Otokoyama Sake Brewery

The Otokoyama Sake Brewery is one of the most famous Sake brands in Japan and the world. It has been around for more than 340 years and was the favored brand of the Tokugawa Shogunate. Otokoyama was established between 1661 and 1673, during the Kanban Era in the Itami area. Later the facility expanded to Asahikawa, which preserves traditions of when the brand first started. Since the Edo Period, Otokoyama Sake has continued to gain popularity all the way to the present day. The brand was so well known that famous ukiyo-e (woodblock prints) artist Kitagawa Utamaro, who was known for his love of beautiful women and alcohol, created artwork that used Otokoyama sake as a theme. The works of Utamaro as well as other artists can be seen inside the Otokoyama Sake Brewery Museum, which uses the sake brand as a theme. In recent history, Otokoyama won the gold medal in The Overseas Win and Spirit Competition in 1977 and was the first Japanese sake (nihon-shu) to win. The brand has successfully won the gold medal for 38 years in many competitions. The Otokoyama Sake Brewery also serves as a museum detailing the history of the brand as well as the process taken to make the high quality products.