Who will enjoy this brewery
- People traveling in Kochi who are looking for a local karakuchi (dry) sake
- People who love the history of Tosa in the final years of the Edo period (Bakumatsu), including Sakamoto Ryoma (坂本龍馬)
- People who want to head west from Kochi City and walk around a town of old sake breweries (there is no information on brewery tours on the official website)
About Tsukasabotan Shuzo
Tsukasabotan Shuzo (司牡丹酒造) is a brewery in Sakawa (佐川町), Takaoka District (高岡郡), Kochi Prefecture. Its beginnings go back to 1603 (the 8th year of the Keicho era): its predecessor was a sake shop that came to Sakawa following the 深尾 family, senior retainers of the Yamauchi family (lords of Tosa), when the Yamauchi entered Tosa (today’s Kochi Prefecture). In 1918 (the 7th year of the Taisho era), the sake brewers of Sakawa came together to form a joint-stock company. The president and representative director is 竹村昭彦.
Its brand is “Tsukasabotan (司牡丹)”. Tanaka Mitsuaki (田中光顕), who was born in Sakawa and served as Minister of the Imperial Household in the Meiji government, praised this sake and gave it its name. The peony (botan) is called “the king of all flowers”, and the name carries the wish that the sake should stand at the top even among them. Its signature product is “Senchu Hassaku (船中八策)”, a karakuchi junmai-shu associated with Sakamoto Ryoma.
There is no information on brewery tours on Tsukasabotan Shuzo’s official website (checked on October 29, 2026). At the same address as the head office is “Sake Gallery Hotei (酒ギャラリーほてい)”, Tsukasabotan’s showcase shop.
The water of the Niyodo River, and a method that came from Hiroshima
Sakawa is a town in a basin surrounded by mountains, about 26 km west of Kochi City. The town lies on the middle reaches of the Niyodo River (仁淀川), and Tsukasabotan Shuzo uses spring water from the Niyodo River system as its brewing water. This water is “soft water” (water with low hardness).
Tsukasabotan’s foster parent, 竹村源十郎 (the great-grandfather of the current president), spent five years from 1926 (the 1st year of the Showa era) touring sake-producing areas all over Japan, and concluded that for making sake with Kochi’s soft water, toji (杜氏, the person in charge of sake making) from Hiroshima, heirs to a method of brewing with soft water, were the right fit. In 1931 (the 6th year of the Showa era), the brewery welcomed a Hiroshima toji, 川西金兵衛.
For most of its special designation sake (tokutei meisho: sake categories decided by the ingredients and how much the rice is polished), the brewery uses the sake rice “Yamada Nishiki”, mainly from Hyogo Prefecture, as the rice for the koji and the shubo (yeast starter, the base of fermentation). Since 1996 it has grown Yamada Nishiki in fields in Sakawa and Shimanto (四万十町) using “永田農法”, a farming method using no pesticides and as little water and fertilizer as possible. In 2000 it released “Tosa Tsukasabotan (土佐司牡丹)”, made only from rice grown in Kochi Prefecture.
Senchu Hassaku, and a connection to Ryoma’s family
“Senchu Hassaku” is the name of Sakamoto Ryoma’s eight-point plan for a new government, which he drew up aboard a ship in 1867. In 1988 (the 63rd year of the Showa era), Tsukasabotan Shuzo released a sake under this name.
The trade name of the 竹村 family, who run the brewery, is “Kuroganeya (黒金屋)”. “Saitaniya (才谷屋)”, the main family of Ryoma’s line, also brewed sake, and old documents of Saitaniya record dealings with Kuroganeya of Sakawa.
“Tsukasabotan Senchu Hassaku (司牡丹 船中八策)” is a “junmai-shu”, made only from rice, rice koji and water, with 40% of the outer part of the rice polished away (a rice polishing ratio of 60%). The brewery calls it “超辛口” (“extra dry”). In sake, “karakuchi (dry)” does not mean hot or spicy; it means having little sweetness. We cover dry and sweet sake on our Amakuchi and karakuchi page.
The Senchu Hassaku brand also has seasonal limited editions for each of spring, summer, autumn and winter.
Visiting the brewery
No information on brewery tours
There is no information on brewery tours on Tsukasabotan Shuzo’s official website (checked on October 29, 2026). If you would like a tour, please call the brewery in advance (0889-22-1211) to ask.
Sake Gallery Hotei
Tsukasabotan’s showcase shop, at the same address as the head office (佐川町甲1299). It opened in June 1996, carrying on the name of an old shop called “Hotei”. The opening days and hours are not listed on the official website (checked on October 29, 2026). Please check by phone before you go.
Getting there
Address: 〒789-1201 高知県高岡郡佐川町甲1299
- By train: You can take the JR Dosan Line from Kochi Station to Sakawa Station. Please check train times on the JR Shikoku website. The official website gives no directions from Sakawa Station
If you are driving, please do not taste. In Japan, drunk driving is prohibited by law.
Opening days and tour arrangements may change. Please check the brewery’s official information before visiting.
Where to buy Tsukasabotan Shuzo’s sake
The brewery does not publish a general list of stockists (checked on October 29, 2026).
- Online sales on the official website: You can order sake from Tsukasabotan Shuzo’s official website. Delivery is within Japan. Some products are out of stock
- Sake Gallery Hotei: As described in “Visiting the brewery” above
- Senchu Hassaku: Sold only at liquor stores around Japan that are members of Nihon Meimonshu Kai (日本名門酒会), and not sold on the brewery’s official website. The link to the member-store list on the brewery’s page was redirected to the top page of Nihon Meimonshu Kai as of October 29, 2026, so the list could not be viewed. The brewery asks you to contact the head office of Nihon Meimonshu Kai (株式会社岡永, 03-3663-0330) about stockists
Before you buy
- Seasonal limited products are out of stock at some times of year.
- 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 Kochi Prefecture are gathered on our Kochi Prefecture page.
Brewery facts
| Item | Details |
|---|---|
| Brewery | 司牡丹酒造株式会社 (Tsukasabotan Shuzo) |
| Founded | 1603 (the 8th year of the Keicho era). Incorporated as a joint-stock company in 1918 (the 7th year of the Taisho era) |
| Representative | 竹村昭彦, President and Representative Director |
| Address | 〒789-1201 高知県高岡郡佐川町甲1299 Open in Google Maps |
| Phone | 0889-22-1211 (fax 0889-22-4116) |
| Main brands | Tsukasabotan (司牡丹), Senchu Hassaku (船中八策) |
| Official website | https://www.tsukasabotan.co.jp/ |
| Brewery tours | No information on the official website (checked on October 29, 2026) |
| Brewery shop | Sake Gallery Hotei (at the same address as the head office; opening days and hours not listed on the official website) |
| List of stockists | Not published. Senchu Hassaku is sold only at Nihon Meimonshu Kai member stores (checked on October 29, 2026) |
| English support | No English page found on the official website |