Six prefectures in the Kanto-Shinetsu region of Japan

Kanto-Shinetsu Sake Awards 2013 is the traditional sake award held by the Kanto-Shinetsu Regional Taxation Bureau of the National Tax Agency of Japan, which has jurisdiction for the Kanto-Shinetsu region’s six prefectures (Ibaraki, Tochigi, Gunma, Saitama, Niigata and Nagano). The award was first held in 1965 and the most recent award held in 2013 marked the 84th.

The objective of holding this award is, through evaluating the quality of sake, to promote the advancement and development of sake brewing technology, to improve the quality of sake brewed in Kanto-Shinetsu region’s six prefectures, and to contribute to the sound development of the sake industry.

The most recent award (Kanto-Shinetsu Sake Award 2013) consisted of two sections: The first section was for Ginjo-shu sake that has a fruity flavor and has been described as the highest work of art among sake. The second section was for Junmai-shu sake that is made solely from highly quality rice and has a fragrant and complex flavor. From the many traditional sake brewers(Meijo-kura) in the six prefectures of the Kanto-Shinetsu region, which is a region blessed with outstanding natural beauty, in the Ginjo-shu section 200 products were exhibited from 200 breweries, and in the Junmai-shu section, 192 were exhibited from 192 brewers.

The judging panel, who used all their senses to evaluate the quality of the exhibits, carried out the first round of judging on October 1st and 2nd, 2013, and the second (and final) round on October 10th, 2013. Following a strict but fair judging process, the Regional Commissioner Hidenori Sakota of the Kanto- Shinetsu Regional Taxation Bureau awarded the Grand Prize to a brewer who was awarded the highest score in the Ginjo-shu section, and also gave Award of Excellence to a further 63 brewers that achieved excellent scores. In the Junmai-shu section, the Commissioner Sakota also gave Awards of Excellence to 62 brewers that achieved excellent scores.

Judging method

The judges, who are experts in evaluating the quality of sake and came from the six prefectures in the Kanto-Shinetsu region, are researchers from a public organization for sake brewing technology, brewmasters and technical officers from the Kanto-Shinetsu Regional Taxation Bureau. The judges used all their senses to perform strict but fair evaluations of the quality of sake.

Results of the Judging

Results of Ginjo-shu section(including the Grand Prize and Award of Excellence)

