Junmai is a term for pure sake made only with rice and rice koji. For years, adding alcohol to sake to increase volume was the mainstream. During World War II, it was done because of rice shortages. After the war, sake makers did it to increase profits. Today 80% of sake on the market has added alcohol.

In 1964, Tamanohikari revived junmai for the first time in the industry. Because junmai takes up to 1.8 times the rice that added-alcohol sake requires, this practice was done at considerable cost to the brewery. Yet it could not raise the price of its products in fear that sales would plummet. What is more, few people in those days had a true appreciation for junmai. For Tamanohikari, it was one hardship after another.

Still, we believe this centuries-long tradition of making sake only with rice is the way to achieve the true flavor of sake. That’s why to this day, Tamanohikari brews only junmai.

Because Tamanohikari is made only with rice, water, and koji, our commitment to rice is extraordinary. Today only 5% of the sake on the market in Japan is made using shuzo kotekimai, rice that is suitable for brewing sake. Tamanohikari uses bizen-omachi, a rare variety regarded as the best rice for making sake, and yamadanishiki, praised as the “yokozuna” (master) of sake rice, as well as premium-quality iwai sake rice from Kyoto.

Each spring we visit the locations where our rice is produced. Our employees put on long boots and stand next to the riceplanting farmers. As planting seedlings too closely causes quality to suffer, the farmers take care to leave sufficient space in between. The harvested rice from each producer is inspected to determine the ratios of protein and moisture content. We only use rice that meets our one-of-a-kind strict standards. Nothin’else.

The more rice is polished, the more the harshness disappears, resulting in sake with a refined flavor. We polish the rice as much as possible on our own. Using special rollers, we slowly scrape off the fat and protein. It’s precision work that takes anywhere from 30 to 48 hours.

Sake made with rice from which 40% of the outer covering has been polished is called ginjo. When over 50% is removed, it’s called dai-ginjo. Tamanohikari makes only junmai ginjo and dai-ginjo. It’s hardly an efficient method, and only 5% of the sake on the market is junmai ginjo. Still, we are confident that this is the true way to make sake.

The Fushimi ward of Kyoto is blessed with excellent groundwater. At Tamanohikari, the water we use for all steps, from washing the sake rice, steaming, and creating the moto yeast starter and the moromi mash, all comes from a source in Momoyama Hills. Centuries ago, legendary warrior Toyotomi Hideyoshi (1537-1598) pumped the same water for use in his tea ceremonies.

Today the source is recognized by Japan’s Ministry of the Environment as one of the country’s 100 finest waters. Tamanohikari is adamant about selecting only the finest rice and koji. But when it comes to water, we simply give thanks to the blessings of the Earth.

The sprinkling of koji mold to make koji rice is one of the most important processes in sake making. At Tamanohikari, this process is entirely done by hand.

The way the koji mold is sprinkled on the steamed rice is determined by the many years of experience and the intuition of the toji chief brewers. Held in their hands and kept at a temperature that makes growing the koji mold easier, it is gently massaged to activate it.

Koji is, in fact, a living thing. Around the clock, it is lovingly nurtured and grown.
Then after about two days it develops a sweet chestnut-like aroma in the koji cultivating room (seikikushitsu), signaling that Tamanohikari koji rice is ready.