When I saw the three of them making sake, they looked like they were having a lot of fun. I wanted to brew sake with them," said Mitsuya Nakai, who will join the brewery this fall. He is the eldest son of Takashi Nakai, the 10th generation head brewer of Nami-no-one Brewery (Nami-no-one), which has a history of over 200 years in Otsu City, Shiga Prefecture.

Naminon is said to have been founded in 1805. We have it on record that we received the name 'Nami-no-one' from the monk Lu on Mount Hiei in that year, so we date the founding of the brewery to 1805. I think they were probably making sake before that," says Takashi.

Nami-no-one is located near Ukimido, which is depicted in the "Eight Scenic Views of Omi: Falling Geese in Kata. The brewery has a long history of brewing sake while listening to the rippling waves of Lake Biwa. The "three people" that Mitsuya saw were his father, Takashi, and his brothers. For the past 20 years, the three brothers have been brewing sake together at Nami-no-one.
After I took over, the famous Noto Touji, Taiichi Kanai, came to our brewery in 1995 and studied sake brewing from the very beginning. At the time, Mr. Kanai was 70 years old. Because of his advanced age, he asked us three brothers to learn the skills in five years to ensure that we would inherit Toji Kanai's knowledge and techniques, which is how we started working together. It ended up taking seven years," says Takashi. The Naminoto sake brewed by the three brothers has a clean, clean taste with a hint of elegant sweetness, which they have inherited from Tôji Kanai. Mitsuya, who will be joining the brewery this year, says, "I have been looking forward to finally joining Naminode, but I am a little anxious because of the Corona disaster. I am now ready to step up to the plate.

高校卒業後、オーストラリアやニュージーランド、カナダなどで海外生活を経験した充也さん。その後、浪乃音を継ぐべく、福島県河沼郡会津坂下町の酒造会社で4年間修業した。 「福島は日本酒先進県なんです。そこで学ぶことができて本当に良かった。酒造りはもとより、できあがった後の管理も徹底されていました。浪乃音の持ついいところと、福島で学んだこと、その両方を融合させるのが今から楽しみで仕方ない」と抱負を語る。

Since high school, Mitsuya had been getting up at 4:30 a.m. in the fall to work part-time at Naminode and had seen the sake brewing process in action, but some of his thoughts changed when he went to Fukushima for his apprenticeship. Before I went to Fukushima, I was thinking that if I could join Naminode and maintain the status quo, I would be a good candidate for ....... But the moment I got involved in sake brewing in Fukushima and saw the sake being squeezed out, I was very happy. I felt that sake brewing is fun! I felt that sake brewing was fun!
Just before going to Fukushima, he married Chisa, whom he met while overseas. Chisa also worked at a sake store in Fukushima to prepare for the future.
The experience of living in a foreign country prior to his training is also likely to bring changes to NAMINOON. Japanese cuisine is very popular abroad," he says. But sake is not so popular. Knowing this, I went to sell sake myself when I was in Canada. I learned a lot from that too. I want to raise the awareness of sake overseas and spread it around the world.

Nami-no-One preserves the traditional method of making koji using a wooden tray called a koji lid. The monthly event of selling koji by weight at the store is also very popular.
When I asked Takashi, who is now trying to pass on to the next generation the system that the three brothers have devised, "Is there anything you absolutely want them to inherit or protect? He replied, "There is no such thing. It's freedom. My father died suddenly when I was 19, so I couldn't talk much about alcohol. So I thought about it on my own and did it. In the same way, you should think for yourself and do as you please. From now on, I may develop overseas sales channels or focus on online sales. There is no right answer. However, you need a reason to change. One by one, we will discuss it slowly."

In the words of his father, "I never want to go back and make things worse. I don't want to go back and make things worse," said Mitsuya. "Even if I can't make sake that everyone will enjoy, I want to make sake that someone else will enjoy.
Chisa's support is also a part of the challenge that is about to begin after four years in Fukushima. I feel that the local people in Kata are very warmly connected. I would like to support the challenge here as a public relations person.
Sake brewing has been practiced along the lakeside since the Edo period. This autumn, a new page will be added to the history of the brewery, and will mark a new "Nami-no-Oto-ness" to the history of the brewery.

■滋賀県 ［加藤酒店］077-522-4546　滋賀県大津市木下町13-1 ［（有）二ッ屋］077-592-0019　滋賀県大津市木戸175-4 ［こいずみ］0748-23-2666　滋賀県滋賀県東近江市青葉町228-5 ［徳地酒店］077-565-0070　滋賀県草津市下笠町526-3 ［きただ酒店］077-552-8070　滋賀県栗東市北中小路3番地 ［株式会社 小川酒店］077-524-2203　滋賀県大津市浜大津2-1-31 ［有限会社 土井酒店］0748-33-9408　滋賀県近江八幡市中小森町328番地 ［酒舗 まえたに］0748-22-0575　滋賀県彦根市船町5-10 ［酒のはしもとや］0749-62-3170　滋賀県長浜市神照町847 ［酒酎屋 たきもと］077-581-0322　滋賀県守山市今宿町2-11-18 ［株式会社 酒のかなざわ］077-562-0038　滋賀県草津市追分8-16-14 ［有限会社 中野酒店］077-562-0244　滋賀県草津市大路1-6-17 ［有限会社さざなみ酒店］0749-62-3373　滋賀県長浜市元浜町12-27 ■京都府 ［マルマン商店］0774-52-3582　京都府城陽市寺田北山田92-4 ［（株）ヤスイ］075-313-0212　京都府京都市右京区西京極南方町20 ［（株）野村龍酒店］075-933-2103　京都府向日市鶏冠井町楓畑22 ［サガワ酒店］075-611-1188　京都府京都市伏見区新町12-318 ［浅野日本酒店KYOTO］075-748-6641　京都府京都市南区西九条鳥居口町1　イオンモールKYOTO　Sakura館１F ［有限会社 うめだ］075-841-3595　京都府京都市中京区壬生御所ノ内町27