The job title for a person who brews Sake is called a “Toji” (a master brewer), and you’ll be surprised to know that a village in Iwate holds the largest number of “Toji” in the whole of Japan.

There’s a lot of nature, and a beautiful underground water source that comes from their lovely mountains. Most importantly, the temperature drops down to -10 degrees celsius – the perfect climate for brewing nihon-shu. They call it “Kanjikomi” (brewing in the cold) and this process is known to be the best in brewing some of the most highly-rated Nihon-shu.

We brought our Canon C300 in, and shot the making of the sake in a Sakagura (Sake Brewery) that’s rich with history and holds an ample amount of Kamidana (household Shinto altar), but I must admit, drinking it looks a lot more fun that shooting it.

Matsumoto

岩手は日本酒どころ

日本酒を造る職業を「杜氏」と言うが、岩手県は「南部杜氏」という日本最大の杜氏集団の里である。

自然豊かで、滑らかで旨い山の伏流水があり、冬はマイナス１０度にもなる寒い気候は日本酒造りにふさわしく、寒仕込みという、その寒さを利用した造り方で美味しい酒を造り出している。

この日は、キャノンのC300で、神棚もある歴史ある酒蔵の仕込み風景を撮影。

撮るより、飲みたい気持ちでいっぱいだ。

松本