The Grand Prize
AwardPrefectureName of sake brewerBrand nameName of toji (brewmaster),etc.
the Grand PrizeTochigiSOHOMARE SAKE BREWERY CO.,LTD.SOHOMAREAbe Takao
List of Prize winners of Awards of Excellence in Ginjo-shu section
AwardPrefectureName of sake brewerBrand nameName of toji (brewmaster), etc.
ExcellenceIbarakiYOSHIKUBOSHUZO CORPORATIONIPPINSasaki Katsuo
ExcellenceIbarakiHIROSESHOTEN LIMITED PARTNERSHIPSHIRAGIKUTakahashi Kozo
ExcellenceTochigiINOUE SEIKICHI CO.,LTD.SAWAHIMEInoue Hiroshi
ExcellenceTochigiTORAYAHONTEN CORPORATION KIKUTenmaya Makoto
ExcellenceTochigiHOKKAN SAKE BREWING CO.,LTD HOKKANKamiyoshihara Masato
ExcellenceTochigiDAIICHISHUZO CORPORATION KAIKANinomiya Shunichi
ExcellenceTochigiWATANABESHUZO CORPORATION KYOKUKOIshii Hiroshi
ExcellenceTochigiMATSUISHUZOUTEN CORPORATION MATSUNOKOTOBUKIMatsui Nobutaka
ExcellenceGunmaSHIBASAKISHUZO CORPORATION FUNAOTAKITakatsuna Tsuyoshi
ExcellenceGunmaKONDOSHUZO CORPORATION AKAGISANAgato Masamitsu
ExcellenceGunmaTSUCHIDASHUZO CORPORATION HOMAREKOKKOHoshino Genki
ExcellenceGunmaNAGAISHUZO CORPORATION MIZUBASHOGoto Kenji
ExcellenceGunmaASAMASHUZO KABUSHIKIGAISHA HONSHAKOUJOASAMASANSakurai Takeshi
ExcellenceGunmaASAMASHUZO KABUSHIKIGAISHA DAINIKOUJOHIGENKobayashi Takahiro
ExcellenceSaitamaTAKIZAWASHUZO CORPORATION KIKUIZUMITakizawa Hideyuki
ExcellenceSaitamaOTAKISHUZO CORPORATION KOKONOESAKURASugawara Minoru
ExcellenceSaitamaKAMAYA CORPORATION RIKISHIMatsuoka Osamu
ExcellenceSaitamaYOKOTASHUZO CORPORATION NIHONBASHITakahashi Seimei
ExcellenceSaitamaIGARASHISHUZO CORPORATION TENRANZANKobayashi Kiyoshi
ExcellenceSaitamaMATSUOKAJOZO CORPORATION MIKADOMATSUMatsuoka Norio
ExcellenceSaitamaSUZUKISHUZO CORPORATION MANRYO DAIGINJOTada Ichiro
ExcellenceSaitamaBUNRAKU CORPORATION BUNRAKUMurakami Daisuke
ExcellenceNiigataKOSHINOHANASHUZO CORPORATIONKOSHINOHANAIkeda Hideyo
ExcellenceNiigataKIRINZANSHUZO CORPORATION KIRINZANHasegawa Yoshiaki
ExcellenceNiigataKUSUMI SAKE PRODUCT& CO.,LTD. KIYOIZUMIHoshi Seijirou
ExcellenceNiigataMINOGAWASHUZO CORPORATION MINOGAWA KOSHINOOMACHITanaka Masayuki
ExcellenceNiigataMOROHASHISHUZO CORPORATION KOSHINOKAGETORATakahashi Koichi
ExcellenceNiigataHARASHUZO CORPORATION SEICHOBREWERYKOSHINOHOMAREHirano Yasuo
ExcellenceNiigataHARASHUZO CORPORATION WAJOBREWERYKOSHINOHOMAREIshiguro Yoshikazu
