Washigakuni is the heritage brand of Yamawa Shuzo in Kamicho, Miyagi Prefecture, founded in 1896 near the Yamagata border, and its name traces back to a famous folk song from the Sendai domain that celebrated the 4th yokozuna sumo wrestler Tanigaze. In 2004 the brewery introduced the hand-crafted, pure-rice limited label Yamawa alongside the traditional Washigakuni, returning to fully manual production from washing through pressing.
