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Monsieur Saké
ムッシュー・酒
ITAKURA Shuzo
Itakura Shuzo was founded in 1871 in Izumo, Shimane prefecture, the epicenter of Japanese mythology and, above all, one of the birthplaces of sake.
Indeed, Shimane Prefecture is the place of origin of Japan's oldest historical document, the Kojiki 古事記, a collection of ancient Shinto myths, as well as the Izumo No Kuni Fudoki 出雲国風土記 (Gazetteer of the Land of Izumo), the oldest topographical and cultural document of Japan.
There are several shrines near Izumo where sake is still brewed for ceremonial purposes using methods inherited from ancient times.
Itakura Shuzo sells its best sakes under the brand Mukyu Ten-On 無窮天穏,
This name comes from Buddhist scriptures and refers to the concept of tranquility and peace.
The sakes of the Mukyu Ten-On 無窮天穏 series are produced slowly (35 days of fermentation) under the supervision of toji KOJIMA Tatsuya with a search for purity using only Saka Nishiki rice, a variety grown exclusively in Shimane; by extending the incubation time of the koji to more than three days (rather than around forty hours) so that it is more vigorous and exudes better enzymes; and using wild yeasts.
Toji KOJIMA Tatsuya brews Mukyu Tenon Sake Kimoto Junmai Daiginjo all in purity and simplicity with an almost religious approach.
“It tastes very clean and smooth and, as soon as you open the bottle, you can smell its purity, the white peach and the Muscat. As the days pass, the umami of rice and lactic acid condenses, and the texture becomes silky.”
—Toji Kojima.
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