Ozeki's American chapter began in 1979 in Hollister, California, making it the first Japanese sake brewery to produce sake locally in the United States, chosen for the area's high-quality locally grown rice and access to clear Sierra Nevada water. The parent company's roots reach back to 1711, when Chobee Osakaya founded Manryo in the Nada district of Hyogo Prefecture, and the brand name Ozeki was adopted in 1884 as a tribute to the second-highest rank in sumo.
