Tanabe Shuzo

About Tanabe Shuzo

Tanabe Sake brewery is located in Eiheiji Town, the gateway to the world famous Eiheiji Temple, a head temple of the Soto School of Buddhism built in 1244. Nicknamed “the clear stream town” after its location beside the crystal-clear waters of the Kuzuryu River, the temple is one of the keys to the town’s prosperity. The other is brewing. In its Showa heyday, it was home to as many as 17 breweries, but only two survived sake’s decline in popularity. One is Kokuryu Shuzo. Tanabe Sake Brewery is the other. Like its neighbour it earned fame as a pioneer of ginjo brewing and is cherished by the local people as the Temple’s venerable sake purveyor.