Shinkame, founded in 1848 in Hasuda, Saitama, earned the nickname The Godfather of Junmai by becoming one of the first breweries in Japan to convert its entire portfolio to pure rice sake in the 1970s — a pioneering move when alcohol additions were the industry norm. Owner Yoshimasa Ogawahara visits rice fields personally to source the finest ingredients, guided by the principle Good rice, above all. Every sake is aged for at least two years to develop the full-bodied richness the brewery is known for, and the name Shinkame itself means Holy Turtle, drawing on the legend of a wisdom deity once enshrined behind the brewery.
