Most of us know of the Fushimi Inari shrine - the big, intricately designed shrine in southern Kyoto built to worship Inari, the Shinto deity of rice. It might come as a surprise to some that beyond that long trail of vermillion torii gates, old cultural buildings and preserved matcha houses of Kyoto, a centuries old sake brewing hub lies within Fushimi district itself!

The must-visit Kyoto spot also known as Fushimi Inari Shrine. Source: Japan-Guide

The area was in particular blessed with an abundance of high quality underground soft spring water, so much so that it was originally named "Fushimizu 伏水", later adopting the name Fushimi 伏見. With the abundance of rice and high quality spring water, it was a given that the region would soon become a hotspot for sake production - with some records even claiming that sake brewing started as far back as the Yayoi period (300 BCE - 300 A.D).

Fushimi district is known for its many scenic rivers and canals. Source: Kyoto Travel

Towards the start of the Edo period (1603 - 1868), under Toyotomi Hideyoshi's leadership, Kyoto and Fushimi started to develop into a transportation hub, with many rivers and canals allow for boats of rice, sake and other goods to be shipped between the city and Osaka. Sake breweries in this  started to establish themselves in this region, with the oldest being the sake giant Gekkeikan 月桂冠, establishing itself in 1637 and the original brewery site still producing sake (albeit at a much lower scale and doubling as a museum). Today, there is roughly 40 sake breweries churning out brews in Fushimi, with the are dubbed as on of the three important sake hubs in Japan.

The original sake brewery has been partially transformed into the Okura Sake Museum. Source: Trip Advisor

Established in the year 1675 is Tsuki no Katsura, an establishment that helmed two businesses under its roof in Fushimi: the sake brewing arm called Masuda Tokubee. The brewery was built facing the Toba Kaida road, which extended out of and faced the Rashomon Gate (or, Rajomon), the city gate to what used to be the Heian-period city of Heian-Kyo.

The original Rashomon Gate no longer exists, instead replaced with a few of these  markers. Source: Wikipedia

Masuda Tokubee Shoten was a popular lodging house amongst noblemen travelling through the city. A certain Ayanokoji Arinaga 綾小路有長, who was lodging in the brewery, wrote a poem that described the scenery then - and a phrase from the poem is where the name "Tsuki no Katsura 月の桂"; tsuki meaning moon and katsura referring to a type of tree (that in this case, grew beside the lake near the brewery); came to be.

The Brewery's name is Masuda Tokubee Shoten. Source: Sake Geek

During the tail end of the Edo Period (1868), the decisive Battle of Fushimi Toba (鳥羽・伏見の戦い) damaged the brewery building, where it was rebuilt and still stands in its original site today.

Source: Tsuki no Katsura

The Masuda Tokubee brewery and the Tsuki no Katsura brand were famous for their pioneering efforts in introducing new styles of sake - for one,  pioneered (or perhaps more appropriately, renewed) nigori sake under the leadership of 13th generation chairman in 1964. Here's the context: doburoku is a type of unfiltered sake (rice mash and all), typically home-brewed at home and was in a sense the most "traditional" sort of sake.

The famous nigori of Tsuki no Katsura headlines their website. Can I say how chic it is displaying the cloudiness of the sake using a clear green bottle?

During the Meiji era, homebrewing and doburoku in particular was outlawed. It was in this climate where nigori was born - technically still a filtered sake, but with a more porous cloth that allowed more sentiments through. The 13th generation chairman was a big fan of champagne, and wanting to bring the same sparkling texture into sake making.

The gauge used by the13th generation chairperson of the brewery, in display. Source: South China Morning Post

By law, all sake had to be filtered - and going with this technicality, the chairman took a metal gauge and passed the sake through, filtering it while retaining its carbonated nature. This distinguishing feature was accepted by the Japanese authorities to fulfil the "filtering" criteria, and hence nigori sake was deemed legal, with the credit of making it so given to the brewery.

