The Sake Anatomy › Sake Brand Index › Izumo Fuji
No.100 · Brewery Profile
Izumo Fuji出雲富士 · Fuji Shuzo 富士酒造
Fuji Shuzo has brewed in Izumo, Shimane since 1939, named by founder Shoichi Imaoka for his ambition to make sake as beloved as Mt. Fuji. The brewery still presses with traditional wooden hanging bags rather than mechanical presses, and since 2004 has built direct partnerships with local rice farmers, leaning on Shimane’s own Sakanishiki variety grown with reduced pesticide and fertilizer use.
Who makes Izumo Fuji?
Fuji Shuzo has brewed in Izumo, Shimane since 1939, named by founder Shoichi Imaoka for his ambition to make sake as beloved as Mt. Fuji. The brewery still presses with traditional wooden hanging bags rather than mechanical presses, and since 2004 has built direct partnerships with local rice farmers.
What does Izumo Fuji taste like?
Tagged Dry & Crisp and Elegant & Refined, the range is soshu (light, smooth) and junshu (rich) in SSI terms, built on Shimane’s own Sakanishiki rice grown with reduced pesticide and fertilizer use. The standard Junmai is semi-dry and refreshing with subtle under-ripe fruit aromas; the Tokubetsu Junmai is fuller-bodied; the Junmai Ginjo Very Dry pushes furthest into dry, crisp territory with the highest acidity of the three.
Which bottle should you try first?
Start with the standard Junmai, the semi-dry, refreshing entry point of the range, listed first in the lineup.
How does Izumo Fuji compare to other Shimane breweries?
Izumo Fuji’s Elegant & Refined tag matches prefecture-mate Rihaku, though Rihaku pairs it with Aromatic & Fruity where Izumo Fuji leans Dry & Crisp instead; Ouroku and Ten’on sit further away still, both tagged Rich & Umami and Acidity-driven.
Frequently asked questions
What inspired the name Izumo Fuji?
Founder Shoichi Imaoka’s ambition to make sake as beloved as Mt. Fuji.
How does Fuji Shuzo press its sake?
With traditional wooden hanging bags, rather than mechanical presses.
What rice does Izumo Fuji use?
Sakanishiki, a Shimane-bred variety grown through direct partnerships with local farmers since 2004, with reduced pesticide and fertilizer use.
The bottles
Junmai純米
爽酒 Soshu · Light & Smooth“Semi-dry, refreshing junmai with subtle under-ripe fruit aromas.”
Tokubetsu Junmai特別純米
醇酒 Junshu · Rich“Made with Shimane-bred Sakanishiki rice.”
Junmai Ginjo Very Dry純米吟醸 超辛口
爽酒 Soshu · Light & Smooth“Very dry junmai ginjo brewed with Sakanishiki rice and Izumo spring water.”
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: izumofuji.com