The Sake Anatomy › Sake Brand Index › Sooku
No.112 · Brewery Profile
Sooku蒼空 · Fujioka Shuzo 藤岡酒造
Fujioka Shuzo’s Fushimi brewery closed in 1995 after the sudden death of its third-generation owner — and sat dark for seven years until fifth-generation heir Fujioka Masaaki trained himself into a toji and reopened it in 2002. Sooku, the label he built, is junmai-only and entirely hand-crafted in small tanks, drawing on Fushimi’s famously soft water and rice ranging from Yamada Nishiki to the rare Yamada Ho, Yamada Nishiki’s own parent variety.
Who makes Sooku?
Sooku is made by Fujioka Shuzo in Fushimi, Kyoto. The brewery closed in 1995 after the sudden death of its third-generation owner and sat dark for seven years, until fifth-generation heir Fujioka Masaaki trained himself as a toji and reopened it in 2002.
What does Sooku taste like?
All three bottles are junmai daiginjo or junmai ginjo, fragrant (kunshu) and hand-crafted in small tanks using Fushimi’s famously soft water. Rice variety drives the differences: Yamada Nishiki gives the flagship release, Aiyama pushes the aroma score higher (4/5), and the rare Yamada Ho — Yamada Nishiki’s own parent variety — gives the ginjo-grade bottle.
Which bottle should you try first?
The Junmai Daiginjo Yamada Nishiki is described as the brewery’s “flagship daiginjo-grade release from the brewery’s signature rice” — the clearest starting point before the rarer Aiyama and Yamada Ho bottlings.
How does Sooku compare to other Kyoto breweries?
Tamanohikari is the only other Kyoto brewery in this index. It is tagged Elegant & Refined and Rich & Umami, while Sooku is purely Elegant & Refined and Aromatic & Fruity and brews junmai-only in small tanks — a lighter, more aromatic style within the same Fushimi water tradition.
Frequently asked questions
How many bottles does Sooku make?
Three on this page, all junmai daiginjo or junmai ginjo, each showcasing a different rice variety: Yamada Nishiki, Aiyama, and the rare Yamada Ho.
What is Yamada Ho?
Yamada Nishiki’s own parent rice variety, used in Sooku’s Junmai Ginjo Yamada Ho.
When did Sooku’s brewery reopen?
In 2002, after standing closed for seven years following the death of its third-generation owner.
The bottles
Junmai Daiginjo Yamada Nishiki純米大吟醸酒 山田錦
薫酒 Kunshu · Fragrant“Flagship daiginjo-grade release from the brewery’s signature rice.”
Junmai Daiginjo Aiyama純米大吟醸酒 愛山
薫酒 Kunshu · Fragrant“Junmai daiginjo brewed with the prized Aiyama rice variety.”
Junmai Ginjo Yamada Ho純米吟醸 山田穂
薫酒 Kunshu · Fragrant“Made from Yamada Ho, the parent variety of Yamada Nishiki.”
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: fushimi.or.jp · sookuu.net