SAKE blog

As you are in Sake industry regardless of your location, you must meet vast number of breweries and brands. Sometimes, you find it as well-known brewery and sometimes you find it as very local hidden brewery.

In your business, it is important to convey the information and impression about the breweries for consumers. Otherwise, it is almost same as a blind tasting.

Do you fully understand about the positioning and image of the breweries? Moreover, do you know the meaning of the term you use to explain about the breweries such as National Brand, Premier brand or Local brand?

No definition, only perception

When you hear the term “National brand”, it might reminds you of breweries such as big breweries in Nada Gogo. Frankly speaking, it is correct, but wrong at the same time.

It also works for the term Jizake Gura 地酒蔵(Local brand). The word Jizake 地酒（Local Sake）is often used in the daily scene thesedays, but its definition is quite vague. Especially in today’s world, it is quite difficult to know the definition of you and others are same as it is in the process of paradigm shift due to internet, change in lifestyle and expansion to the world market.

Those words which define the category or type of breweries are all built by people perception in each age and it is all chaotically mixed and disorganised. Even Japanese people, who knows about the changes and history, unconsciously misunderstand and misuse the terms.

Brewery / Brand / Image

Even it is a time of the shift in consumers’ perception, all the brands are built upon their history. In their new image, the past images is included even small percentages. Nevertheless, all the images at the moment including now or past are mostly from Japanese cultural background.

In this age, each breweries can have different images in their new destinations in the world.  So, you, people from outside Japan, can build any good image upon their history as your customers do not have fundamental images yet.

Therefore, please do not rely too much on the previous brand images and build image from what you and your consumers believe.

Hope it helps you and your business, and thank you for your time.

See you in the next article!

Author: Yutaro Kobayashi

President & CEO, Kobayashi Junzo Shoten Co., Ltd.

Based in Osaka, I lead Kobayashi Junzo Shoten, a sake wholesaler founded in 1890. Through the cultural richness of Japanese sake, my mission is to connect people and bring smiles to dining tables around the world.

While technology continues to make the world feel smaller, the stories and traditions behind sake brewing can easily fade into the background. I see my role as a bridge—sharing the passion of brewers, opening doors for new audiences, and delivering sake in a way that feels more approachable and relatable.

I enjoy visiting sake breweries, learning about new rice varieties and brewing techniques, and spending time with toji (master brewers) and kurabito (brewery workers) to experience the spirit of sake-making firsthand. On this blog, I’ll share those encounters, my personal insights, and tips to help you enjoy sake even more.

Thank you for reading, and I look forward to connecting with you.