Aging sake in the brewery's attic. Source: South Morning China Post

The following year, Masuda Tokubee's 13th chairman experimented with aging sake in porcelain pots for long periods of time. The art of aging sake was unfortunately lost, but within the Masuda Tokubee brewery, scrolls belonging to generations before his detailed aging sake in large porcelain bottles for samurai. The porcelain bottles are stored in the attic, where the changing seasons allowed the sake to "breathe" and develop.

Manuals detailing how to age sake, as old as 1875. Source: Sake Times EN

Perhaps you've caught on that we haven't named the chairpersons in particular. In fact, Masuda Tokubee is the name that has been passed down through all generations of the family-run sake brewery - in other words, upon taking the helm of chairperson, their name would be changed to Masuda Tokubee! The 14th generation and current chairman of the brewery is widely involved in sake education and promoting Fushimi's sakes, wearing double hats as the Head of the Fushimi Sake Brewer's Association. Masuda Tokubee has also been hard at work to promote the Iwai rice strain cultivation in Kyoto, a rice strain that is notoriously hard to grow.

Masuda Tokubee's signature dapper look - a well fitted suit, a perfectly trimmed moustache, and a snazzy bowtie to boot. Source: Sake Times EN

His son, to-be 15th generation chairperson Masuda Junichi (his name would change when he officially helms the business), studied advertising in Tokyo and worked at a high-octane business firm to gain business experience before returning to the brewery - refreshing the look of the Tsuki No Katsura brand with a new label design.

The new brand logo features a modernised emblem, simplistic colours, and beautiful calligraphy. Source: s-usui.jp

Before we dive right into the sakes, here's a tidbit of trivia - the 12th Masuda Tokubee of the brewery was a close friend of Akira Kurosawa (yes, the film director made shot much of classic Japanese cinema!). The duo often shared philosophies about sake drinking, and being a big history buff himself, the chairperson used to gather ukiyo-e (traditional Japanese woodblock painting from the Edo period) and used their designs as labels for the bottles then.

Masuda Tokubee the 14th and soon-to-be Masuda Tokubee the 15th, sporting  pinstripe suits. Source: Grand Seiko

Today, we do not have the all famous sparkling nigori or the aged koshu sake to taste, but we've had the chance to taste some of their flagship products all the same. Here goes!

Tsuki No Katsura  The Branché 月の桂 The Branche ブランシェ, 16% ABV – Review

Towards the later half of 2019, Masuda Tokubee brewery was working with the Kyoto Municipal Industrial Technology Research Institute (京都市産業技術研究所), a research centre that helped support industries in Kyoto. In particular, they collaborated with the biological research team, which has been actively cultivating yeast strains for Kyoto's sakes since the 1950s.

The brewery worked on two projects - one them with the end goal of creating a sake that was receptive and easy to drink for newcomers to the category, and in particular, was directed at the Western palate. Seino Tamami, the deputy researcher of the team, lead the project and cultivated the sake yeast that would be instrumental in achieving this gentle, easy-to-drink palate: the "Kyoto No Koi 京都の恋".

Source: Sake Times

According to the researcher, the yeast strains that have been cultivated for Kyoto breweries tend to impart heavy, dense flavours into the sake. The Kyoto No Koi however went in the completely opposite direction - producing an abundance of ethyl hexanoate (sometimes called ethyl caproate), a flavour and aroma associated to green apples; isoamyl acetate that gives banana flavours; as well as malic acid, the same acid found in green apples. The name translates to "Kyoto's love", where the researcher said the fragrant, sweet and fruity flavours reminded her of her first love.

Deputy Researcher Seino Tamami on the left, 14th Generation Masuda Tokubee in the middle, and Head of the Knowledge Industry Promotion Division Ao Hirooka on the right. Source: Sake Times

The yeast was formulated and cultivated for use by Masuda Tokubee brewery within the same year, and the sake brewed with it was named The Branché, meaning "trendy, cutting edge (and pronounced bron-shay)" in French - a nod to the innovative yeast that was used.

Source: Sake Times

The Branché also has a sibling as well, named The Assemblage, another French winemaking term that refers to combining different wines to form a final product. For the Assemblage, another yeast, the "Kyoto no Hana 京の華" was used to brew a batch of sake that was blended with The Branché.

