On the wall of a building in the rural landscape of Mizuguchi, Koka City, are the words "Shinkai" and "Nature" written in large letters. Shinkai" is the representative brand of Fujimoto Sake Brewery, which has been brewing sake in this area for more than 250 years since the Edo period.

The origin of the name "opened by God" dates back to around 1766. The people of the time, who were worried about the quality of their sake, dug a well at the oracle of the nearby Yamamura Shrine, and good quality water gushed out, enabling them to make good sake. The water from the well, located on the Fujimoto Sake Brewery premises, is still used for brewing sake today.

The water has a sweet and soft taste. Fujimoto Sake Brewery has been using this water to produce sake with a robust and robust flavor that is typical of Japanese sake," says Nobuyuki Fujimoto, president of the company, who is originally from Nara Prefecture. Nobuyuki Fujimoto, the brewery's president, is originally from Nara Prefecture. He came to this brewery when he was 19 years old.

The brewery was originally run by my uncle and aunt, but they told me that they had no successor. ...... I heard that the brewery had been running for more than 200 years, and I wondered if I should let it go out of business. I was worried about whether I should shut down the business since I heard that it had been running for more than 200 years. Mr. Fujimoto was underage and had never had a drink. Moreover, he was attending college to become an elementary school teacher. However, an intuition that "this sounds interesting" pushed him toward the path of sake brewing. He re-enrolled in an agricultural university and studied brewing.

酒蔵を継ぎ、5年ほど前からは蔵元杜氏として自分の酒を追求している。「今となっては天職」というほど、酒造りに夢中だ。 「19歳で酒蔵に入り、勉強を重ねているとき感じていたのは『自分だったら…』という思いです。今、それを一つひとつ形にしています。多分滋賀で一番変わった酒を造っていると思いますよ」。ラインナップを見ると、確かにバラエティに富んでいる。

For example, sake made using the "mizu-hashiro" method, which originated in the Muromachi period (1333-1573), tastes like a sweet and sour milk beverage. Usually, rice is steamed before brewing, but this sake is made from raw rice. Instead of steaming the rice, it is left at 25 degrees Celsius for a week to attract lactic acid bacteria. In addition, kijo-zake, which uses sake in the brewing process, is also available.
There is a This is a Heian-era method of making ice wine, which is said to have a sweet taste like ice wine.
When I finally decided to build it myself, people around me asked me if I was sure I could do it. Then I said, "I can make such an unusual sake! I said, "I can make such unusual things," and all I got was unusual sake (laughs).

現在、品揃えの三割程度が“変わった酒”。藤本さんもそれらが「万人受けはしない」ことは承知の上。それでも造り続けるには藤本さんの信念がある。 「10人中9人が旨いと思うより、10人のうち1人だけめっちゃ旨いって言ってくれるそんな酒が造りたいんです。“旨い”より“すごい”を目指しています。グレープフルーツの味、バナナシェイクのような味の酒とかもありますよ。とにかくまずやってみるというのが私のスタンスです。最近では、『今度は神開で何するの？』というようなお声をお客様からいただくようにもなりました」。

The "Shiga-ness" of the labels, such as the Otsu-e design, is also typical of the Fujimoto Sake Brewery. This can also be seen in their attention to rice. Most of the rice used is grown in Shiga Prefecture, and this year the brewery began growing Yamada-Nishiki, known as an excellent sake rice, in Mizuguchi, where the brewery is located. The brewery is surrounded by rice fields. We want to brew sake with rice grown in a visible place, so we ask farmers to grow it for us. Since rice production is so active, I think we can produce good sake rice. We also have rice paddies, so eventually I would like to grow my own rice.

Divinely guided water and Shiga rice. And Mr. Fujimoto's spirit of challenge. We will continue to pay attention to this sake brewery, which continues to produce more and more "amazing" sake by adding uniqueness to traditional sake brewing.

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