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Established in 1897
Fukugao Brewery Co., Ltd was established in 1897.
The Kobayashi Family, originally from the Araya area of Sanjo-city in
Niigata Prefecture, first started brewing sake using the underflow water
from the region’s mother river, Ikarashi River, and quality rice cultivated
with water from the same Ikarashia River.
| At time of establishment, the brewery
was first named《Usuya》and marketed two sake brands,《Matsukaze》and《Fukugao》.
When sake became regulated by the government, only the 《Fukugao》brand
was registered and the brand has remained to this day.
The name Fukugao derives from the meaning that those who drink
this sake can not help but smile because of its exceptional flavor.
The two Chinese characters “fuku” and “gao” literally mean “happy”
and “face.” The name Fukugao appears on old kegs and folding screens
that have been passed down in the Kobayashi family going back to
the time when sake was still weighed and sold in ceramic kegs and
bottles.
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Ceramic kegs and bottles
from the time when sake used to be sold by weighing in these containers |
Folding
screen passed down in the Kobayashi family. |
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At the cemetery of the Chozenji Temple
(the family temple of the Kobayashi family in Mori-machi area of Sanjo-city)
sleeps Professor Tetsuji Morohashi, the renowned academician who selected
the kanji (Chinese characters) for the naming of the present Crown
Prince of Japan. Professor Morohashi’s love for literature and his
homeland also extended to his deep love of Fukugao sake, which he
never missed drinking when returning to his country home.
The natural environment of the Sanjo region and the the local people…the
quality raw materials, brewers, traditional methods and the painstaking
care with which sake is prepared by hand …all contribute to the making
of Fukugao sake. Despite the various difficulties that arise during
the sake making process, traditional skills and spirit are passed
down generation to generation at Fukugao Brewery. We are resolved
to pursue our principle of “aiming to create value-products from the
customers’ standpoint” in hopes that Fukugao’s sake will always leave
a lingering and lasting impression in our customers. To that effect,
we intend to devote our utmost efforts in our future sake-making endeavors.
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These sake flasks and flat cups used at weddings and celebrations
have been passed down from family to family at Fukugao Brewery. The
three cups form a set and are lacquered with Wajima lacquer. Pictures
of pine, bamboo and plum (traditional images used as symbols of happiness)
and the crane and the tortoise (symbols of longevity) decorate the
cups. The sake flasks form a pair and are made from iron and carved
with images of a fan, sailboat, pine tree with a shrimp engraved on
the stem part. |
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2004
Fukugao
