episode 3
One Drop, Fully Drawn
The Art of Fermentation That Reveals Flavor, Not Repeats It
Perfection lies in what is revealed—not imposed.
At Ito Shuzo, we don’t aim to tame flavor.
We aim to bring it to its fullest expression.
Fermentation is not a process to control.
It is a living exchange—a conversation with nature, time, and the essence of rice.
Through this dialogue, we draw out flavors that are already there, waiting.
What emerges is not “incomplete.” It is complete because it is true.
A sake drawn with presence, not precision
We do not brew to replicate.
We brew to evoke.
Each year, we imagine the moments when our sake will be enjoyed:
a quiet celebration, a shared meal, a pause in the day.
And from that imagined scene, we ask—
“What flavor belongs to that moment?”
Then, we listen.
To the rice.
To the water.
To the fermentation that begins to speak.
An open path for fermentation to unfold
Rather than controlling the environment,
we welcome its shifting rhythm.
Using open-top fermentation tanks, we allow the air, humidity, and temperature of the year
to become part of the brew’s voice.
We don’t press the sake into balance.
We follow where it wants to go.
This is not imperfection.
This is sake that is fully present, shaped by the season itself.
A sake that speaks of its place
All rice used is grown in Mie Prefecture.
Much of it comes from fields within a 12-mile radius of the brewery—
part of our 12-Mile Project, which ties every bottle to local soil and sky.
The water flows from Chishaku Yosui, filtered through ancient granite in the Suzuka mountains.
It carries quiet minerals, memory, and strength.
This water, this rice, and this moment in time—
together, they form a flavor that could come from nowhere else.
Not to correct—but to complete
Many sakes today are polished until pristine.
But in perfecting too far, something essential may disappear.
We believe in sake that feels alive.
A flavor that whispers where it came from.
If sweetness lingers a little longer—
if the aroma leans gentle rather than vivid—
we let it be.
Because that is how the rice chose to speak this year.
Embracing the vintage soul of sake
We do not seek sameness.
We welcome change.
Like fine wine, we believe in the vintage character of sake.
Each bottle captures one season’s climate, one year’s harvest, one singular conversation with nature.
The flavor matures over time,
revealing depths not possible on the day of bottling.
And in that growth, we find joy.
A question drawn into every drop
At Ito Shuzo, we don’t seek to answer a question with flavor—
we seek to ask one.
Each brew is a sketch of a fleeting scene.
Each bottle holds a moment you can never taste again.
And that, to us, is the essence of UMAi.
A sake not crafted to match a standard—
but to honor what this year alone has made possible.