Bunraku is the founding brand of Kitanishi Sake Brewery, established in 1894 in Ageo, Saitama, by Kameichi Kitanishi, who named the sake after the traditional puppet theater he loved, drawing a parallel between the three-part harmony of bunraku performance and the craft of brewing. Using medium-hard water from the Chichibu mountain system, the brewery produces clean, food-friendly sake primarily in the junmai style, and currently exports Bunraku to more than twenty countries. The brand received a gold medal at the National New Sake Competition and recognition at the IWC in 2019.