For our introduction into Tsuki no Katsura's sakes, we had The Branché: made with Yamadanishiki rice polished to 60%, Kyoto no Koi sake yeast, and brewed to 16% ABV.

Nose: A very green smelling sake - I get green apples, slightly underripe banana, as well as that fresh, grass smell of sliced bell peppers.

Taste: Perhaps the most balanced of the lot - the sake has a satisfying yet congruent intensity in terms of sweet, sour and umami flavours. The flavours oscillate between Asian pear, apple juice rice syrup, and toasted rice mochi that has been dipped in teriyaki sauce. 

Finish: The fruitiness does not stay long, making way for more drying flavours and the savouriness of mildly salted cooked rice. 

My Thoughts

I starkly remembered how this was the first sake tasting of the day - and it really warmed up the palate for more sakes to come. The fruitiness was intense enough that it made the sake feel sweet, but it never overwhelmed or made the sake cloying. If anything, I'll compare it to a light milkshake with lots of ice or a really cold, young white wine - smooth, gentle with ample fruitiness to break the texture, and refreshing.  

Tsuki no Katsura Kasegi Gashira Junmaishu 月の桂 稼ぎ頭 純米酒, 8% ABV – Review

 The Kasegi Gashira sake deviates from the mainline Tsuki No Katsura lineup - here, the brewery has opted to make a low-alcohol sake.

According to it's own dedicated website, the inception of the Kasegi Gashira came during what the brewery believed was an oversaturation of the same ideas and products. "A new perspective" was sorely needed - something that could redefine what sake was.

In a way, a low-ABV sake was quite a novelty: especially in a space where most sakes sit in the 12-16% range. Perhaps what was more unique about the sake was the serving suggestions that came with it: one recipe calls for mixing the sake with soda water in a 7:3 ratio, topped off with fresh fruits such as raspberries or blackberries for a refreshing, light cocktail; the other takes a "mizuwari" approach, chasing the sake with high quality mineral water in a similar 7:3 ratio. Apparently, diluting a sake with mineral-rich water was common practice during the Edo period.

The two suggested cocktails: chased with mineral water on the left, and soda water on the right. Source: Kasegi Gashira

The name of the sake Kasegi Gashira 稼ぎ頭 translates to being the "main breadwinner" or the "highest earner"; with the philosophy of the name coming from the celebration of being successful in a business and being with friends and family in a bold and positive manner. This sake is made with Yamadanishiki rice, polished to 70%, with an SMV rating of -55 to -65.

Nose: Very delicate on the nose - mostly chamomile tea, light green tea and barely a hint of banana. There is almost a mildly yeasty smell, but that could be because the sake is slightly warm. 

Taste: The sake is a lot more intense on the palate than the nosing would suggest. It has a sweet-sour profile that many people associate with off-dry wines, and for me, reminds me of a Kabinett Riesling (a select harvest off-dry wine from Germany made from Riesling grapes), or a late harvest off-dry style Sauvignon Blanc. It has a satisfying sweetness that pairs well with the more intense sourness of the sake, that leans toward a melon, passionfruit flavour. 

Finish: The finish can feel a bit lacking - feeling like mineral water. There is a sense of minerality in this sake, and as the initial wave of fruitiness falls off, there is a green grape skin flavour that lingers.

My Thoughts

For the uninitiated, this sake really was quite intense tastewise, with the delicate nosing completely alluding the intensity of the flavour. I think I kind of get what they meant with the name Kasegi Gashira: like how your top-earner makes the most bang for your buck, for a sake with  that low of an ABV, it truly punches well above its weight! I could really see the stuff going great with a lavish meal - nothing too indulgent alcohol or texture wise, but in that live-in-the-moment spontaneity, truly delivering in taste.

Tsuki no Katsura Junmai Ginjo Yanagi |  月の桂 柳  純米吟醸酒

Source: Tsuki no Katsura

For this sake, we once again have to visit the history archives.

