Japanese sake is deeply connected to the regions where it is brewed, with local landscapes, natural resources and generations of craftsmanship shaping distinctive traditions. Among these regions, Nadagogō has earned a renowned reputation both within Japan and internationally for the quality and volume of its sake.
In this article, sake brewer Takahashi Toshinari, Director and Head of Production at Kiku-Masamune Sake Brewing Co., Ltd.(one of Japan’s long-established sake brewers) explores how geography, craftsmanship and innovation shaped Japan’s largest sake-producing region.
What is Nadagogō?
The name ‘Nadagogō’ (The Five Villages of Nada) carries a profound resonance in the world of Japanese sake. Stretching across south-eastern Hyōgo Prefecture from Kobe City to Nishimiyia City, Nadagogō has flourished for approximately 300 years as Japan’s largest sake-producing region. Today, it continues to lead the nation’s sake culture, accounting for roughly 25% of Japan’s total production.
Nadagogō is a collective name for five brewing districts: Nishigō, Mikagegō, Uozakigō, Nishinomiyagō, and Imazugō. Nestled between the Rokkō Mountain Range and Osaka Bay, this region possesses a miraculous convergence of natural conditions, ideal for brewing. It is within this unique environment that Nada’s distinct style of sake was forged.
History of Nadagogō
The brewing industry in Nadagogō began its full-scale development in the early 18th century, during the mid-Edo period (1603-1867). As Edo (modern-day Tokyo) rapidly grew into Japan’s largest metropolis, the demand for sake skyrocketed in line with sharp rise in its population. Nadagogō rose to prominence as a vital production hub, capable of supplying the Edo market with large volumes of sake at a consistently high quality.
With the dawn of the Meiji era (1868-1912), sake brewing entered an age of modernization. While remaining rooted in original techniques, the brewers of Nadagogō were among the first to integrate scientific brewing knowledge and brand-new equipment. This flexible, forward-thinking approach played a pivotal role in modernizing the entire Japanese sake industry through the standardization of techniques and quality improvement.
A gallery of 1 item.
Nature: the brewing environment
The unique natural environment of this region lies at the heart of the Nadagogō’s development as Japan’s premier sake-producing area.
The foundation of sake brewing in Nadagogō is its water. In the mid-19th century, a specific water source discovered in Nishinomiyagō, known as ‘Miyamizu,’ became the defining feature of the region’s reputation. Rich in minerals such as calcium and potassium that stimulate yeast activity, yet extremely low in iron (which can degrade sake quality), Miyamizu promotes healthy fermentation and produces sake with an excellent flavour and aroma. The crisp, dry flavour characteristic of Nada sake is only possible because of this water.
It is generally considered ideal for sake brewing to proceed slowly at low temperatures. In Nadagogō, when winter arrives, the ‘Rokkō Oroshi’ – a cold, dry seasonal wind – blows down from Mount Rokkō, naturally lowering the temperature inside the breweries and ensuring the fermentation of the moromi proceeds gently. In an era before artificial refrigeration, this consistent winter chill was indispensable for maintaining the high quality of kan-zukuri (winter brewing).
In addition to the favourable climatic conditions, the surrounding area, centred on the Harima Plain (the plain of south-western Hyōgo Prefecture), has long been renowned as a producer of high-quality sake rice, enabling a stable supply of the main ingredient for sake. The fact that the fundamental elements of sake brewing –mountains, water and rice – were naturally and seamlessly interconnected geographically was also a major strength of Nadagogō.
The location facing Osaka Bay also made it simple to fill barrels with finished sake and transport them by ship to Edo. This ease of transport not only helped to maintain the quality of the sake but also led directly to an expansion in the scale of sake production, propelling Nadagogō to become Japan’s largest sake-producing region.
A gallery of 1 item.
Tools and craftsmanship: the Tanba Tōji
The development of Nadagogō is inseparable from the Tanba Tōji, a guild of master brewers possessing elite technical skills. For centuries, the quality and prestige of Nada sake have been upheld by the expertise and intuition of these craftsmen.
During the Edo and Meiji periods, the Tanba region (central-eastern Hyogo Prefecture) was cold and often unsuitable for large-scale rice farming, making seasonal brewery work a vital source of income. A Tōji (Master Brewer) entered a brewery as a representative of his village; the success of that year’s brew directly impacted the livelihoods of his family and the entire community. Failure often meant losing one’s position for the following year. Consequently, these masters operated under a heavy weight of responsibility, knowing their craft supported the survival of their collective.
They eventually developed into a group with a high degree of specialization, establishing techniques for producing shubo (lit.: sake mother) a yeast starter – as exemplified by the kimoto method – and a system of division of labour in which roles were allocated for each stage of the process. These systems made it possible to achieve both consistent quality and mass production.
A gallery of 1 item.
Songs and wisdom
In addition to their advanced brewing techniques, the Tanba Tōji have passed on their wisdom and spirit to the next generation through the ‘sake-brewing songs’ that have been sung and handed down at each brewery. These songs were not merely work songs; they served as a practical means of passing on technical skills, guiding the handling of steamed rice, the movements involved in stirring the mash, and the synchronization of the workers’ breathing and rhythm. In an era before clocks, the melody and lyrics of the songs served as a guide to working hours and acted as a common language enabling multiple people to repeat the same movements in unison. Young brewery workers would hum these songs while learning their tasks, naturally acquiring the knowledge of procedures and as well as the intuition required for sake brewing.
A gallery of 1 item.
Innovation: modern initiatives
In modern Nadagogō, while cutting-edge mechanization and data management have now been introduced, the underlying philosophy remains: ‘comprehensively assessing the interplay of rice, water, microbes and temperature.’ This tradition, which has always placed great value on experience and intuition, has evolved into a more sophisticated system of quality control through its integration with scientific analysis.
The Society for Nada Sake Research stands as a symbol of these efforts. It is a research organization through which breweries from Nadagogō have collaborated with the aim of improving brewing techniques and refining quality. The Society has been making efforts to enhance the quality of sake through scientific approaches including research into the microorganisms involved in brewing, evaluating the characteristics of raw rice, and making improvements in the precision of fermentation management and sensory evaluation. The region’s willingness to share knowledge and experience embodies a spirit that has been passed down in a new form from an era when brewing techniques were shared through historic brewing songs.
In recent years, efforts have been focused on environmental considerations and sustainable sake brewing, as well as on conveying quality and disseminating information with an eye on overseas markets. While keeping age-old sake styles at its core, brewing in Nadagogō continues to evolve, responding to diverse values and drinking occasions. Understanding nature, cherishing human senses, and working in tandem with science to forge a path into the future, Nadagogō is a sake-producing region that embodies the present and future of sake culture, where tradition and innovation intertwine.
About the writer
Takahashi Toshinari is Chairperson of the GI Management Committee, Director, Head of Production, and Director of the General Research Institute at Kiku-Masamune Sake Brewing Co., Ltd. Since joining in 1994, he has led research on brewing microorganisms and sake production. His achievements have been recognized with the Biotechnology Technology Award from The Society for Biotechnology, Japan (2015) and the Encouragement Award from the Brewing Society of Japan (2017). Takahashi is also the supervising editor of The Science of Japanese Sake (Kōdansha), which explores the appeal of sake from a scientific perspective.