The birthplace of clear sake, Itami.
Brewing the history of clear sake, Shirayuki.
In the days when the only type of sake was muddy sake (doburoku), Itami was the place where clear sake was first made.
The sake made by generously using white rice for both koji rice and kake rice was called “Itami Morohaku” and rapidly gained a reputation.
Through this revolutionary evolution in sake brewing, Itami became widely known as a sake brewing area.
Located at the intersection of Saigoku Kaido and Arima Road, Itami was an important transportation hub where people, goods, and money easily gathered. Itami's inland climate, characterized by little rainfall, relatively dry weather, and low temperatures, made it an ideal place for sake brewing. Additionally, the flourishing sake brewing industry was able to obtain large amounts of rice as a raw material.
Combined with readily obtainable, high-quality groundwater with few impurities, Itami was blessed with a variety of conditions, allowing Itami’s sake brewing industry to continuously flourish.
Itami, which prospered in the sake brewing industry under the Chikamori family, had a strong civil society and early self-government by its own townspeople, making it a uniquely advanced city in Japan at that time.
Many writers and artists who enjoyed Itami’s sake visited the city which got the townspeople in touch with various arts and consequently led to a diverse culture to blossom, consisting of haikai, waka poetry, painting and calligraphy.
As a remnant of those days, Konishi Brewery still bears a signboard with “Shirayuki” written by Sanyo Rai, a famous philosopher. A verse from a poem he wrote in honor of Shirayuki can still be seen on the bottle label today.
Thus, a great movement of clear sake, started in Itami and spreading to Edo (now Tokyo), was born. In 2020, the grand scale of this story was registered as a "Japan Heritage" as "Itami and Nada Gogo, the famous brewing areas where "Itami Morohaku" and "Nada no Ki-ippon" sake was born. Previously, many stories that tell of Japanese culture and traditions have been recognized as Japan Heritage, but this is the first time that sake has ever been included as a theme. The "Konishi Shinuemon Documents" and "Shirayuki Brewery Village Choujugura" were selected for the list of constituent cultural assets. Konishi Brewery is very proud of this honor.
Through brewing, a sister city affiliation between Hasselt, Belgium and Itami was formed.
By focusing on the rich beer brewing culture of Belgium, which is different from Japan, we became the first company in Japan to import Belgian beer to Japan in 1988. This laid the foundation for the popularity of Belgian beer nowadays.
The Belgian Beer Weekend was first organized in Japan on September 10, 2010, and has grown to one of Japan’s leading outdoor events, attracting more than 1.35 million visitors over the past 13 years.
Additionally, sake has also won awards at overseas competitions, and exports to Europe, North America, and Asia are expanding.
From Itami, we are expanding cultural exchange through sake over the world.
The History of Konishi Brewery and Shirayuki.
Making sake that suits the times. Konishi Brewery and Shirayuki, Japan's oldest brand of sake, continue to evolve along with the country's food and brewing culture.