Who will enjoy this brewery
- People who want to compare sake from Miyagi Prefecture whose taste differs with each variety of sake rice
- People who would like to try sake from a brewery that was hit by the tsunami of the Great East Japan Earthquake and started making sake again within the same year
- People who cannot visit the brewery but want to look for Suminoe at liquor stores or restaurants during their trip (brewery tours are not available)
About Suminoe Shuzo
Suminoe Shuzo (墨廼江酒造) is a brewery in Sengokucho (千石町), Ishinomaki, Miyagi Prefecture. In 1845 (Koka 2), 安治, the second head of the 澤口 family, who ran a wholesale business in seafood and grain in Ishinomaki, began making sake.
The brand is “Suminoe (墨廼江)”. The sixth-generation head, 澤口康紀, is the president and also serves as the toji (master brewer), the person responsible for making the sake.
Suminoe Shuzo does not accept brewery tours (checked on October 29, 2026).
In a town that was a rice port
Ishinomaki is a town that thrived in the Edo period as a port from which the Sendai Domain shipped its rice. The name Suminoe comes from the deity Suminoe (墨廼江の神), a guardian of sea voyages enshrined at Sumiyoshi Taisha in Osaka.
In the Great East Japan Earthquake of March 2011, the tsunami came up the Kitakami River and into the brewery in the middle of brewing. All of its equipment, including the kettles, the pumps and the machine for pressing the sake, became unusable. With the help of many people, Suminoe Shuzo started making sake again in October of that year.
Drawing out differences with sake rice
澤口康紀 returned to Ishinomaki in 1989 (Heisei 1) to take over the family business. After he began to serve as toji himself, he settled on a way of brewing in which he uses only Miyagi yeast, a yeast from Miyagi Prefecture, and creates a range of flavors by changing the variety of sake rice (rice suited to making sake).
What the brewery aims for is sake that is clean, soft and elegant, with a rich flavor.
The sake rices it uses include Yamada Nishiki from Hyogo Prefecture, Kura no Hana from Miyagi Prefecture, and Gohyakumangoku. For example, it makes sake such as the following.
- A junmai ginjo made with Kura no Hana — a “junmai ginjo” made only from rice, rice koji and water, with 40% or more of the outer part of the rice polished away, and fermented slowly at a low temperature. It is made with Kura no Hana grown in Miyagi Prefecture and with yeast from Miyagi Prefecture. The taste is clean
- A tokubetsu junmai-shu made with Gohyakumangoku — a “tokubetsu junmai-shu” made only from rice, rice koji and water, with 40% or more of the outer part of the rice polished away. It has a gentle aroma and a well-balanced rice umami
The rice and the rice polishing ratio differ from product to product, so please check the label for the type.
Visiting the brewery
Brewery tours are not available
Suminoe Shuzo does not accept brewery tours (checked on October 29, 2026). Whether there is a brewery shop has not been published (checked on October 29, 2026).
Getting there
Address: 〒986-0871 宮城県石巻市千石町8-43
Because brewery tours are not available, we do not give directions to the brewery.
Opening days and tour arrangements may change. Please check the brewery’s official information before visiting.
Where to buy Suminoe Shuzo’s sake
We could not find an official website for Suminoe Shuzo or a list of stockists published by the brewery (checked on October 29, 2026). If you are looking for it during your trip, please ask at liquor stores that carry sake in Miyagi Prefecture, Tokyo and elsewhere.
Before you buy
- Seasonal products and products made in small quantities may not have come in at a 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 Miyagi Prefecture are gathered on our Miyagi Prefecture page.
Brewery facts
| Item | Details |
|---|---|
| Brewery | 墨廼江酒造株式会社 (Suminoe Shuzo) |
| Founded | 1845 (Koka 2) |
| Representative | President 澤口康紀 (sixth generation; also serves as toji) |
| Address | 〒986-0871 宮城県石巻市千石町8-43 Open in Google Maps |
| Phone | 0225-96-6288 |
| Main brand | Suminoe (墨廼江) |
| Brewing | Uses only Miyagi yeast; draws out different flavors through the variety of sake rice |
| Official website | Could not be found (checked on October 29, 2026) |
| Brewery tours | Not available |
| Brewery shop | Not published |
| List of stockists | Could not be found (checked on October 29, 2026) |
| English support | Not published |