Who will enjoy this brewery
- People who want to look in Niigata liquor stores for karakuchi sake made in a small town in snow country (the brewery does not offer brewery tours or tastings)
- People who want to try sake brewed with spring water selected as one of the 100 Remarkable Waters of Japan
- People who want to visit places connected with Uesugi Kenshin, a warlord of Japan’s Sengoku period
About Morohashi Shuzo
Morohashi Shuzo (諸橋酒造) is a brewery in the Tochio (栃尾) area of Nagaoka (長岡市), Niigata Prefecture. It was founded in 1847 (Koka 4). Its brand is “Koshino Kagetora (越乃景虎)”. Before merging with Nagaoka, Tochio was a city of its own, called Tochio City. At the Zenkoku Shinshu Kanpyokai (National New Sake Competition) for the Reiwa 7 brewing year, whose results were announced in 2026 (co-hosted by the National Research Institute of Brewing and the Japan Sake and Shochu Makers Association), “Koshino Kagetora” received a gold award.
Morohashi Shuzo does not offer brewery tours or tastings (checked on October 27, 2026). Its sake is sold by liquor stores in various places.
A snow-country basin ringed by mountains
Tochio is almost in the middle of Niigata Prefecture. It is a basin surrounded on all sides by mountains, and a place with a lot of snow, even by the standards of Niigata Prefecture. The winter cold and snow were hard on the people who lived here. On the other hand, the cold air that blows down from the mountains in winter wraps the whole brewery, turning it into something like a natural refrigerator. Because unwanted bacteria do not multiply easily and fermentation temperatures are easy to keep low, the brewery can ferment its sake slowly over a long time at low temperatures.
“Kagetora”, in the brand name, is the name Uesugi Kenshin (上杉謙信), a warlord of the Sengoku period, used when he was young. Kenshin spent his youth in Tochio, and at that time called himself Nagao Kagetora (長尾景虎). From the connection between the town of Tochio and Kenshin, who later united Echigo (越後, now Niigata Prefecture), the brand was named “Koshino Kagetora”. In Tochio are the “Tochio Castle ruins (栃尾城跡)”, the remains of the castle where Kenshin first raised his army.
Tochio is also known for “Tochio no aburage (栃尾のあぶらげ)”, a large, thick deep-fried tofu. It is about 22 cm long, 7 cm wide and 3 cm thick, and is eaten freshly fried with soy sauce poured over it.
Brewed with famous soft spring water
Koshino Kagetora has two sources of brewing water. One is “Todo no Mori Spring (杜々の森湧水)”, spring water that was selected in 1985 by the Environment Agency (now the Ministry of the Environment) as one of the “100 Remarkable Waters of Japan (名水百選)”. The other is water from a “yoko-ido (横井戸)”, a well dug horizontally into the brewery grounds. Both come from snow piled up on the mountains that melted, soaked into the ground and welled up over many years, and both are soft water, low in hardness.
The brewery explains that this soft water helps it make sake that is “refined and easy to drink — dry, yet never tasting harshly dry” (「上品でさわりなく飲める辛口でありながら辛さを感じさせない」) (from Morohashi Shuzo’s official website). “Karakuchi” in sake does not mean salty or spicy; it means having little sweetness (→ Amakuchi and karakuchi).
Some product names include “meisui jikomi (名水仕込,”brewed with famous spring water”)“. For example,”Koshino Kagetora Meisui Jikomi Tokubetsu Junmai-shu” is a “tokubetsu junmai-shu” made only from rice, rice koji and water. “Koshino Kagetora Meisui Jikomi Daiginjo” uses “Koshitanrei (越淡麗)”, a sake rice born in Niigata Prefecture.
“Cho-Karakuchi”, and the Niigata daiginjo of old
Koshino Kagetora has a sake named “Cho-Karakuchi (超辛口)”. It is finished on the very karakuchi side of the scale that serves as a guide to sweetness and dryness, and costs 796 yen for 720 ml (tax included) (checked on October 27, 2026). There is also a “honjozo” of the same name, with a small amount of brewer’s alcohol added.
“Meisui Genryu (名水源流)” is a sake that revives the traditional ginjo brewing done by Niigata breweries in the mid-Showa era. It uses the sake rice “Takane Nishiki (高嶺錦)”, and is a “daiginjo”, with half or more of the outer part of the rice polished away and a small amount of brewer’s alcohol added.
There is also sake aged in a cave. Sake ordered in spring is laid down in a cave averaging 13°C and delivered in October. There are also seasonal products, such as a winter-only “nigori (cloudy sake)” and namazake. The rice and the rice polishing ratio differ from product to product, so please check the label for the type.
Visiting the brewery
No brewery tours or tastings
“We do not offer brewery tours, tastings or the like.” (「酒蔵見学、試飲などは行っておりません。」) (from Morohashi Shuzo’s official website)
The official website also has no information about direct sales at the brewery or mail order (checked on October 27, 2026).
Visiting the spring that supplies the brewing water
Todo no Mori Spring, one of the brewery’s sources of brewing water, is inside “Todo no Mori Meisui Park (杜々の森名水公園)” in Nagaoka.
- Address: 新潟県長岡市西中野俣3996 (Tochio area)
- By car: About 50 minutes from Nagaoka Interchange on the 関越自動車道 expressway. There is a free parking lot
- Inquiries: 杜々の森名水公園管理運営組合 (the park’s management association) 0258-58-3050
Travel times are estimates (checked on October 27, 2026). Opening days and visiting arrangements may change. Please check the official information of the brewery and the facility before visiting.
Where to buy Morohashi Shuzo’s sake
The brewery does not publish a list of stockists (checked on October 27, 2026). For limited and seasonal products, please ask at a liquor store near you. Some products, such as “酒座 景虎”, are sold only by some liquor stores. What each store carries and its stock differ, so please check at the store.
Morohashi Shuzo does not sell “collaboration” products using the brewery’s name (checked on October 27, 2026). Please be careful with unfamiliar products bearing the brewery’s name.
Before you buy
- Seasonal products have fixed release periods (the nigori from November to February, the junmai shiboritate nama genshu (純米しぼりたて生原酒, freshly pressed junmai nama genshu) from November to February, and so on). Some stores may not get them, so please check with the store.
- If you are taking sake home abroad: Bottles over 100 ml cannot go in your carry-on bag before security screening. Put them in your checked baggage, or buy them at a duty-free shop after security screening. Please check in advance what applies if you have a connecting flight, and the import limits of the country you are arriving in. → Travel tips
Other breweries in Niigata Prefecture are gathered on our Niigata Prefecture page.
Brewery facts
| Item | Details |
|---|---|
| Brewery | 諸橋酒造株式会社 (Morohashi Shuzo) |
| Founded | 1847 (Koka 4) |
| Address | 新潟県長岡市北荷頃408 Open in Google Maps |
| Phone | 0258-52-1151 (8:00–12:00 and 13:00–17:00. Closed on Saturdays (except in busy periods), Sundays and national holidays) |
| Main brand | Koshino Kagetora (越乃景虎) |
| Brewing water | Todo no Mori Spring, and water from the brewery’s yoko-ido (both soft water) |
| Official website | http://www.morohashi-shuzo.co.jp/ |
| Brewery tours and tasting | Not offered (checked on October 27, 2026) |
| Direct sales and mail order | No information on the official website |
| List of stockists | Not published (checked on October 27, 2026) |
| English support | No English official page |