MIYAKO, Iwate Prefecture--A sake shop swamped by the tsunami in this coastal city and a shochu distiller that was damaged by a volcano eruption in Nagasaki Prefecture are teaming up to keep the spirit flowing in this disaster-hit northeastern Japan city.
MIYAKO, Iwate Prefecture--A sake shop swamped by the tsunami in this coastal city and a shochu distiller that was damaged by a volcano eruption in Nagasaki Prefecture are teaming up to keep the spirit flowing in this disaster-hit northeastern Japan city.
The Muhyo Shuzo distillery in Nagasaki, prefectural capital of Nagasaki Prefecture, is making shochu made of rice harvested in Miyako and water from the city.
The spirit, called "Ippo," is being brewed for release only in Miyako. Its purpose is to help in rebuilding efforts from the disaster of last March 11.
Muhyo Shuzo was built more than 100 years ago in Shimabara in Nagasaki Prefecture. Its operation was suspended after its factory and office were destroyed by the eruption of Mount Fugendake in 1991.
Hidetaka Urakawa, president of the Urakawa sake shop in Nagasaki, took over the business in 2008 and rebuilt the factory two years later.
Yukiho Yamazaki, who runs the Yamasei Shoten sake shop in Miyako, extended a helping hand to Urakawa’s efforts, buying shares worth about 500,000 yen ($6,500) issued by Urakawa and selling Muhyo Shuzo’s products at his shop.
Yamazaki’s shop was inundated with water reaching 1.2 meters above the floor after the tsunami spawned by the Great East Japan Earthquake struck. Shelves floated and fell.
Yamazaki, 52, managed to reopen his store as his customers, seeking comfort and relief, said they were willing to buy even cans or bottles of sake covered in mud.
In May, he received a phone call from Urakawa, who offered help in brewing the alcoholic beverage.
Yamazaki did not have much locally made sake at his shop because the only brewer in Miyako halted production last year after it was damaged in the disaster.
So he arranged for 840 kilograms of a local brand of rice for sake brewing harvested in Miyako to be shipped to Muhyo Shuzo from an agricultural co-operative.
He also sent 30 600-liter containers of tap water in the city so that all the ingredients are from Miyako.
It was the first time that Muhyo Shuzo has brewed shochu from rice. It has specialized in making shochu, distilled alcohol made mostly from sweet potato or barley.
The distillery’s first rice shochu tasted somewhat sweet, according to people who sampled it. A 720-milliliter bottle of Ippo sells for 1,100 yen, including tax.
It is only available in his shop and "izakaya" Japanese style inns in Miyako.
Yamazaki wanted to contribute to the reconstruction of the local economy through the sales. Each time a bottle is sold, 50 yen will be donated to the sake brewer in Miyako.
“After seeing volunteers working to remove mud from our shop, I came to believe we should help our client izakaya and breweries recover from the disaster together with us,” Yamazaki said.
Urakawa, who is now in his second year of making shochu from rice, said it has been his desire to contribute to the recovery of the stricken region through his work.