The Sake Anatomy › Sake Brand Index › Tensei
No.91 · Brewery Profile
Tensei天青 · Kumazawa Shuzo 熊澤酒造
Kumazawa Shuzo, founded in 1872, is the only sake brewery left in Kanagawa’s Shonan coastal region. Its Tensei line takes its name from a Chinese phrase for blue sky breaking through clouds after rain, and the brewery has grown well beyond sake alone — it also runs Shonan Beer, restaurants, and a bakery cafe on the same grounds, all shaped by the same coastal, laid-back Shonan sensibility.
Who makes Tensei?
Kumazawa Shuzo, founded in 1872, is the only sake brewery left in Kanagawa’s Shonan coastal region. The brewery has grown well beyond sake alone, also running Shonan Beer, restaurants, and a bakery cafe on the same grounds.
What does Tensei taste like?
Tagged Elegant & Refined and Dry & Crisp, all three bottles fall into kunshu (fragrant) or soshu (light, smooth) SSI territory. The flagship Uka Tensei Junmai Daiginjo is a slow, low-temperature brew sold in a paulownia box; the Senpo Tensei Junmai Ginjo is lighter and versatile for food pairing; the Furo Tensei Tokubetsu Honjozo is the cleanest, driest everyday-drinking style of the three.
Which bottle should you try first?
Start with the Uka Tensei Junmai Daiginjo, explicitly the flagship bottle, a slow low-temperature brew sold in a paulownia box.
How does Tensei compare to other Kanagawa breweries?
Kanagawa’s only other brewery in this index is Izumibashi, tagged Rich & Umami and Elegant & Refined. Tensei shares the Elegant & Refined side but leans drier and crisper instead, tagged Dry & Crisp rather than Rich & Umami.
Frequently asked questions
What does the name Tensei mean?
It comes from a Chinese phrase for blue sky breaking through clouds after rain.
What else does Kumazawa Shuzo operate besides its sake brewery?
Shonan Beer, restaurants, and a bakery cafe, all on the same grounds.
How many bottles does Tensei make on this page?
Three: the flagship Uka Tensei Junmai Daiginjo, the lighter Senpo Tensei Junmai Ginjo, and the everyday Furo Tensei Tokubetsu Honjozo.
The bottles
Uka Tensei Junmai Daiginjo雨過天青 純米大吟醸
薫酒 Kunshu · Fragrant“Flagship bottle; slow low-temperature brew, sold in a paulownia box.”
Senpo Tensei Junmai Ginjo千峰天青 純米吟醸
薫酒 Kunshu · Fragrant“Light, versatile style suited to food pairing.”
Furo Tensei Tokubetsu Honjozo風露天青 特別本醸造
爽酒 Soshu · Light & Smooth“Clean, dry everyday-drinking style.”
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: imadeya.co.jp · store.kumazawa.jp