Who will enjoy this brewery
- People who want to look for sake from Yamagata Prefecture at restaurants and liquor stores
- People who want to compare, among aromatic “ginjo” sakes, the differences between sake rice (rice suited to making sake) varieties
- People who can enjoy drinking and searching for sake as part of their trip, rather than visiting the brewery (Kamenoi Shuzo has not published any information about brewery tours or sales at the brewery)
About Kamenoi Shuzo
Kamenoi Shuzo (亀の井酒造) is a brewery in Haguro (羽黒町), Tsuruoka (鶴岡市), Yamagata Prefecture. Its main brand is “Kudoki Jozu (くどき上手)”.
It was founded in 1875. All of the sake it makes is sake brewed in the ginjo style (ginjo-zukuri), such as “ginjo”, “junmai ginjo” and “daiginjo”. In ginjo brewing, 40% or more of the outer part of the rice is polished away, and the sake is fermented slowly at a low temperature.
Kamenoi Shuzo does not have an official website (checked on September 30, 2026). The brewery has not published any information about brewery tours or sales at the brewery.
From two closures to the brewery of today
Kamenoi Shuzo has not made sake without a break from its founding to today. The brewery stopped making sake twice. The first time was because of a major fire, and the second because of government control of businesses during the war. After that, the family worked as rice farmers, and in January 1956 the great-grandfather restarted sake making. In January 1961, the brewery moved to its current location.
The current head’s father aimed for sake different from that of other breweries. Taught by 小川知可良, who developed the yeast (a microorganism that drives fermentation) called “No. 10 yeast”, he took on the laborious work of making ginjo sake. What he created with that No. 10 yeast was “Kudoki Jozu”, born in 1983. In Japanese, “kudoki jozu” means “good at moving people’s hearts”. It was named by the current head’s mother, and the name carries her wish that the brewery would rise in the world of sake, just as Toyotomi Hideyoshi (豊臣秀吉) rose in the world by persuading many people.
The current Representative Director is 今井俊典. In an interview on Tsuruoka city’s official website, he talked about his feelings for his hometown like this.
“I want the people of my hometown, Tsuruoka, to be able to drink seriously delicious sake as a matter of course.”
「地元鶴岡の人たちには、あたり前にめちゃくちゃ美味い酒を飲んでもらいたい。」 — 今井俊典 (Representative Director of Kamenoi Shuzo), Tsuruoka city, “No. 6: 今井俊典 (Representative Director of Kamenoi Shuzo Co., Ltd.)” (updated November 27, 2024)
Ginjo sake protected by keeping it cold
As of November 2024, there were about 50 kinds of sake bearing the “Kudoki Jozu” name. The average rice polishing ratio (the share of the rice that remains, relative to the weight of the original rice) of the brewery’s sake is 50%.
Kamenoi Shuzo has more than 200 tsubo (a Japanese unit of floor area) of refrigerated facilities for storing sake. All of its products are kept refrigerated until just before shipping.
Another feature of “Kudoki Jozu” is its many products that use different sake rice varieties. Here are a few.
- Junmai Ginjo Kudoki Jozu — 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. The rice used is Miyama Nishiki (美山錦)
- Junmai Daiginjo Dewa Sansan — 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 used is the sake rice Dewa Sansan (出羽燦々)
- Jungin Karakuchi Kudoki Jozu (純吟辛口 くどき上手) — A junmai ginjo made with Omachi (雄町) rice. In sake, “karakuchi” (dry) means that the sweetness is restrained; it does not mean salty or spicy
- Daiginjo Kudoki Jozu — A “daiginjo”, with more than half of the outer part of the rice polished away and a small amount of brewer’s alcohol added. The rice used is Yamada Nishiki (山田錦)
The ingredients and brewing methods differ from product to product. Please check the label for the type and the rice used.
Kamenoi Shuzo’s “Kudoki Jozu” received a gold award at the Zenkoku Shinshu Kanpyokai (National New Sake Competition) for the Reiwa 7 brewing year (organized by the National Research Institute of Brewing and the Japan Sake and Shochu Makers Association; announced on May 20, 2026).
Visiting the brewery
Kamenoi Shuzo has not published any information about brewery tours or sales at the brewery (checked on September 30, 2026).
If you want to visit a sake brewery in Yamagata Prefecture, the list of breweries you can visit (as of November 11, 2024) on “Yamagata e no Tabi”, Yamagata Prefecture’s official tourism website, is a useful reference. Please check the tour conditions with each brewery.
Where to buy Kamenoi Shuzo’s sake
Kamenoi Shuzo does not publish a list of stockists or authorized retailers (tokuyakuten) (checked on September 30, 2026). The brewery does not have an official online store either.
Kamenoi Shuzo sells “Kudoki Jozu” through liquor stores across Japan.
Before you buy
- “Kudoki Jozu” includes several products, and the ingredients and brewing methods differ from product to product. Please check the label for the type.
- Whether a store carries the sake, and its 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 the label shows a storage temperature, please follow it.
- 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 |
|---|---|
| Company | 亀の井酒造株式会社 (Kamenoi Shuzo Co., Ltd.) |
| Founded | 1875 (the 8th year of the Meiji era) |
| Representative | Representative Director 今井俊典 |
| Address | 〒997-0103 山形県鶴岡市羽黒町戸野字福ノ内1 Open in Google Maps |
| Phone | 0235-62-2307 (fax 0235-62-4202) |
| Main brand | Kudoki Jozu (くどき上手) |
| Official website | None (checked on September 30, 2026) |
| Brewery tours | No information published |
| Sales at the brewery | No information published |
| List of stockists | Not published (checked on September 30, 2026) |
| English support | Not published |