Hatsumomidi Sake Brewery was established in the Tokuyuma area of Shunan city, Yamaguchi in 1819. Sake brewing, beer brewing and distribution businesses enabled the brewery to survive through the years including the tough war time years of destruction and rebuilding of the business. The sake brewing business became dormant for about 20 years due to contraction of the industry in the late 1970’s but that changed with the arrival of the 12th generation owner Yasuhiro Harada in 2005.
He started making ‘Junmai only’ sake, which was small batch, rice-focused in flavour, with clarity and an easy drinking, fresh style. Today Hatsumomidi continues to brew on a small scale, all-year-round, using locally grown rice and water transported from a spring in the mountains, an hour’s drive away. Only 400 koku is produced annually, and the 2023 brewing team has 6 members – 4 female and 2 male kurabitos. Brewing techniques are very hands-on, and all sake is filtered using the labour intensive fune press to accentuate the fresh vibrancy of the sake. A new female master brewer (Toji) Mie Abe was appointed in 2022 and a dynamic rebranding and moderate renovation of the existing site has added to the increasingly wide appeal of brand Harada.
*** The romanisation of the Japanese language has led to the translation Hatsumomidi but the pronunciation of the last syllable ‘di’ is ‘ji’, so you may see information about the brewery with the spelling Hatsumomiji.
