Niida Honke launched the Shizenshu label in 1967 with a founding commitment to producing sake entirely from pesticide- and fertilizer-free rice grown in its own paddies, making it one of only two breweries in Japan to use solely Shizenmai. The Fukushima brewery, established in 1711, brews using handmade cedar vats, natural spring water, and the traditional kimoto method, relying on the power of microorganisms native to the brewery rather than any processing aids. Their signature multi-stage fermentation technique, kumi-dashi yondan-jikomi, draws part of the fermenting mash into a separate tank to saccharify additional steamed rice before returning it, a process designed to draw the fullest flavor from the rice.
