The Sake Anatomy › Sake Brand Index › Sudo Honke
No.24 · Brewery Profile
Sudo Honke須藤本家 · Sato no Homare 郷乃譽
Founded in 1141 and run by the 55th generation of the Sudo family in Kasama, Ibaraki, this is described as Japan’s oldest sake brewery. Uniquely, all of its sake — pasteurized or not — is entirely unfiltered.
Who makes Sudo Honke?
Sato no Homare, founded in 1141 and now run by the 55th generation of the Sudo family in Kasama, Ibaraki. It is described as Japan’s oldest sake brewery, and uniquely, all of its sake — pasteurized or not — is entirely unfiltered.
What does Sudo Honke taste like?
Tagged Aromatic & Fruity and Elegant & Refined, the sole bottle on this page, Sato no Homare JDG (White Label), is the fragrant kunshu-class flagship: aromatic at 4/5, with 3/5 acidity and a light 2/5 on both the dry-rich and body scales, all unfiltered per house practice.
Which bottle should you try first?
With only one bottle listed, Sato no Homare JDG (White Label) is the page’s offering — the flagship Junmai Daiginjo, described in its tasting note as “fragrant and unfiltered.”
How does Sudo Honke compare to other Ibaraki breweries?
Sudo Honke’s prefecture-mate Raifuku carries the same two tags, Aromatic & Fruity and Elegant & Refined, making the two closely matched in style within Ibaraki’s entries in this index.
Frequently asked questions
How old is Sudo Honke?
It was founded in 1141, and the story identifies it as Japan’s oldest sake brewery.
What makes Sudo Honke’s sake unusual?
All of it — pasteurized or unpasteurized — is entirely unfiltered, which the brewery treats as a defining practice.
Who currently runs Sudo Honke?
The 55th generation of the Sudo family, based in Kasama, Ibaraki.
The bottles
Sato no Homare JDG (White Label)郷乃譽 純米大吟醸 白ラベル
薫酒 Kunshu · Fragrant“The flagship white label; fragrant and unfiltered.”
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: japan.travel · sakeinternational.org