Bishonen originated in 1752 at the order of Lord Hosokawa Shigekata of the Kumamoto domain, and the name, meaning handsome boy, comes from a figure celebrated in the Chinese poem Eight Immortals of the Wine Cup. After a long gap in production, Bishonen Co., Ltd. was refounded in 2013 inside a converted elementary school in Kikuchi, Kumamoto, where former classrooms and the cafeteria now house tanks, steamers, and bottling lines. All rice, water, and employees are from Kikuchi, and the brewery's Daiginjo Kikuchi won gold at the U.S. National Sake Appraisal, while the Junmai Ginjo line has earned recognition at France's Kura Master.
