as ``Otsu Hyakumachi'', is now a shopping street with bright sunlight shining through the arcades. There, there was a store with barrels of sake piled up under the eaves of a tiled roof with the word ``Asajio'' written in bold letters.

Hirai Shoten is a long-established sake brewery that was founded in 1658 in the early Edo period. ``Asakyo'' is a representative brand named after a waka poem given to him by Emperor Gomizunoo's son, Prince Shogoin Miyamichihiro, in 1677. ``This is the room where koji is made, and in the past, the chief brewer and craftsmen lived in this room during the winter,'' said Hiroko Hirai, the chief brewer. It seems that it has been expanded over the years, and the wooden buildings continue into the back.

In a dimly lit space with long, thick beams, large tanks for making sake are lined up quietly, and although they are no longer in use, the large tanks made of cherry wood and the huge pots buried in the ground are still intact. There is. As the faint aroma of sake tickles your nose, you will feel the weight of Hirai Shoten's history, which has been around for over 360 years, filling the air.

However, for Hiroko, who laughs and says, ``It must be like a maze,'' this is also the place where she was born and raised. The sake brewery where I work today is a nostalgic place where I played hide and seek when I was a child. Hiroko, who had no intention of taking over the family business and was studying architecture at university, entered the world of sake brewing after the sudden death of her grandfather, the 16th head of the family.

After graduating from university, he entered the family business and learned sake brewing from his father, the 17th head of the family. ``Once I started doing it, I started to enjoy it more and more.Actually, I'm not a big drinker myself, so I want to make easy-to-drink alcohol that even beginners can enjoy.'' Supporting Hiroko is her husband, Shotaro. Seven years ago, she met and married Shotaro, who was working in Fushimi and was a true sake lover and wanted to get involved in sake brewing. Nowadays, my husband and I spend our days exploring alcohol. Shotaro says, ``It's hard work, but it's very fulfilling to be able to do everything ourselves. I work with the awareness that I'm in a place where I can serve alcohol.'' His eyes sparkle. The passion is only growing.

On the day I visited for this interview, they were brewing ``Fouche'', which was invented about 20 years ago so that you could drink delicious Japanese sake even in the summer. Hiroko pours the mash into long, narrow cloth sake bags, and Shotaro breaks off the openings of the bags and stacks them in the tank. After a while, sake started flowing out little by little from the spout in the tank.

It is a time-consuming process, but if it makes the sake delicious, it becomes a precious time.

Although the number has increased in recent years, the number of female chief brewers is still in the minority. He may feel nervous about inheriting 360 years of history, but he says he only looks at the present, not the past.
``I haven't been asked to inherit it either, and I try not to think too much about whether or not I want my children to inherit it.However, if I want to pass it on next time, I want to be able to pass it on.'' Work. I want to do what I can right now for that purpose." Currently, Mr. and Mrs. Hirai are thinking about trying out different kinds of rice. ``We want to value local flavors, so we mainly use rice produced in Shiga Prefecture.In addition, we also use rice from other regions, and we hope to increase the variety of flavors we're looking for.'' There is also.”

Hiroko says that sake making is influenced by various conditions such as rice, temperature, and water, ``I make sake as if I were devoted to my boyfriend, and when it becomes a product, I feel like I would marry my child.'' "It will be."
[Hirai Shoten]'s sake is brewed slowly with your loved ones, as if you were interacting with someone special. The reason for its gentle taste is the love that the couple poured into it.

■ Shiga Prefecture
[Ogawa Liquor Store] 077-524-2203 / 2-1-31 Hamaotsu, Otsu City, Shiga Prefecture
[Kato Liquor Store] 077-522-4546 / 13-1 Kinoshita-cho, Otsu City, Shiga Prefecture
[Juyondai Sake Kanazawa] 077-562-0038/8-16-14 Oiwake, Kusatsu City, Shiga Prefecture
[Tokiwaya Liquor Store] 077-572-8358 / 2-12 Akanecho, Otsu City, Shiga Prefecture
[Sake Store Maetani] 0749-22-0575/5-10 Funamachi, Hikone City, Shiga Prefecture
[Omasuya] 0748-27-0014 / 447 Yamagamicho, Higashiomi City, Shiga Prefecture
[Shuchuya Takimoto] 077-581-0322 / 2-11-18 Imajuku, Moriyama City, Shiga Prefecture

■ Kyoto Prefecture
[Nishimoto Sake Store] 075-221-0452 / 480 Aneyakoji-dori Nishinotoin Nishiimiyakicho, Nakagyo-ku, Kyoto-shi, Kyoto Prefecture

■Osaka Prefecture
[Hata Liquor Store] 072-632-4170 / 1-18-9 Sawarayoshi Nishi, Ibaraki City, Osaka Prefecture
[Inagoya Liquor Store] 06-6872-2612 / 3-3-120-108 Shinsenri Higashimachi, Toyonaka City, Osaka Prefecture
[Inakiku Liquor Store] 06-6852-4453 / 2-27-8 Nakasakurazuka, Toyonaka City, Osaka Prefecture Sakurazuka Shopping Center 1F
[Orikuchi Liquor Store] 06-6641-1131 / 2-10-14 Ebisu Higashi, Naniwa-ku, Osaka-shi, Osaka Prefecture