History｜EIGASHIMA SHUZO CO.,LTD

History

We have been loved for centuries.
“Sincerity” is our corporate philosophy.
We have been conducting business by doing things with sincerity, communicating with others with sincerity.
We have been respecting classic traditions and cultures, and at the same time, we have been responding to news needs without adhering to the old ways.
We have been trying to be ahead of the times by repeating researches and developments.
As a result, we have created many excellent products, attracted the attention and greatly contributed to our society.

The start in Edo period

In Edo period, the seaside of western Akashi was called "Nada".
Thanks to good water and high quality rice in the Harima Plain, sake brewers in Nada have earned their fame as a full-fledged sake makers. On the other hand, eastern side ( Nada in Kobe ) became known nationwide, this region became called the Nishinada. ( western Nada ) Sake making started in the early Edo period in Nishinada area.
For us, it was Hachibei Urabe, the second generation of noble Urabe family, who started sake.
In Meiji era, the younger brother Hyokichi (statue in photo) of the fifth generation Hachiemon Urabe, operated his own sake business independently and expanded.
In 1888 he established Eigashima Shuzo Co., Ltd. with capital of 30,000 yen. This is the beginning for us.
The trademark was "Yamato Damashii", which means “the soul of Japan”, and later registered "Yuri Masamune" in 1894 and "Kamitaka" in 1895.

Seven wooden houses

In 1888, our founder and the first president, Hyokichi Urabe, merged some of the sake makers in Eigashima area and established Eigashima Shuzo Co., Ltd. It is rare in Japan that there are seven wooden houses on the same premises, and each of them has a different role. As they have thick walls and only a few windows, they are not easily affected by the outside air, they can keep the room temperature constant, and they are suitable for sake brewing and storage. Here, we introduce all the seven wooden houses.

The 1st storehouse
Completed in 1889.
The oldest house.
Used for sake earlier, and now for liquors other than sake.

The 2nd storehouse
Completed in 1891.
Suitable for storage aging.
Stores shochu and whisky.

The 3rd storehouse
Completed in 1892.
Stores sake.

The 4th storehouse
Completed in 1896.
Squeezes sake after the fermentation.
Works only in winter.

The 5th storehouse
Completed in 1910.
Rice is washed, soaked and steamed, sake is fermented.
Works only in winter.

The 6th storehouse
Completed in 1918.
Stores sake.
Location of the popular drama "Amakara Shan" by NHK in 1997.

The 7th storehouse
Completed in 1959.
Stores sake.

Inventing a glass bottle of sake

Barrels and tokkuri were the mainstream as the sake containers back in the old days in Meiji era. At that time, there were a lot of fake products sold with the label of the popular label without permission, and it was difficult to control them. Under such circumstances, we manufactured our own bottle factory, and launched the world's first sake glass bottle (1.8 liters) in 1899. This glass bottle prevented counterfeit products and was excellent in terms of quality retention, and quickly became the symbol of sake industry.

Passion for the products

Hyokichi Urabe's passion, inquiring mind, and spirit have been inherited, research and development has been repeated to meet new demand. In 1919, the distillery plant was completed, and Shiratama Shochu, Shiratama Mirin, White Oak Whisky, and Charmant Brandy were released. In 1921, Shiratama white wine was released. In showa era, Yamanashi winery was completed and Charmant wine was released in 1963, shochu distillery was opened in Oita in 1981, and the Oita traditional barley shochu "Fukuju Tensen" was released. 3 years later in 1984, a new whiskey distillery was completed next to the current headquarters. We make not only Japanese liquor such as sake, shochu and mirin, but western liquor such as whisky, brandy, and wine with the latest equipment and outstanding technology, and release many excellent products, create your rich life with drinks.