Vol. 5: Tenryo Shuzo Co., Ltd. (Gero, Gifu Prefecture)

President Ryuhei Uenoda "We want people to visit this beautiful place"

Sake from Hida, that speaks of Hida.

A kuramoto (蔵元) that has continued for over three hundred and thirty years in the Hida region of Gifu Prefecture, a land of glorious mountains and clear waters.

More than preserving tradition, brewing a sake suited to its era is both the mission and the dream of Tenryo Shuzo. With its refined aroma and restrained acidity, its mellow flavor is a sake that harmonizes with a great many dishes.

Homepage: here

Interviewee: President Ryuhei Uenoda (hereafter "Uenoda")

Interviewer: bien (美宴) Ayako Yoshida (hereafter "bien")

Uenoda: The Uenoda family were originally Omi merchants.

Captivated by the beauty of this land, they put down roots here — around three hundred and thirty years ago.

bien: Three hundred and thirty years! There's real weight to that history.

As kuramoto (蔵元), what would you like to convey to consumers?

Uenoda: I'd like to convey the pleasure and the deliciousness of sake.

And to do that, the prerequisite is to brew sake of good quality that doesn't overwhelm the flavor of the food.

bien: That's very true.

If something of poor quality were served that interfered with the taste of the food,

the mood of the entire occasion would be spoiled, wouldn't it?

Where would Tenryo like to go from here?

Uenoda: We're looking ahead to competitions and the like, thinking about what kind of character we want to express.

Just as there's a word "terroir," I'd like to skillfully express the distinctive character unique to this region.

Lately this region's population has been declining too, so I hope that people — Japanese and foreign alike — will come here,

experience it, and come to understand it. And then, if they'd buy our sake, well, that would make me very happy.

bien: It's almost like the "experience-based tourism" along the Shoryudo route that the Chubu District Transport Bureau of the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism is promoting.

What does Tenryo hold most dear?

Uenoda: Doing our very best, I'd say.

I do place great importance on quality control.

It's a matter of course, but doing what is a matter of course as a matter of course (laughs).

bien: "Doing the obvious as the obvious." Simple to say, but keeping it up over time is no small feat!

Uenoda: Before, when we had a well-received product and were asked to increase production, I turned it down.

Because it would be a problem if ramping up production caused the quality to drop.

Recently there are producers approaching things with a Western sensibility, taking the negative qualities that sake was once associated with

and reframing them as positives. Sometimes I'm even surprised by these new approaches!

The world is changing, isn't it?

bien: How much of the past to preserve, and what new things to embrace.

Adapting to the changing times may be

something that will be asked of sake going forward.

Thank you very much.

The interview with toji (杜氏) Kazunari Katagiri can be found here