Kiyasho Shuzo

6th generation owner-brewmaster Tada Onishi took over his small family sake brewery in 2003 at the age of 27. Bucking prevailing trends he trusted his own taste and began to produce a bright and slightly acidic sake with incredible layers and depth from his extremely careful koji making. With no capital to pay employees he worked the brewery solo, and named his new sake Jikon: a zen term he translates as carpe diem, but can also mean “only this moment”, nodding both to the moments in which the bottles are shared and his make-or-break efforts to save the family brewery. 

The results produced one of the most awarded sake of recent years, and ever since it has been sought after by both connoisseurs and chefs who appreciate its vibrant energy and subtle nuances of flavor and texture.

“I think of it more as ‘cultivating’ than ‘making,’ It’s actually the microorganisms—mainly kōji-kin and yeast—that are making the sake. Our job as human beings is to create the optimum environment for these living organisms to do what they do naturally.” Tada Onishi