The Sake Anatomy › Sake Brand Index › Hanzo
No.97 · Brewery Profile
Hanzo半蔵 · Ota Sake Brewery 大田酒造
Ota Sake Brewery has worked the Iga basin of Mie since 1892, drawing soft subsoil water from Mount Nunobiki. Its Hanzo label takes its name from Hattori Hanzo, the Iga-born retainer who served Tokugawa Ieyasu and lent his name to one of Edo Castle’s gates — a nod to Iga’s long association with ninja history that runs through the brand’s marketing to this day.
Who makes Hanzo?
Ota Sake Brewery has worked the Iga basin of Mie since 1892, drawing soft subsoil water from Mount Nunobiki. Its Hanzo label takes its name from Hattori Hanzo, the Iga-born retainer who served Tokugawa Ieyasu and lent his name to one of Edo Castle’s gates.
What does Hanzo taste like?
Tagged Elegant & Refined and Dry & Crisp, the entire range is kunshu (fragrant) in SSI terms. The Daiginjo Shizuku Zake is a gravity-dripped, premium flagship pressing; the Junmai Daiginjo Kaminoho uses the Kaminoho rice variety associated with Mie; the Junmai Daiginjo Red Label is a widely exported bottling built on Iga-grown Yamada Nishiki.
Which bottle should you try first?
Start with the Daiginjo Shizuku Zake, the brewery’s premium flagship, a gravity-dripped pressing of Iga-grown Yamada Nishiki.
How does Hanzo compare to other Mie breweries?
Hanzo shares Mie’s Elegant & Refined tag with prefecture-mate Miyanoyuki, though Hanzo adds a Dry & Crisp edge that Miyanoyuki lacks; Jikon sits furthest apart, tagged Aromatic & Fruity and Acidity-driven instead.
Frequently asked questions
What does the Hanzo name refer to?
Hattori Hanzo, the Iga-born retainer of Tokugawa Ieyasu who lent his name to one of Edo Castle’s gates.
What rice variety is distinctly associated with Mie in this lineup?
Kaminoho, used in the Junmai Daiginjo Kaminoho.
Is any Hanzo bottle exported?
Yes — the Junmai Daiginjo Red Label is described as a widely exported junmai daiginjo.
The bottles
Daiginjo Shizuku Zake大吟醸 雫酒
薫酒 Kunshu · Fragrant“Gravity-dripped daiginjo pressing, the brewery’s premium flagship.”
Junmai Daiginjo Kaminoho純米大吟醸 かみのほ
薫酒 Kunshu · Fragrant“Made with the Kaminoho rice variety associated with Mie.”
Junmai Daiginjo Red Label純米大吟醸 赤ラベル
薫酒 Kunshu · Fragrant“Widely exported red-label junmai daiginjo.”
Reading the bars: an editorial flavor reading (0–5) of each bottle — Dry→Rich, Light→Full, Subtle→Aromatic, Low→High acidity — not laboratory values. The colored badge is the SSI four-type classification (薫酒 Kunshu · 爽酒 Soshu · 醇酒 Junshu · 熟酒 Jukushu). SMV and acidity appear only where the brewery publishes them.
Sources: hanzo-sake.com