We have been told generation after generation that our brewery began in the first half of the 1700s. It was in the middle of the Edo period, during the Shōtoku era. At the time, our brewery’s name was Toda–ya. In our long history, we’ve lost detailed records after dealing with large fires again and again, but it’s said that there were five breweries, including us, in the district back then. It can be said that our region has long had a rich sake–brewing history.

Then, when Gonjiro Tamura took over as our 12th–generation owner, he was given notice in 1895 that a sake brewing licensing system would be put in place. In 1910, three breweries in the town merged into one, becoming the Hikami Sake Brewery General Partnership. Our Hikami–masamune brand has continued since then and received love from local customers for many years.

Our 14th–generation owner, Kozo Tamura, discovered a Non–Foaming Yeast strain while brewing here in the 1960s. This was a great contribution to the development of Japanese sake manufacturing techniques. In 1966, we moved from Muikaichi, Yokota (currently Okuizumo) to our current location. Before that, our brewery was not far from the Hii River. The river was not so deep or wide at the time, which resulted in frequent flood damage. We moved for stability and sake brewing, which led us to our current brewery.

< Our Famous Tamahagane and Tatara Ironmaking >

From time immemorial, the iron industry boomed in the Okuizumo region due to its super quality iron sand. A traditional ironmaking process (Tatara Ironmaking) was used to make the Japanese iron called Tamahagane, which was supplied to swordsmiths all over Japan as raw material for Japanese swords. After the war, Japan began importing iron from abroad. Tatara Ironmaking was dying out,but in 1977 when it was revived in Yokotamachi (currently Okuizumo). Now it is only passed down in the eastern part of Shimane Prefecture. This local traditional industry is what gave birth to our famous sake brand Tamahagane in 1987. Tamahagane has won numerous awards, including the Japan Sake Awards Gold Prize for five years in a row and the International Wine Challenge trophy. It has made Hikami’s sake brewing quality known to all of Japan.