1806年創業 名水の地・岐阜県養老町の玉泉堂酒造 [English page]
Reisen sake is an expression of "the art of subtraction," "clarity," and "purity."
The name "Reisen" has a distinguished origin where the histories of ancient China and Japan meet.
In 632 AD, Emperor Taizong of the Tang dynasty named a spring at his detached palace "Reisen."
In 717 AD, Empress Gensho of Japan borrowed the name "Reisen" for a spring near a waterfall close to our brewery — the site of the Yoro Legend, in which the waterfall's water turned into sake for a devoted son caring for his elderly parent. Empress Gensho also gave the name "Yoro" to both the era and this region. The name lives on today in our home: Yoro Town, Yoro District, Gifu Prefecture.
Exceptional Underground Water
According to the Shoku Nihongi (Chronicles of Japan, Continued), in 717 AD Empress Gensho, moved by the Yoro Legend, visited Yoro and declared that "Reisen is a beautiful spring" — a spring of delicious water. She returned the following year, and the quality of the water is praised in the historical records.
Gyokusendo Shuzo brews with the extremely soft underground water of the Yoro mountain range.
We believe this ultra-soft water allows yeast to multiply gently, making it ideal for clean-tasting ginjo sake fermented slowly at low temperatures.
Our Commitment to Rice
Brewing high-quality sake requires high-quality rice.
In 1994, a group of breweries dedicated to rice formed "Frontier Tojo 21."
Its members brew with Yamada Nishiki — the "king" of sake rice varieties — and specifically with Yamada Nishiki grown in the Tojo district of Kato City, Hyogo Prefecture, considered its ideal terroir. Yamada Nishiki has fine gaps in its core that allow koji mold to reach the center of the grain easily, producing enzymes efficiently with a small amount of koji and leading to a clean-tasting sake. The Tojo district in particular is known for careful cultivation, excellent paddies, and well-developed irrigation.
Member breweries' main brands include:
Gikyo, Hatsukame, Reisen, Isojiman, Bijofu, Matsunotsukasa, Kokuryu, Meikyo Shisui, Hiroki, Juyondai, Toyo Bijin, and Hakurakusei.
These brands have been involved in raising the quality of Japanese sake from the very beginning. Centered on ginjo grade and above, we brew with Tokuto (special grade) Yamada Nishiki from the Tojo district. For some products, we also use other sake rice such as Gifu-grown Hidahomare, depending on the style of sake.
100% In-House Rice Polishing
Gyokusendo Shuzo has its own rice-polishing facility and polishes all of its rice in-house.
Benefit 1: We can take our time and polish gently, so the grains are less likely to crack.
Benefit 2: We can understand each year's rice characteristics at the earliest stage and reflect them in our brewing.
Proprietary Rice Washing and Limited Water Absorption
Our in-house improved rice-washing machine uses ultrasound to cleanly remove only the bran from the rice. The washed rice then goes straight into tubs, 10 kg of polished rice at a time, to absorb water. Soaking time for sake rice is only around ten-odd minutes. Absorption is extremely delicate: just 10 extra seconds can raise the absorption rate by nearly 1%. Making good koji — and good sake — requires strict control of this absorption rate.
Steaming in the Koshiki: "Nukegake"
How the rice is steamed greatly affects the quality of the sake. We precisely control steam pressure and temperature with our steam generator. Then, rather than loading all the rice into the koshiki (a giant rice-steaming vessel) at once, we spread it in small layers as the steam breaks through. Because we watch how the rice behaves as we go, this takes extra effort — but it produces excellent steamed rice.
"Hon-Koji Jikomi": Careful Koji Making
The starch in rice is converted to sugar by koji, and that sugar is turned into sake by yeast. Controlling humidity, temperature, and rice temperature during koji making is extremely delicate.
Drawing on accumulated experience and data, we make high-quality koji in a koji room that automatically regulates humidity and temperature 24 hours a day, and brew additive-free "Hon-Koji Jikomi" sake.
Traditional sake making using koji mold, with its multiple parallel fermentation, has been inscribed on UNESCO's Intangible Cultural Heritage list. At the same time, breweries that brew with only rice, water, and koji have become quite rare. Reisen's "Hon-Koji Jikomi" sake, made only from rice, water, and koji, offers a natural harmony of flavor and aroma that reflects "the aesthetics of subtraction."
Brewing Techniques: "Resting the Steamed Rice" and "Precise Temperature Control"
After steaming in the koshiki and passing through the cooling machine, the steamed rice is exposed to the air to rest. This cools it further while bringing it to a stable state. Resting the rice before adding it to the mash makes fermentation gentler and the flavor softer.
Temperature control is essential to long, low-temperature fermentation. We measure the temperature at five points in each tank at least four times a day, guiding fermentation exactly as intended.
Bottling and Low-Temperature Pasteurization: "Bin-kan"
For our Tokubetsu Junmai and ginjo-grade (and above) sake, we pasteurize using the "bin-kan" (in-bottle pasteurization) method: the bottles are filled with unpasteurized sake, moved to a separate machine, and heated by running hot water over the outside of the bottles. The greatest advantages of this labor-intensive method are that pasteurizing at a lower temperature preserves the sake's original flavor, and that less protein denaturation results in a cleaner taste.
Stable, Low-Temperature Aging in Quiet, Large-Scale Refrigeration
After bottling, the sake is wrapped and aged for about one year in a dedicated, large, low-vibration refrigerator kept constantly at 4℃, giving it a refined, dignified flavor.
