Shinkame Brewery was founded in 1848 in Hasuda City, Saitama Prefecture, and became a trailblazer in Japan's modern sake industry when it converted its entire production to junmai sake in 1987, the first brewery in the country to do so. The Hikomago label, meaning great-grandson, designates sake aged for three years or more, an expression of the brewery's commitment to aged, umami-rich styles when most of the industry was chasing lighter, more aromatic profiles. Shinkame employs the labor-intensive koji-buta method for all koji production, a detail that reflects the brewery's uncompromising stance on traditional craft.
