Who will enjoy this brewery
- People who want to choose and buy sake from Fushimi at specialist local-sake shops in Kyoto or Tokyo (there is no information on brewery tours)
- People who want to compare, within the same brand, the differences between rice varieties and the locations of the rice fields
- People looking for sake to drink with meals
About Matsumoto Shuzo
Matsumoto Shuzo (松本酒造) is a brewery in Yokooji (横大路), in Fushimi (伏見) in the south of Kyoto city. It was founded in 1791, and the current president, 松本総一郎, is the 11th generation.
The brewery has three brands. This article focuses on “Sawaya Matsumoto (澤屋まつもと)”; the others are “Momo no Shizuku (桃の滴)” and “Hinodezakari (日出盛)”. The name Sawaya Matsumoto combines “Sawaya (澤屋)”, the yago (屋号, the name of the shop) under which the founder started the business in Kyoto, with the family name “Matsumoto (松本)”.
No information is given on accepting brewery tours (checked on October 7, 2026). Sawaya Matsumoto is sold at stockists across Japan, whose list the brewery publishes.
From “Sawaya” in Higashiyama to a wooden brewery in Fushimi
Matsumoto Shuzo was founded as “Sawaya” in Higashiyama (東山), Kyoto. Later, in the Taisho era, it moved its brewing site to its current location in Fushimi in search of good water.
The brewery still makes its sake in wooden sake brewery buildings built in the Taisho era. On the grounds there also remain a red-brick chimney and “Mangyoin (万暁院)”, a building in the sukiya style — a Japanese building style that draws on teahouse design (数寄屋造り) — that has been used to welcome guests. The brewery buildings are registered as national Registered Tangible Cultural Properties, and in 2007 they were recognized as Heritage of Industrial Modernization (近代化産業遺産) by the Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry (METI). The brewery stands along the Higashi-Takase River (東高瀬川), and the riverside view of the brewery is also drawn on the label of a limited product.
For brewing water, the brewery draws up, on its own grounds, water that has passed underground beneath the Momoyama Hills (桃山丘陵).
From the late 1960s to the early 1970s, Matsumoto Shuzo began working on “junmai-shu”, made only from rice, rice koji and water. In 1973 it joined in founding 純粋日本酒協会 (an association of brewers making junmai sake). In 1983 it launched “Momo no Shizuku”, which is still made today.
“Rice is the essence of all.”
The words the brewery holds up are “Rice is the essence of all.” (原料に勝る技術なし). Its sake rice (rice suited to making sake) is mainly “Yamada Nishiki (山田錦)” grown in Tojo (東条), Hyogo Prefecture, and “Gohyakumangoku (五百万石)” grown on the Tonami Plain (砺波平野) in Toyama Prefecture. So as not to damage the rice, almost every step is done by hand, and in 2018 the brewery built a rice-polishing building so that it could polish its rice itself.
This way of thinking shows most clearly in Sawaya Matsumoto’s “Shuhari (守破離)” series. Although the products share the series name, each one uses a different rice variety and growing area.
- Shuhari Gohyakumangoku: Uses Gohyakumangoku grown in Nanto (南砺市), Toyama Prefecture. The brewery regards this rice as the starting point of the series
- Shuhari Yamada Nishiki: Uses Yamada Nishiki. With this product, the brewery sets out to rethink everything from the work in the rice fields, centered on Tojo
- Shuhari Omachi (雄町): Uses Omachi grown in Okayama Prefecture
- Shuhari Aiyama (愛山): Made only from Aiyama grown in Tojo
- Shuhari Ultra: Tojo is divided into three parts: 上東条 / 中東条 / 下東条 (the upper, middle and lower parts of Tojo). This product uses only Yamada Nishiki from rice fields in 上東条 that grow rice under contract with the brewery
- Shuhari Saido: Uses only Yamada Nishiki from Saido (西戸), a village in the Akitsu (秋津) area of 上東条
The products in the Shuhari series do not publish how much the rice is polished (the rice polishing ratio). Please check the label for the type.
The toji (master brewer), the person responsible for sake making, has worked in sake making at a brewery in Fukuoka Prefecture for 40 years. The brewery’s aim is for all its employees to brew sake together as one team.
Sawaya Matsumoto and Momo no Shizuku
What the brewery aims for is “the ultimate sake to drink with meals (究極の食中酒)” — in other words, sake that tastes good with food. Here are some of the brewery’s products of different types. Prices are the tax-inclusive prices (720 ml) at the brewery’s official online store (checked on October 7, 2026).
