The Sake Anatomy › Sake Brand Index › Kamoshibito Kuheiji
No.10 · Brewery Profile
Kamoshibito Kuheiji醸し人九平次 · Banjo Jozo 萬乗醸造
Kuheiji thinks like a winemaker: the brewery grows its own Yamada Nishiki in Hyogo, even farms rice and grapes in France, and builds its sake around acidity and terroir. The result is structured, food-friendly junmai that has found a home on Michelin-starred wine lists in Paris.
Who makes Kamoshibito Kuheiji?
Banjo Jozo, founded in 1647 in Aichi. The brewery thinks like a winemaker: it grows its own Yamada Nishiki in Hyogo, farms rice and grapes in France, and builds its sake around acidity and terroir — an approach that has landed it on Michelin-starred wine lists in Paris.
What does Kamoshibito Kuheiji taste like?
Tagged Acidity-driven and Elegant & Refined, all three bottles are Junmai Daiginjo scoring 4–5/5 on acidity. Eau du Désir is elegant and silky with faint minerality; Sauvage, made from Omachi rice, is wilder and more umami-driven with the highest acidity at 5/5; and human, milled to 35%, is the most delicate and highly polished.
Which bottle should you try first?
Start with Eau du Désir, the first-listed bottle and the most representative of the house’s elegant, silky, terroir-driven style.
How does Kamoshibito Kuheiji compare to other Aichi breweries?
Kuheiji is the only Aichi brewery tagged Acidity-driven, giving it a more structured, wine-like edge than prefecture-mates Houraisen (Elegant & Refined) and Kunizakari (Elegant & Refined, Dry & Crisp).
Frequently asked questions
When was Banjo Jozo founded?
In 1647, in Aichi.
What makes Kuheiji’s approach unusual?
The brewery grows its own Yamada Nishiki in Hyogo and farms rice and grapes in France, building its sake around acidity and terroir like a winemaker.
What rice does the Sauvage bottle use?
Omachi rice, in a Junmai Daiginjo milled to 50%.
The bottles
Eau du DésirEAU DU DÉSIR
薫酒 Kunshu · Fragrant“Elegant fruit, silky, with faint minerality.”
SauvageSAUVAGE
醇酒 Junshu · Rich“Wild and umami, with a drier mineral finish.”
humanhuman
薫酒 Kunshu · Fragrant“Refined, delicate and highly polished.”
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: saketime.jp · sakenomy.jp