Goto Shuzoten has been producing sake in the Okitama region of Yamagata since 1788, and the Benten name traces back to the brewery's founding, when the first proprietor was granted permission by the Kyoto Jingikan to take the name from the nearby Okitsu-shima shrine dedicated to the goddess Benzaiten. Every sake in the Benten lineup is a tokutei-meisho-shu, meaning the brewery produces no ordinary table sake, focusing entirely on junmai and junmai daiginjo grades made primarily from Yamagata-developed rice varieties such as Dewa-Sanzan. Several Benten bottlings have earned Gold Medal recognition at the International Wine Challenge.
