CHOKAISAN BRAND
Founded in 1830, by Eikichi Ohi, Tenju
SHUZO is a tightly knit, family-owned
brewery enjoying its sixth generation of
sake production. TENJU brewery is
located in Yashima village near the
beautiful Mount Chokai, in Akita
Prefecture, in northwestern Japan. The
village has a population of only 5,000, but
it is number one in sake production in
Akita.
Severe winters bring heavy snowfalls, and
prolonged low temperatures. These severe
conditions are ideal for sake brewing. Tenju
brewery avails itself of the nature that
abounds in the nearby terrain. They use
Mt. Chokai's naturally-filtered, soft water.
The resulting sake is distinguishably clean
on the palate.
The brewery's philosophy is that sake
making is rice making. The brewery
commissions farmers from 25 rice paddies
to exclusively supply rice for Tenju’s sake
production.All of the employees of the
brewery are intimately and intuitively
familiar with rice because all of the
workers are rice farmers during the
summer and become sake makers during
the winter months.
In 1983, Tenju Research Group was
founded. This group is comprised of rice
farmers who consistently endeavor to
improve their crop from year to year. Tenju
is the first brewery to establish such a
research group.
In Japanese “TENJU” means to last a
hundred years. The name evokes both the
wish for the longevity of Tenju Sake
enthusiast, and the company’s 140-years over
commitment to maintaining Japan’s timehonored,
traditional sake brewing methods.
With abundant resources Tenju is
justifiably proud of its traditional brewing
techniques and the quality of their handcrafted
sake. JUNMAI DAIGINJO CHOKAISAN exemplifies the clean, well-rounded
flavor and elegant nose for which TENJU
is renown.
