Tochigi

Sake in Tochigi

Tochigi Prefecture lies in the north of the Kanto region and does not face the sea. In the one year from July 2024 to June 2025, sake was made at 25 places in the prefecture. Mountains such as the 那須連山 and 日光連山 ranges and the 足尾山地 mountains run from the north to the west of the prefecture, and the gentle Yamizo Mountains lie in the east. From the north and center to the south, plains spread along the basins of the rivers 那珂川, Kinugawa and 渡良瀬川.

Water, essential for sake brewing, flows abundantly from the 日光連山 and 那須連山 ranges and the Yamizo Mountains. At Takinoo Shrine in 日光, there is a spring that has long been called the “Sake Spring.” It is said to have been given this name because, when 弘法大師 (空海), who founded the shrine, drew water to offer to the gods, it had a faint taste and aroma of sake.

The people who make sake are also trained in the prefecture. In fiscal 2006, with the cooperation of the prefecture's Industrial Technology Center, the Tochigi Sake Brewers Association started the “Shimotsuke toji” system, which certifies sake-brewing technicians in the prefecture (a toji is a master brewer). To be certified, candidates must not only pass written, practical and interview examinations but also serve as instructors in courses that train brewing technicians. As for rice, the prefecture developed “Yume Sasara,” a rice variety suited to sake brewing (shuzo kotekimai), which was registered as a variety in February 2022. Its mother is Yamada Nishiki; the shinpaku, the white-looking part at the center of the grain, appears clearly, making it well suited to ginjo-shu (sake made by polishing away the outer 40% or more of the rice grain and adding a small amount of brewer's alcohol) and daiginjo-shu (sake made by polishing away the outer half or more of the rice grain and adding a small amount of brewer's alcohol), for which the rice is heavily polished.

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