ExcellenceNiigataECHIGOZAKURASHUZO CORPORATIONECHIGOZAKURAHigaki Satoshi
ExcellenceNiigataKIKUSUI SAKE CO.,LTD. SETSUGOROGURAKIKUSUI GENRYUTamaki Kozue
ExcellenceNiigataAOKISHUZO CO.,LTDKAKUREIImai Takahiro
ExcellenceNiigataTAKACHIYO SHUZO CO.,LTDTAKACHIYOAbe Shigeo
ExcellenceNiigataTAMAGAWASHUZO CORPORATION ECHIGOYUKIKURAYamamoto Tsuyoshi
ExcellenceNiigataNIIGATAMEIJO. CO.,LTD. CHOJAZAKARIHosokawa Tadakiyo
ExcellenceNiigataTSUNANJOZO CORPORATION KIRINOTOUTakizawa Masaya
ExcellenceNiigataMIYAO SAKE BREWING CO.,LTD. SHIMEHARITSURUYoshida Osamu
ExcellenceNiigataIKEDAYASHUZOU CORPORATION KENSHINHara Taketoshi
ExcellenceNiigataKIMINOI SHUZO CO.,LTDKIMINOIHayatsu Hiroshi
ExcellenceNiigataTAKEDASHUZOTEN LIMITED PARTNERSHIP KATAFUNEKobayashi Yoshio
ExcellenceNiigataMARUYAMA BREWING COMPANY LIMITED SETCHUUBAIMurayama Toshiro
ExcellenceNiigataMYOKOSHUZO CORPORATION KOSHINOSETSUGETSUKAHirata Masayuki
ExcellenceNiigataOBATA SHUZO CO.,LTD. MANOTSURUKudo Kenya
ExcellenceNaganoEndo Brewery Inc. KEIRYUKatsuyama Keizo
ExcellenceNaganoDAISHINSYU BREWERIES INC. DAISHINSYUKobayashi Yukiyoshi
ExcellenceNaganoSHUSENKURANO CORPORATION KAWANAKAJIMA GENBUChino Mariko
ExcellenceNaganoEH SHUZO CORPORATION ONIKANHojo Shoichi
ExcellenceNaganoKAMETAYASHUZOTEN GENERAL PARTNERSHIP SHUHO ALPS MASAMUNEKiyoto Yukihiro
ExcellenceNaganoMARUNAGASHUZOJO LIMITED PARTNERSHIP TAKANAMINagahara Motoharu
ExcellenceNaganoSHINSHUUMEIJYOU COMPANY SHUHOKIKUZAKARI DAIGINJONishizawa Masaru
ExcellenceNaganoSUWAOHTSUYAHONKESHUZO CORPORATION DAIYAGIKU DAIGINJOYazawa Chisato
ExcellenceNaganoKOTENSHUZO CORPORATION KOTENIto Satoshi
ExcellenceNaganoTOSHIMAYA CORPORATION MIWATARIKomatsu Yukio
ExcellenceNaganoMIYASAKA BREWING COMPANY ,LTD. MASUMINasu Kenji
ExcellenceNaganoURUSHIDOJOZO CORPORATION INOKASHIRAUrushido Takahiko
ExcellenceNaganoSENJYO SAKE BREWERY OUROAndo Hiroyuki
ExcellenceNaganoKADOGUCHI SHUZO CO.,LTD HOKKO MASAMUNEMuramatsu Yuya
ExcellenceNaganoSHIGAIZUMISHUZO CORPORATION SHIGAIZUMINakayama Yoshiki
ExcellenceNaganoDaisekkei Sake Brewing Co.,Ltd.DAISEKKEI DAIGINJONagase Mamoru
ExcellenceNaganoTAKESHIGEHONKESHUZO CORPORATION MISONOTAKEYoda Tatsuya
ExcellenceNaganoCHIKUMANISHIKISHUZO CORPORATION CHIKUMANISHIKIShigeta Norikazu
ExcellenceNaganoNAKAZENSHUZOTEN CORPORATION NAKANORISANMorikawa Takayuki
ExcellenceNaganoNANAWARAISHUZO CORPORATION NANAWARAIYanagisawa Satoru