About 1400 C.E during the Muromachi period, there were many small sake breweries that were already operational in Kyoto itself. During this time, there was a legendary, almost mythical sake brand called "Yanagi Sake 柳酒 (pronounced yanagi-zake) ". This prized sake was said to be the epitome of Kyoto sake - rich, sweet, and powerful, made with the highest craftsmanship of the time.

The Kinkaku-ji (before it was burned down in 1950) was built during this period. Source: Japan-Guide

While I couldn't quite piece together the name of the brewery that produced this revered sake, a few sources point to its location being somwhere at Bomoncho, Shimogyo ward ( 下京五条坊門 ).  It was this sake that was colloquially crowned "the best sake in Japan" for some time during the Muromachi period, with records that showed how it was popular amongst nobles, monks and other important persons who visited and traversed in, out and about Kyoto. Unfortunately, the Yanagi sake fell out of favour towards the end of the Muromachi period and the start of the Edo period.

A source states it may have been on the Bukkoji-dori 仏光寺通, which today houses many famous Buddhist temples. Screenshot from Google Maps.

For one, other rice producing regions of Japan started to produce their own high-quality sake at prices that the Kyoto community of sake brewers could not compete with. This was further complicated where Kyoto was a hotbed for feuds and wars. Secondly, the style of big, sweet flavours started to fall out of favour as well, and there simply was not enough demand for Yanagi sake anymore (at least, that's what some historians seem to suggest). While I couldn't find much pictorial sources, the brand seemed to always be denoted with a six-star crest.

For instance, Itami sake became very popular during the Edo period, depicted in this illustration by Shitomi Kangetsu. Source: British Museum

To honour this long-lost legendary sake, Tsuki no Katsura named one of their sakes "Yamagi 柳", which translates to "willow tree". The calligraphy of the kanji 柳 was the work of a famous calligraphist Ono no Michikaze (小野 道風 , with a few other readings of the name).

The Yanagi 柳 calligraphy can be seen on the third row from the top, second from the right. Source: Wikipedia

The sake made by Tsuki no Katsura is made to be paired with food, with an "elegant" profile that blends itself with food. The serving suggestion was to pair this with bitter chocolate and confectionery that isn't too sweet. This sake comes in at 16% ABV, with a polishing ratio of 60%.

Source: The Japanese Bar

Aroma: Clean with a light yogurt acidity and milkiness, but also some clay minerality and a strong slightly musky papaya juiciness.

Taste: Really nice richness here, it’s sweeter with a side of light savouriness. It starts with some honey and light tropical fruits of mangosteen and soursop, before taking a more savoury turn. Full bodied.

Finish: Savouriness continues and in fact deepens. Really nice long warmth, light woodiness thats well-timed and of an autumnal quality, reminiscent of aromatic wood spice. Fades out into a gorgeous earthy richness of brown sugar.

My Thoughts

This was rather quiet on the nose initially, but with time a rather funky papaya note began to come through, albeit still rather closed off. However, when we get to the palate it is simply impeccable - the richness and depth is absurdly tasty. It’s peppered with these estery sugary sweet tropical fruits. This powers on to the finish where it turns more earthy and autumnal - still rich and with depth - and then fades out into brown sugar soup. Absolutely fantastic and with such a unique flavour profile - it’s really a talking piece.

Conclusion

My first introduction to Tsuki no Katsura's sake has left quite an impression - really tasty stuff! I'm glad to hear that there's a fair bit of innovation going on (the soon to be 15th generation Masuda Tokubee did hint about whisky barrel aging sakes...) despite the brand's solid establishment. I'll definitely be on the lookout for their nigori sake - surely there has to be some magic behind the sake that revived a whole category. 

@vernoncelli

P.S. The said poem by Ayanokoji Arinaga goes like this:  かげ清き月の嘉都良の川水を夜々汲みて世々に栄えむ. Truth be told, I had trouble trying to derive the meaning of this phrase, but from what I could cobble together, it referred to the moon's reflection off a river that was near the brewery, while also praising hopes for good sake for generations to come.