The Story
An Organic Return to Edo
You may often see the name "Kame no Oo" listed as the brewing rice. In fact, this variety is the ancestor of Japan’s most prestigious grains, including Koshihikari and Sasanishiki. It is the great progenitor of all delicious rice.
However, modern Kame no Oo has evolved and drifted from its original characteristics over its long history. As an essential element of our "Edo-gaeri" (Return to the Edo Era) philosophy, Senkin has successfully reclaimed the DNA of ancient Kame no Oo through rigorous "Original Stock Management" (Gengen-shu). Our goal is to make this "Original Stock Kame no Oo" the primary rice for all Senkin sake.
Crucial to this "Return to Edo" is cultivating this rice through organic farming, free from pesticides and chemical fertilizers. We are also advancing the "Organic Town" initiative, with the vision of making 100% of our sake rice organic.
The flavor of sake is determined by the rice, the water, the soil, and the entirety of the environment surrounding the brewery. We seek the nostalgic taste of an ancestral Japan—a place we may not have known, yet feels like home. Senkin is building a beautiful "Satoyama" (traditional rural landscape).
The Sake
The Foundation of Modern Sake Lies
Most of the techniques accumulated by Japanese sake breweries were established during the Edo period. From "Kan-jikomi" (winter brewing) and "Sandan-jikomi" (three-stage mashing) to "Karakuchi" (dry style) and the traditional "Kimoto" method—modern premium sake is almost entirely built upon these sophisticated Edo-era innovations.
"Kimoto" is the most traditional method still in existence. It was perfected by Edo-era master brewers who masterfully harnessed the laws of nature. Senkin is committing its entire production to "Edo-gaeri" (Return to Edo) by transitioning all sakes to the Kimoto method.
The beauty of Kimoto lies in the trajectory of countless microorganisms—each fulfilling its role, flourishing, and being naturally phased out in a magnificent cycle. This craft cannot be replicated by dominating the environment or pursuing mere human rationality. Seeking the miraculous moments born from harmony with nature, Senkin uncovers the depths of brewing history and refines these ancestral techniques for the modern world.
The Sake
"Edo-gaeri" is about honoring the very origins of sake brewing.
It is a commitment to seeking the most authentic ingredients and modernizing them through the unique lens of Senkin. By recreating the brewing methods of a distant past—long before the invention of rice-milling machines or specialized "sake rice"—we continue to explore new frontiers of expression.
In this process, we allow ourselves to imagine:
To imagine the moment when the infinite vitality of the microbes dwelling within the brewery shines more brilliantly than ever before.
To imagine a flavor that would cause the master brewers of the Edo era, whom we so deeply revere, to marvel and offer their highest praise upon taking a single sip.
To imagine a future in our beautiful Satoyama landscape, where the rustle of rice stalks and the songs of birds harmonize with the echoing laughter of today's children.
From this craft comes a sense of happiness—one that is both nostalgic and profoundly new.
Some researchers call the Edo period the "happiest world in history."
We believe that the way of life blooming here in Sakura City, beyond the horizon of "Edo-gaeri," will surely resonate deep within the heart—much like the lingering finish of a fine sake.
From SENKIN inc.
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