Former Hanshin Tigers pitcher Tsuyoshi Shimoyanagi toured the Himeji Nadagiku Shuzo brewery in Himeji, Hyogo Prefecture, exploring how the historic maker shifted from mass production to hand-crafted micro-batches and uncovering a surprising family link to French judo history, maidonanews.jp reported.
Brewery Heritage and French Judo History
Founded in 1910 in the Tegara district of Himeji, Nadagiku Shuzo operates among dark-painted wooden storehouses. During a tour led by fourth-generation company president and female brewmaster Kisa Kawaishi, Shimoyanagi learned that the brewery founder’s younger brother, Minosuke Kawaishi, traveled to France in the early Showa period to introduce judo from scratch, earning the designation as the father of French judo.
Displays detailing Minosuke Kawaishi’s legacy fill the brewery museum. Inspired by the connection, Shimoyanagi examined a bottle of the Daiginjo Mikinosuke, a premium brew named after the historical figure for international distribution.
Shift to Small-Batch Production Under a Female Brewmaster
Nadagiku Shuzo operated as a large-scale manufacturing plant during the 1930s of the Showa era, but the company altered its operating model in 1994. Abandoning volume, the brewery transitioned to a 500-kilogram micro-batch system relying on manual labor by skilled workers.
President Kisa Kawaishi serves as the third female Nanbu brewmaster nationwide and the first in Hyogo Prefecture. She noted that recent severe summer heat has made locally contracted Hyogo sake rice harder and less soluble, requiring brewers to rely on intuition and individual skill alongside data and manuals to maintain quality.
Sake Tourism and Wood-Storehouse Dining
The brewery offers educational seminar programs covering regional topography, water quality, and rice characteristics alongside traditional tastings. Kawaishi noted that the approach targets visitors seeking cultural education regardless of personal alcohol consumption.
Visitors tour a preservation museum featuring original boiling equipment and brewing tools from the founding era. The grounds also house a direct-management restaurant built inside a converted wooden sake storehouse, where patrons dine adjacent to the active brewing spaces.
Tasting the Daiginjo Mikinosuke
Shimoyanagi sampled the Daiginjo Mikinosuke, brewed directly by Kawaishi, noting its aromatic profile. He described the initial aroma as resembling pear, followed by a smooth palate with gentle sweetness that finishes cleanly without lingering heaviness.
Company representatives confirmed that Nadagiku Shuzo products are also made available through the Himeji City hometown tax donation program via online municipal product pages.
