The Dewazakura Sake Brewery was established in 1892. It is located in Tendo City, Yamagata Prefecture, a small town of 60,000 residents located 300 kilometres north of Tokyo.

Dewazakura have played a significant role in the Yamagata prefecture developing their own rice suited to their region with the local agricultural bureau, and this is known as Dewa Sansan, which they use for a selection of their Sake. They have also developed special yeast to suit the climate.

Dewazakura are known for their distinctive ‘fragrant’ Sake, which can be attributed to their yeast selection as well as their low temperature fermentation techniques. Yamagata prefecture does not have any large Sake companies, hence all individual Sake breweries show their own character but tend to have a fragrant style.

Like many producers, Dewazakura also use rice from outside their region, sourcing Yamadanishiki rice from Hyogo. Dewazakura are considered one of the industry leaders in innovation, and were largely responsible for the Ginjo ‘boom’ in Japan in the early 1980’s