- Sawaya Matsumoto Junmai-shu — A junmai-shu the brewery has made for more than 20 years. It is a traditional type whose flavor comes out when served as kan (warmed sake). It is sold at stockists
- Sawaya Matsumoto souvenir — A limited product made only from Yamada Nishiki grown under contract in the Okamoto (岡本) area of Hyogo Prefecture. It contains carbon dioxide gas produced during fermentation, and has a fresh, juicy taste. On the label, the illustrator 西淑 has drawn the view of the brewery along the Higashi-Takase River. It is sold only to people who visit the brewery and through the official online store. 2,000 yen
- Momo no Shizuku Junmai Ginjo — 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 uses Yamada Nishiki from the Special A (Toku-A) district (the highest grade among the growing-area classes for Yamada Nishiki) of Tojo. The aroma is gentle, with moderate acidity and bitterness. 1,925 yen
- Momo no Shizuku Junmai Daiginjo — A “junmai daiginjo”: made only from rice, rice koji and water, with more than half of the outer part of the rice polished away. The rice is Yamada Nishiki from the Special A district of Tojo. The aroma is gentle, with refreshing acidity and deep umami. 5,500 yen
The name “Momo no Shizuku” comes from a haiku by Matsuo Basho (松尾芭蕉): “Let the dew of Fushimi’s peaches drip onto my robe” (我が衣に伏見の桃の雫せよ).
Visiting the brewery
There is no information on brewery tours
Matsumoto Shuzo gives no information on accepting brewery tours (checked on October 7, 2026). The brewery says it sells the limited product “Sawaya Matsumoto souvenir” to people who visit the brewery, but the location, opening days and opening hours of its sales counter are not published.
The brewery is in 横大路三栖大黒町, Fushimi Ward, Kyoto. Other breweries in Fushimi, and the sake of Kyoto Prefecture, are brought together on the page Kyoto.
Opening days and tour arrangements may change. Please check the brewery’s official information before visiting.
Where to buy Matsumoto Shuzo’s sake
Stores that sell Sawaya Matsumoto
The brewery publishes its list of stockists of Sawaya Matsumoto on its official website. The list includes 194 stores in 37 prefectures from Hokkaido to Kagoshima Prefecture, 18 of them in Kyoto Prefecture (checked on October 7, 2026). From the list, we have chosen stores that are easy to drop in at during a trip and whose addresses we could confirm on the stores’ own websites.
| Area | Store | Address | Store website |
|---|---|---|---|
| Kyoto Station | 京の酒処 富屋 京都駅店 | 京都府京都市下京区東塩小路釜殿町（JR京都駅 西口2階 南北自由通路の「京名菓・名菜処 亰」内） | 富屋 京都駅店 |
| Kyoto, Nishiki Market | 津之喜酒舗 | 京都府京都市中京区錦通富小路東入東魚屋町194 Open in Google Maps | 津之喜酒舗 |
| Kyoto, Arashiyama | 京の酒カフェ 十三八（富屋 嵐山店） | 京都府京都市右京区嵯峨天龍寺北造路町20-2（嵐電 嵐山駅 はんなり・ほっこりスクエア内） Open in Google Maps | 京の酒カフェ 十三八 |
| Kyoto, Fushimi | 津乃嘉商店 | 京都府京都市伏見区深草直違橋南1-487 Open in Google Maps | 津乃嘉商店 |
| Tokyo Station | はせがわ酒店 グランスタ東京店 | 東京都千代田区丸の内1-9-1 JR東京駅構内 地下1階（改札内） Open in Google Maps | はせがわ酒店 |
| Tokyo, Ginza | 銀座君嶋屋 | 東京都中央区銀座1-2-1 紺屋ビル1階 Open in Google Maps | 銀座君嶋屋 |
はせがわ酒店 グランスタ東京店 is inside the ticket gates. If you are not taking the Shinkansen (high-speed rail) or a conventional (non-Shinkansen) line, buy a platform ticket from a ticket machine at the station to enter. Please check the list for other stores and each store’s phone number.
The brewery’s official online store
The brewery has an official online store. It mainly sells Momo no Shizuku and Hinodezakari; for Sawaya Matsumoto, only limited products are listed. Delivery is limited to addresses in Japan, and it does not ship overseas (checked on October 7, 2026).
Before you buy
- The products carried and the stock differ from store to store. Limited and seasonal products may not arrive at a store, so please check with the store before visiting.
- 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
Brewery facts
| Item | Details |
|---|---|
| Brewery | 松本酒造株式会社 (Matsumoto Shuzo Co., Ltd.) |
| Founded | 1791 (the 3rd year of the Kansei era). Became 松本酒造株式会社 in 1949 |
| Representative | 松本総一郎 (11th generation) |
| Address | 〒612-8205 京都府京都市伏見区横大路三栖大黒町7 Open in Google Maps |
| Phone | 075-611-1238 (FAX 075-611-1240) |
| Main brands | Sawaya Matsumoto (澤屋まつもと) / Momo no Shizuku (桃の滴) / Hinodezakari (日出盛) |
| Rice used | Yamada Nishiki from Tojo, Gohyakumangoku from the Tonami Plain (Nanto) and others |
| Brewing water | Underground water drawn up on the brewery’s grounds |
| Buildings | Taisho-era wooden sake brewery buildings, a red-brick chimney, and Mangyoin. Registered Tangible Cultural Property; Heritage of Industrial Modernization |
| Official website | https://matsumotoshuzo.com/ (English: https://matsumotoshuzo.com/en/ ) |
| Brewery tours | No information given |
| Sales at the brewery | Location, opening days and opening hours of a sales counter not published (the limited product souvenir is sold only to people who visit the brewery and through the online store) |
| Official online store | Yes (delivery within Japan only) |
| List of stockists | Published on the official website (Sawaya Matsumoto; 194 stores; checked on October 7, 2026) |