Results of Junmai-shu section

List of Prize winners of Awards of Excellence in Junmai-shu section
AwardPrefectureName of sake brewerBrand nameName of toji (brewmaster), etc.
ExcellenceIbarakiURAZATOSHUZOTEN LIMITED PARTNERSHIP KIRITSUKUBASasaki Keihachi
ExcellenceIbarakiISHIOKASHUZO CORPORATION TSUKUBAMinamino Tsuyoshi
ExcellenceIbarakiRAIFUKUSHUZO SAKE BREWING CO.,LTDRAIFUKUSato Akira
ExcellenceTochigiINOUE SEIKICHI CO.,LTD. SAWAHIMEInoue Hiroshi
ExcellenceTochigiUTSUNOMIYASHUZO CORPORATION SHIKISAKURAImai Shohei
ExcellenceTochigiTORAYAHONTEN CORPORATION KIKUTenmaya Makoto
ExcellenceTochigiNISHIBORISHUZO CORPORATION WAKAZAKARI MONGAIFUSYUTSUNishibori Kazuo
ExcellenceTochigiSOHOMARE SAKE BREWERY CO.,LTD. SOHOMAREAbe Takao
ExcellenceTochigiTSUJIZENBEISHOTEN CORPORATION TSUJIZENBEITsuji Hiroyuki
ExcellenceTochigiWATANABESHUZO CORPORATION KYOKUKOIshii Hiroshi
ExcellenceGunmaYANAGISAWASHUZO CORPORATION KATSURAGAWAYanagisawa Keiji
ExcellenceGunmaMAKINOSHUZO CORPORATION OHSAKAZUKIIwashimizu Fumio
ExcellenceGunmaKONDOSHUZO CORPORATION AKAGISANAgato Masamitsu
ExcellenceGunmaSEITOKU MEIJO CORPORATION HOUOUSEITOKUNishioka Yoshihiko
ExcellenceGunmaASAMASHUZO KABUSHIKIGAISHA HONSHAKOUJOASAMASANSakurai Takeshi
ExcellenceGunmaASAMASHUZO KABUSHIKIGAISHA DAINIKOUJOHIGENKobayashi Takahiro
ExcellenceGunmaKIMUSUMESHUZO CORPORATION KIMUSUMEYoshida Kazuhiro
ExcellenceSaitamaTAKIZAWASHUZO CORPORATION KIKUIZUMITakizawa Hideyuki
ExcellenceSaitamaMATSUOKAJOZO CORPORATION MIKADOMATSUMatsuoka Norio
ExcellenceNiigataTAKANOSHUZO CORPORATION KOSHIJIFUBUKIIshikawa Hiroki
ExcellenceNiigataHIKISHUZO CORPORATION TSURUNOTOMOHiguchi Muneyoshi
ExcellenceNiigataHAKURO SAKE BREWERY CO.,LTD. HAKUROShirahara Mitsuaki
ExcellenceNiigataMINOGAWASHUZO CORPORATION RYOKANTanaka Masayuki
ExcellenceNiigataMOROHASHISHUZO CORPORATION KOSHINOKAGETORA MEISUIJIKOMI TOKUBETSUJUNMAISHUTakahashi Koichi
ExcellenceNiigataYOSHINOGAWA CO.,LTD.YOSHINOGAWANakagawa Masayoshi
ExcellenceNiigataHARASHUZO CORPORATION SEICHOBREWERYKOSHINOHOMAREHirano Yasuo
ExcellenceNiigataICHISHIMA SAKE BREWERY INC. AUMONTTanaka Takeshi
ExcellenceNiigataECHIGOZAKURASHUZO CORPORATIONKOSHINONIHONZAKURAHigaki Satoshi
ExcellenceNiigataTAKANOISHUZO CO.,LTDKOSHINOHATSUUMEKimura Akihiro
ExcellenceNiigataNIIGATAMEIJO. CO.,LTD. CHOJAZAKARIHosokawa Tadakiyo
ExcellenceNiigataShirataki Sake Brewery co.,ltd TANREI UONUMAYamaguchi Shingo
ExcellenceNiigataMATSUNOISHUZOJO CORPORATION MATSUNOIFurusawa Yutaka
ExcellenceNiigataMIYAO SAKE BREWING CO.,LTD. SHIMEHARITSURUYoshida Osamu
ExcellenceNiigataAYUMASAMUNESHUZO CORPORATION AYUMASAMUNEAgeishi Syuji
ExcellenceNiigataKIMINOI SHUZO CO.,LTDECHIGONOKURAHIDENHayatsu Hiroshi
ExcellenceNiigataTAKEDASHUZOTEN LIMITED PARTNERSHIP KATAFUNEKobayashi Yoshio
ExcellenceNiigataCHIYONOHIKARISHUZO CORPORATION CHIYONOHIKARI JUNMAISHUKatagiri Kiyoshi
ExcellenceNiigataKATOSHUZOTEN CO.,LTD. HIRAKUIkeda Masaru
ExcellenceNiigataHENMISHUZO CO.,LTD. ITARUHenmi Akimasa
ExcellenceNaganoIMAISHUZOTEN CORPORATION WAKAMIDORIMatsumoto Osamu
ExcellenceNaganoEndo Brewery Inc. KEIRYUKatsuyama Keizo
ExcellenceNaganoNISHIIIDASHUZOTEN CORPORATION SEKIZENIida Kazumoto
ExcellenceNaganoMATSUBAYAHONTEN CORPORATION HOKUSHINRYUSugihara Itsuo
ExcellenceNaganoKUTSUKAKESHUZO CORPORATION FUKUMURYOYamazaki Takashi
ExcellenceNaganoSHINSHUUMEIJYOU COMPANY SHUHOKIKUZAKARI JUNMAIGINJOSHUNishizawa Masaru
ExcellenceNaganoKikusui Brewing Company, Ltd. KIKUSUIKawaguchi Hisao
ExcellenceNaganoITOSHUZO CORPORATION YOKOBUEHoshina Sadayoshi
ExcellenceNaganoSUWAOHTSUYAHONKESHUZO CORPORATION JUNMAI DAIYAGIKUYazawa Chisato
ExcellenceNaganoKOTENSHUZO CORPORATION KOTENIto Satoshi
ExcellenceNaganoMIYASAKA BREWING COMPANY,LTD. MASUMINasu Kenji
ExcellenceNaganoMIYASAKA BREWING COMPANY,LTD. MASUMI FUJIMIGURAMASUMIHirabayashi Kazuyuki
ExcellenceNaganoSENJYO SAKE BREWERY KUROMATSUSENJO KARAKUCHIJUNMAIAndo Hiroyuki
ExcellenceNaganoMARUSESHUZOTEN CORPORATION HINODENOIKIOIMASAMUNEFujisawa Masaru
ExcellenceNaganoDaisekkei Sake Brewing Co.,Ltd.Daisekkei TokubetsujunmaiNagase Mamoru
ExcellenceNaganoHOKUANJOZO CORPORATION HOKUANDAIKOKUYamazaki Yoshiyuki
ExcellenceNaganoOHSAWASHUZO CORPORATION MEIKYOSHISUIOsawa Minoru
ExcellenceNaganoKIUCHIJOZO CORPORATION HATSUUGUISUKomatsu Masashi
ExcellenceNaganoKUROSAWASHUZO CORPORATION MARUTOKurosawa Yohei
ExcellenceNaganoFURUYASHUZOTEN CORPORATION MIYAMAZAKURANakajima Kazuo
ExcellenceNaganoFUYOSHUZO CORPORATION HIMEKANADEYanagisawa Kiyoshi
ExcellenceNaganoNAKAZENSHUZOTEN CORPORATION NAKANORISANMorikawa Takayuki
ExcellenceNaganoNISHIOSHUZO CORPORATION KISONOKAKEHASHISato Masato