The Sake Anatomy › Sake Brand Index › Harushika
No.66 · Brewery Profile
Harushika春鹿 · Imanishi Seibei Shoten 今西清兵衛商店
Set in Nara’s old merchant quarter, a short walk from Kasuga Shrine’s wild deer, Harushika takes its name — ‘spring deer’ — from the animals its brewers have watched for generations. Nara is often called the birthplace of Japanese sake, and Harushika’s best-known bottle leans into that history with an emphatically dry, old-school profile, alongside a more contemporary, aromatic daiginjo line.
Who makes Harushika?
Imanishi Seibei Shoten has brewed in Nara’s old merchant quarter, a short walk from Kasuga Shrine, since 1884. The brand name — “spring deer” — comes from the deer its brewers have watched near the shrine for generations, in a city often called the birthplace of Japanese sake.
What does Harushika taste like?
The house style splits into two lanes, tagged both Dry & Crisp and Elegant & Refined: an emphatically dry, old-school super-dry junmai rated just 1/5 on richness, body and aroma, and a more contemporary, aromatic junmai daiginjo line running from Milling 50% up to an undiluted 35%-milled genshu, both rated 4/5 on the aromatic axis.
Which bottle should you try first?
Start with the Chokarakuchi Junmai Choshu, described in-house as the famous super-dry junmai that made Harushika’s name, before moving on to the more aromatic Junmai Daiginjo and its undiluted genshu sibling.
How does Harushika compare to other Nara breweries?
Harushika’s Dry & Crisp, Elegant & Refined profile sets it apart from its Nara prefecture-mates. Kaze no Mori is tagged Acidity-driven and Aromatic & Fruity, and Hanatomoe is Acidity-driven and Rich & Umami — Harushika is the only one of the three built around dryness rather than acidity.
Frequently asked questions
What does the name Harushika mean?
“Spring deer,” taken from the deer that live around Nara’s Kasuga Shrine and that the brewery’s brewers have watched for generations.
Why is Nara significant in sake history?
Nara is often called the birthplace of Japanese sake, a history Harushika’s dry, old-school flagship deliberately leans into.
How many bottles does Harushika make on this page?
Three: the super-dry Chokarakuchi Junmai Choshu, a Junmai Daiginjo milled to 50%, and an undiluted Junmai Daiginjo Genshu Kegon milled to 35%.
The bottles
Chokarakuchi Junmai Choshu超辛口 純米
爽酒 Soshu · Light & Smooth“The famous super-dry junmai that made Harushika’s name.”
Junmai Daiginjo純米大吟醸
薫酒 Kunshu · Fragrant“Refined flagship daiginjo.”
Junmai Daiginjo Genshu Kegon純米大吟醸 原酒 華厳
薫酒 Kunshu · Fragrant“Undiluted genshu with highly polished rice.”
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 (薨酒 Kunshu · 爽酒 Soshu · 醇酒 Junshu · 熟酒 Jukushu). SMV and acidity appear only where the brewery publishes them.
Sources: sake.terroirhub.com · visitnara.jp