The founder of the company is said to be "Niemon," who came from the province of Kaga (present-day Ishikawa Prefecture) around the end of the Warring States Period to the beginning of the Edo Period, and is still called "Kaga-nin" in Yuzawa today.

Initially, he was an oil merchant, but later he also brewed miso.

Ryoseki Sake Brewery was originally founded in 1874 by Ito Niemon Shouten.

The name Ryoseki is said to have come from the association with the sake brand Masamune (Masamune = authentic), which was named by a sword connoisseur doctor during the reign of Niemon VIII, who wanted the sake to be both the famous sword of the east, Masamune, and the sword of the west, Munechika, and the sword of the east and west, Ozeki.

During the Meiji Era (around 1880s) under Niemon VII, the demand for sake increased due to the prosperity of the Innai Ginzan (silver mine),

However, since the mainstream was dominated by the major breweries in Nada and Fushimi (Kobe and Kyoto), he decided to brew sake as well in order to compete with them.

He decided to brew sake to compete with the major breweries in Nada and Fushimi (Kobe and Kyoto). He had his younger brother Tadakichi, who became Niemon VIII, study sake brewing to improve the quality of sake. Since then, the brewery has trained its own brewing engineers without bringing in a toji (master brewer) from outside the brewery.

Furthermore, around the end of the Meiji period, when the Ou Main Line was fully completed and the influx of Nada sake became significant, Niemon IX and Tadayoshi II developed their own "low-temperature long-term brewing method" and "Ito style skylight" through their blood-curdling efforts. As a result, they won numerous awards, including the first prize at the first National Sake Competition.