Prayers are answered with offerings of MEIGETSU?!: “Kanamatsu Hozen, the God of Shochu”
Approx. 3 minutes’ drive from AKASHI SHUZO is the shrine where “Kanamatsu Hozen, the God of Shochu” is enshrined. It is said that there was once a Buddhist priest who was a heavy drinker and loved drinking MEIGETSU shochu. Where he came from nobody knew, but after settling in the Kurishita district of Ebino City, he saved the villages from hardship and crises countless times through his Buddhist power. Just before passing away, he said: “When I am dead, if you offer shochu to me and make a wish, I will grant that wish. I won’t grant two or more wishes, so don’t be greedy.”
This anecdote gives a sense of the MEIGETSU, and AKASHI SHUZO has been beloved by the local community for a long time.
AKASHI SHUZO’s focus
Water suitable for shochu-making
AKASHI SHUZO is located in the Ebino Basin, surrounded by the Kyushu Mountain Range and Kirishima Mountains. The distillery uses underground water flowing down from primeval forest on the Ebino Highlands. This water has such high quality that when analyzed by the Miyazaki Prefecture Food R&D Center, it was endorsed as “water quality suitable for shochu-making”. Excellent water quality and abundant water quantity that flows continuously all year round. The water channels flowing through the paddy fields surrounding the distillery never run dry, even in winter.
Producing homegrown rice in an abundant agricultural area
Blessed with water and the extreme differences in temperature during the day typical of a basin area, Ebino City is a city with an abundance of primary industries. The area is also famous as one of the top rice-growing areas in Miyazaki Prefecture, and the Iino district is also located near AKASHI SHUZO.
The shochu’s main ingredient, sweet potatoes, is Kogane Sengan sweet potatoes grown mainly in Ebino City by Okobira Noen Co. Also, employees grow rice themselves during the summer in the company’s own rice paddies. This rice (Hinohikari) raised by their own hands is used as koji rice for some shochu brands such as “? NAINA”. In the future, the distillery intends to increase the amount of house-produced rice.
Company Profile
| Company Name | AKASHI SHUZO CO., LTD.（明石酒造株式会社） |
|---|---|
| Address | 61-1, Oaza Kurishita, Ebino-shi, Miyazaki Prefecture, Japan |
| Phone | +81-984-35-1603 |
| FAX | +81-984-35-0340 |
| web | http://www.meigetsu.co.jp/ |
