Collection: Masumi

Producer of Masumi sake, the Miyasaka house was founded by the family of the same name, descended from a long line of fighters and originally from the Nagano region, more precisely from the town of Suwa. During the historic period of the Warring Kingdoms (16th century), the Miyasaka family served the Suwa clan, allied to the powerful daimyo* Takeda Shingen, one of Oda Nobunaga's greatest rivals. But tired of fighting, its members decided to take up sake production in 1662, at the start of the Edo era. For many years, their sake was destined for the Shinto temple of Suwa Taisha. The name Masumi, which translates as transparency or truth, was given in homage to the temple's mirror of the same name. The Miyasaka house ran into difficulties at the start of the Meiji era (1868-1912), when competition was fierce. There were more than 16,000 sake producers. The company then embarked on other ancillary activities in order to survive. It was during the Taisho period (1912-1926), that the Miyasaka family decided to refocus its activities and concentrate on innovative, quality sake. So, in 1920, Masaru Miyasaka, the family heir, hired Chisato Kubota, a toji in his twenties, with whom he crossed Japan from north to south to study the specificities and best techniques of regional sake-making. In 1946, at a time when the country was in ruins and sake houses had suffered heavy material and human losses, the National Brewing Research Institute recognized Masumi yeast as the national yeast. It became yeast number 7, quickly used and distributed throughout Japan to revive the sake industry. Even today, it is one of the most widely used yeasts. His father was succeeded by Kazuhiro Miyasaka, who helped Masumi become one of the most popular sakes on the peninsula, despite the general decline of sake in Japan.