Hirata Sake Brewery has been producing sake in Takayama, Gifu Prefecture since 1895, though the family business traces its roots further back to 1769 when it operated as a candle and hair-wax merchant under the Utsuboya name. Hidanohana is brewed using underground water drawn from beneath the Miyagawa river and local Hida Homare rice, with cold fermentation in Takayama's mountain winters maintaining precise yeast activity and building the five-element flavor balance the brewery considers its signature. The sake has earned multiple domestic and international competition awards between 2007 and 2021.