The name "Reisen" has a distinguished origin where the histories of ancient China and Japan meet.
In 632 AD, Emperor Taizong of the Tang dynasty named a spring at his detached palace "Reisen."
In 717 AD, Empress Gensho of Japan borrowed the name "Reisen" for a spring near a waterfall close to our brewery — the site of the Yoro Legend, in which the waterfall's water turned into sake for a devoted son caring for his elderly parent. Empress Gensho also gave the name "Yoro" to both the era and this region. The name lives on today in our home: Yoro Town, Yoro District, Gifu Prefecture.
Exceptional Underground Water
According to the Shoku Nihongi (Chronicles of Japan, Continued), in 717 AD Empress Gensho, moved by the Yoro Legend, visited Yoro and declared that "Reisen is a beautiful spring" — a spring of delicious water. She returned the following year, and the quality of the water is praised in the historical records.
Gyokusendo Shuzo brews with the extremely soft underground water of the Yoro mountain range.
We believe this ultra-soft water allows yeast to multiply gently, making it ideal for clean-tasting ginjo sake fermented slowly at low temperatures.
Our Commitment to Rice
Brewing high-quality sake requires high-quality rice.
In 1994, a group of breweries dedicated to rice formed "Frontier Tojo 21."
Its members brew with Yamada Nishiki — the "king" of sake rice varieties — and specifically with Yamada Nishiki grown in the Tojo district of Kato City, Hyogo Prefecture, considered its ideal terroir. Yamada Nishiki has fine gaps in its core that allow koji mold to reach the center of the grain easily, producing enzymes efficiently with a small amount of koji and leading to a clean-tasting sake. The Tojo district in particular is known for careful cultivation, excellent paddies, and well-developed irrigation.
Member breweries' main brands include:
Gikyo, Hatsukame, Reisen, Isojiman, Bijofu, Matsunotsukasa, Kokuryu, Meikyo Shisui, Hiroki, Juyondai, Toyo Bijin, and Hakurakusei.
These brands have been involved in raising the quality of Japanese sake from the very beginning. Centered on ginjo grade and above, we brew with Tokuto (special grade) Yamada Nishiki from the Tojo district. For some products, we also use other sake rice such as Gifu-grown Hidahomare, depending on the style of sake.
100% In-House Rice Polishing
Gyokusendo Shuzo has its own rice-polishing facility and polishes all of its rice in-house.
Benefit 1: We can take our time and polish gently, so the grains are less likely to crack.
Benefit 2: We can understand each year's rice characteristics at the earliest stage and reflect them in our brewing.
Proprietary Rice Washing and Limited Water Absorption
Our in-house improved rice-washing machine uses ultrasound to cleanly remove only the bran from the rice. The washed rice then goes straight into tubs, 10 kg of polished rice at a time, to absorb water. Soaking time for sake rice is only around ten-odd minutes. Absorption is extremely delicate: just 10 extra seconds can raise the absorption rate by nearly 1%. Making good koji — and good sake — requires strict control of this absorption rate.
Steaming in the Koshiki: "Nukegake"
How the rice is steamed greatly affects the quality of the sake. We precisely control steam pressure and temperature with our steam generator. Then, rather than loading all the rice into the koshiki (a giant rice-steaming vessel) at once, we spread it in small layers as the steam breaks through. Because we watch how the rice behaves as we go, this takes extra effort — but it produces excellent steamed rice.
"Hon-Koji Jikomi": Careful Koji Making
The starch in rice is converted to sugar by koji, and that sugar is turned into sake by yeast. Controlling humidity, temperature, and rice temperature during koji making is extremely delicate.
Drawing on accumulated experience and data, we make high-quality koji in a koji room that automatically regulates humidity and temperature 24 hours a day, and brew additive-free "Hon-Koji Jikomi" sake.
Traditional sake making using koji mold, with its multiple parallel fermentation, has been inscribed on UNESCO's Intangible Cultural Heritage list. At the same time, breweries that brew with only rice, water, and koji have become quite rare. Reisen's "Hon-Koji Jikomi" sake, made only from rice, water, and koji, offers a natural harmony of flavor and aroma that reflects "the aesthetics of subtraction."
Brewing Techniques: "Resting the Steamed Rice" and "Precise Temperature Control"
After steaming in the koshiki and passing through the cooling machine, the steamed rice is exposed to the air to rest. This cools it further while bringing it to a stable state. Resting the rice before adding it to the mash makes fermentation gentler and the flavor softer.
Temperature control is essential to long, low-temperature fermentation. We measure the temperature at five points in each tank at least four times a day, guiding fermentation exactly as intended.
Bottling and Low-Temperature Pasteurization: "Bin-kan"
For our Tokubetsu Junmai and ginjo-grade (and above) sake, we pasteurize using the "bin-kan" (in-bottle pasteurization) method: the bottles are filled with unpasteurized sake, moved to a separate machine, and heated by running hot water over the outside of the bottles. The greatest advantages of this labor-intensive method are that pasteurizing at a lower temperature preserves the sake's original flavor, and that less protein denaturation results in a cleaner taste.
Stable, Low-Temperature Aging in Quiet, Large-Scale Refrigeration
After bottling, the sake is wrapped and aged for about one year in a dedicated, large, low-vibration refrigerator kept constantly at 4℃, giving it a refined, dignified flavor.