Fumimoto Brewery: Last of its Kind in Kubokawa 

By Fujiwara M.

A swallow is chirping, and the trees are swaying in the wind. On the road, an old woman says “Konnichiwa”, and in this town that recalls grandparents’ house, there is a building with a long-established atmosphere. Once the group of men goes inside, there are unlike the outside. It is an old fashioned but fancy interior. While the earthenware’s sake jugs of various sizes are lined up, there is also bar space that is not often seen in sake breweries. 

Fumimoto Brewery was established 120 years ago in Kubokawa city. In 2020, they stopped making sake once because of the pandemic of corona Virus. However, they restarted business on May 1st, 2023. Along with restarting business, they started new things such as they launch a new sake it is called “SHIMANTO” and open a pairing bar “Osakeya-san” in a renovated sake brewery’s main building. 

“Here is the last sake brewery in Kubokawa city,” Tatsuya Abe, who is senior managing director of the Fumimoto Brewery, said. 

 In Kubokawa, there were 8 sake breweries in the past, but they went out of business because of lack of interest from young people in drinking sake and the covid pandemic. However, if Fumimoto Brewery also went out of business, there are only temple where tourist can visit in Kubokawa. Also, once the sake business is abolished, it will be too difficult to get a new license again. Because it is not possible to obtain a license to build a new sake brewery due to only 1/3 of the demand for sake compared to the peak, so if people build a new sake brewery, the oversupply will be even more intense, and they will be possible to collapse together. Therefore, people who heard the story of the business going out of business, they went there every day to persuade the previous owner to take over the business. After three months, the previous owner accepts to be taken over the business. 

In Japan, according to a survey which was conducted in 2021, it was found that 70% of woman in their 20s and 30s and 74% of all generations did not drink sake within a year. In addition, over 40% of people, both young people and women, answer that “I’ve never drunk sake before”. So, in Fumimoto Brewery, they started new things along with restarting business like no other brewery does. 

First, they opened bar space as a “pairing bar”. they provide sake and food there, and they are making a food and sweets by only ingredients from Kochi. Also, people who are a student from elementary to high school can go there and study like in the library. And if they have their own bottle, they can get soft drink for free. 

 “I would like to provide a place where everyone can come freely” “I don’t mind if the student comes just to sleep,” Abe said with a smile. 

Second, they made a new sake it is called “SHIMANTO”. The reason why they name “SHIMANTO” is that there are flowing Shimanto river, only rice grown in Shimanto is used for this sake, and the Shimanto river is famous for foreigners who are interested in nature. They now only use Niida rice, which is normally not rice for sake. This is because they would like consumers to drink this sake when people eat food, and it does not interfere with the taste of food. In this sake, they value terroir, which refers to the characteristics of the geography and climate because of telling what kind of place and with what kind of thoughts the sake is made. So, now they are trying to contract with farmers who are making rice and they allow consumers to see the farmer’s face when they buy sake. By taking pride in making sake from rice, it is also connected to preventing a lack of interest in sake. And this sake concept is the ultimate toast’s sake. This concept hopes are that it will be a drink to spend special time with special people when people celebrate something. 

“I would like to change Sake’s impression,” saying Abe. 

The survey which conducted in 2019 found that roughly 25% of people think about sake is for the old people. For taking this idea away, Fumimoto Brewery provide customers not only sake but also cocktail by mixing sake like “Sake lemon sour” or “Osakeyasan mosco” “This is the reason why people don’t want to drink sake is because the sake’s impression, but if they do not know it, sake cocktail is very delicious.” he is saying. 

Also, the package of sake was changed sustainability from conventional bottle. They are using spout pack and no longer use conventional bottle. The reason why they changed the package is that the conventional bottle was too heavy to carry, and it was very likely to be broken while transportation. Here is the only one place to use spout pack. What is more, the package collaborates with the illustrator, and we can paint on the label. The idea is that it will be one of the reasons for buying sake. 

They also trying to look to expand overseas. Now, the demand for sake is increasing in overseas. The total amount of sake exports exceeded the previous year for 13 consecutive years and the quantity has also reached a record high of 35,895 kiloliters in 2022. The reason why sake is getting popular is that Japanese food was registered as an intangible cultural heritage of UNESCO in 2012. After that, as the number of Japanese restaurants increases, the popularity of sake that goes well with Japanese food is increasing. The sustainable efforts of Fumimoto Brewery and the taste of its sake have been well received at hotels overseas, like in New York, and there is great potential for overseas expansion of this sake.   

“We would like to cherish the culture together with the region.” Saying Abe. 

This Fumimoto Brewery, which takes on new challenges while preserving its culture, will have an impact throughout Japan and will become popular with people overseas. 

Fumimoto Brewery