The Sake Anatomy › Sake Brand Index › Tsukasabotan
No.19 · Brewery Profile
Tsukasabotan司牡丹 · Tsukasabotan Sake Brewing 司牡丹酒造
With roots reaching back to 1603, Tsukasabotan in Sakawa, Kochi carries over four centuries of history and close ties to the reformer Sakamoto Ryoma. Its style is classic Tosa: clean, bracingly dry sake built to keep pace with Kochi’s hard-drinking food culture. The flagship Senchu Hassaku is named for Ryoma’s eight-point plan.
Who makes Tsukasabotan?
Tsukasabotan Sake Brewing, with roots reaching back to 1603 in Sakawa, Kochi, and close ties to the reformer Sakamoto Ryoma. Its style is classic Tosa: clean, bracingly dry sake built to keep pace with Kochi’s hard-drinking food culture. The flagship Senchu Hassaku is named for Ryoma’s eight-point plan.
What does Tsukasabotan taste like?
Tagged Dry & Crisp, the flagship Senchu Hassaku is a super-dry junmai with a published SMV of +8 and acidity of 1.4 — brisk and clean. Junmai Niyodo Blue, named for the Niyodo River’s blue water, is similarly clean and dry, while the Kimoto Junmai Kamawanu uses traditional kimoto brewing for a savory profile with the firmest acidity of the three.
Which bottle should you try first?
Start with Senchu Hassaku, called the top dry junmai and named for Sakamoto Ryoma’s eight-point plan — the brewery’s defining bottle.
How does Tsukasabotan compare to other Kochi breweries?
Tsukasabotan shares its Dry & Crisp tag with prefecture-mates Suigei, Tosatsuru, and Bijofu, making dry, crisp sake the dominant Kochi house style. Keigetsu is the outlier, tagged Aromatic & Fruity instead of dry.
Frequently asked questions
What is Senchu Hassaku named after?
Sakamoto Ryoma’s eight-point reform plan.
What is the SMV and acidity of Senchu Hassaku?
SMV +8, acidity 1.4.
How far back does Tsukasabotan’s history go?
Its roots reach back to 1603.
The bottles
Senchu Hassaku船中八策
爽酒 Soshu · Light & Smooth“The top dry junmai; brisk and clean.”
Junmai Niyodo Blue純米酒 仁淀ブルー
醇酒 Junshu · Rich“Named for the Niyodo River blue; clean and dry.”
Kimoto Junmai Kamawanu生酛純米 かまわぬ
醇酒 Junshu · Rich“Traditional kimoto; savory, firm acidity.”
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: japansake.or.jp · tsukasabotan.co.jp