Maruishi Jozo began brewing Japanese sakein 1690, in Okazaki, Aichi Prefecture, and we have continued making sake forthe long span of over 330 years since.
The city of Okazaki, where our brewery islocated, enjoys a long history as the birthplace of Lord Tokugawa Ieyasu, theshogun general who brought peace to Japan and ushered in the feudal Edo period.Surrounded by mountains and rivers, the city is a place where nature'sabundance makes its presence felt.
Maruishi's history began when founderNagemachi Sandayu learned about sake-brewing through the comings and goings onthe Tokaido highway running from the west to the de facto capital city of Edo,and acquired farmland and earmarked a large amount of rice to making sake,thereby establishing brewing operations in 1690. The company expanded itsbusiness operations to cotton, banking, and other ventures in the Meiji periodof the late nineteenth century, and in 1900, the company constructed a breweryin Nada, located in Kubo-cho in the city of Nishinomiya, and began making sakeat that location. The sake brewed in Nada was named "Choyo," and thatmade at the home base of Okazaki was dubbed "Mikawa Bushi." The brewerysubsequently turned its hand to making shochu, mirin, miso, soy sauce, andother products in Okazaki, and the company flourished. During World War II,however, air raids on Okazaki destroyed almost all of the brewery's facilities.After the war, the company rebuilt from its barely surviving miso factory inNakamachi, Okazaki, and resumed sake production. Of the many business endeavorsthe company has engaged in since its inception, the only one that has continuedwithout break from the very beginning until the present is sake-brewing. Fromhere in Okazaki, we will continue spinning this history on into the future.
Only those people who run after two hareswill catch them both
Created with the intent of making sake fromMaruishi available to people outside Aichi Prefecture, Nito is a new brand thatfirst saw the light in December 2015. Based on the concept of "Only he whoruns after two hares will catch them both", Taste and aroma, tartness and umami, heaviness and lightness, sweetness and dryness, complexity and cleanness –we have created aspects of character that seem mutually exclusive and giventhem superb balance and flavor.
Nito's features are its freshness,its pleasing aftertaste, and how well it pairs with food. Thefreshness can impart a smooth and stable flavor throughout all aspects ofintroduction, development, denouement, and ending, and the pleasing aftertastebrings the "story" to a comfortable conclusion and instills desirefor another serving. When you enjoy Nito, we invite you to try it in two ways:all on its own to start with, and then in combination with food. Pairing itwith food propels Nito to an even higher level.
Nito expresses itself in an ever-shiftingprofile due to contact with the air, the passage of time, and changesin temperature, and our wish is for it to be a sake that demonstratesbrilliance over the course of your savoring the entire bottle, right from thesplendor of the first pouring.
