A Brewery with a History in a Town with a View
“The sake brewing industry in Takehara has flourished by taking sake rice grown in the hillsides, and brewing it with our outstanding groundwater,” explains Fujii, “then shipping that out to the rest of Japan via sea routes.” Fujii Sake Brewery, over which he presides, is one of three sake breweries which uphold the town’s brewing traditions. It was also the top prize winner of Japan’s first ever All Japan Sake Competition, held in 1907.
Over a century and a half old, the Fujii Sake Brewery lends its quiet gravitas to the surrounding Old Town District
In the brewery’s Sakagura Koryukan (literally: “Sake Brewery Exchange Hall”), sake lovers and the curious can explore a publicly accessible area of the brewery, and visit booths to learn about the process of brewing. The brewery is also pursuing partnership initiatives with local restaurants and lodging facilities to make Takehara more accessible to tourists.
Yoshifumi Fujii, fifth generation owner and chairman of the historic Fujii Sake Brewery, founded in 1863 and today run by his son
Bonding with Sake through the Uniqueness of Each Bottle
Fujii Sake prides itself in a naturalistic, traditional style of sake production, eschewing factory fermentation methods. Instead, it harnesses the bacteria that settle in through natural processes, and takes the approach of stewarding rather than controlling them. Thanks to that, each of the brewery’s bottles has its own distinctive flavor.
The Sakagura Koryukan, fragrant with the aroma of sake
“To me, my brews are like my children,” says Fujii. “Each is an individual, and I want people to appreciate them that way – loving each for the kind of child that it is.” Fujii believes that the story of the brew – and the town – is intrinsic to properly enjoying the tipple. “The town and its guests deserve more than just a listing of brands. Curation is key, a narrative context to understand in detail what the strengths of each brew are. This makes it worth the trip, and it will expand your palate for sake at the same time.”
Reinvigoration and Discovery
Today, in addition to his role as a proprietor, Fujii also serves as the chairman of the Takehara Tourism Association. But the road here has not been a straight line – once in his youth, he broke from the association entirely because of what he viewed at the time as an overly conservative approach. Now that he’s in charge, he views his responsibility as not just to preserve, but to utilize and reinvigorate.
The Seto Inland Sea reaches its most picturesque at dusk and dawn
To this end, Fujii is forging connections with and calling on help from all over Japan to help clear a new path for Takehara. “I work together with people, rather than just imposing my vision on them,” says Fujii about his innovative influence on the town, “Because I think that is how great things are made.”
Fujii looks forward to the changes outside ideas can bring to Takehara
As Fujii sees it, the residents of Takehara “greatly value the old, but they are also deeply curious.” This is what he is drawing upon to weave new developments into the fabric of the town, with deep excitement for discovering previously unknown possibilities for Takehara.
Appreciating Different Sensibilities, the Takehara Way
Fujii highlights the differences in how locals and outsiders tend to view things: “Visitors are often fascinated by the very things that are trivial to locals, who are here every day. And that is why I think fresh eyes and fresh sensibilities are vital to help us see the town’s potential, and give it new life.”
Transformations born of preserving a historic townscape and way of life while incorporating the new
But the townsfolk are also deeply passionate about the things they do, and about that which can only really be found in Takehara. That’s why Fujii tirelessly seeks to weave the new and the unprecedented into the carefully preserved legacy of history and tradition. And it’s also why he remains forever excited for what’s right around the corner in Takehara.
Yoshifumi Fujii
Chairman and fifth generation proprietor of Fujii Sake Brewery, a historic regional brewhouse founded in 1863. Fujii is also an aggressive reformer, ushering winds of change into the Takehara Tourism Association and the city’s overall tourism base, working with the Tourism Development Organization (DMO) and fostering connections between the local government and private enterprise.
*Role and association information are current as of the time of the interview.