By Mayuka Ueda,
With domestic sake consumption in decline, a former executive of one of the biggest players in the industry has established a company in Japan's cultural hub of Kyoto to help struggling regional brewers turn around their businesses.
Currently, the company, Yumesakagura (Dream Sake Brewery), is working on revitalizing Yoshida Shuzo, a sake brewery founded in 1877 in Takashima city in the neighboring western Japan prefecture of Shiga, with the eventual goal of exporting its products overseas.
Makoto Obe, 61, a retired executive of Gekkeikan Sake Co., launched Yumesakagura in January 2022, and at Yoshida Shuzo, its first project, it has so far overseen an extensive overhaul of its tanks and other equipment.
An avid sake drinker himself, Obe joined Gekkeikan, one of Japan's oldest and most revered sake breweries, based in Fushimi, Kyoto, at a young age.
It was while he was still at the company in charge of mergers and acquisitions that Yoshida Shuzo came to his attention following a proposal to acquire it.
A deal never materialized, but the idea of rescuing a once-flourishing brewery that had fallen on hard times stuck in his mind. After retiring from Gekkeikan, he and former colleagues established Yumesakagura with the goal embodied in its name -- to support the dreams of local sake brewers.
Yoshida Shuzo's shipments have shriveled since its heyday, hit hard by Japan's changing drinking habits.
According to NLI Research Institute, a subsidiary of Nippon Life Insurance Co., the proportion of men drinking more than three times a week has fallen in all age groups in the last two decades. The same is true for women in their 20s and 30s, although not for older women.
The decline has been attributed to a growing health awareness, with the COVID-19 pandemic spurring interest in a teetotal lifestyle, and a decrease in drink meetups due to Japan's economic downturn in recent decades.
And adding to sake breweries' woes, the traditional drink's share of the overall market has dipped since the 1970s as preferences diversify. The result has been a fall in shipments to a record low in 2022, less than a quarter of their peak in 1973, according to Finance Ministry data.
Hajime Yoshida, 63, chairman of Yoshida Shuzo, says the brewery has seen its own market shrink dramatically.
"There was a time we had produced 10 times our current amount, and almost all of the sake was consumed within Takashima city," Yoshida said.
Although still facing an uphill battle, Yoshida Shuzo has seen positive results in their second year of brewing since Yumesakagura stepped in. In addition to the "Chikubushima" brand, a longstanding local favorite, the company has created a new series called "Tenyu-Ikkon Chikubushima."
Currently, members of Yumesakagura are not only leveraging their old connections to expand sales channels but also reviving deals previously cut off due to financial difficulties.
"When I visited a local pub, I found our new sake on their list. I was very grateful," Yoshida said with a smile.
Obe, however, is hopeful that the picture can brighten ever further if overseas opportunities are pursued.
According to the Japanese Sake and Shochu Makers Association, the total value of sake exports broke a new record for the 13th consecutive year in 2022, with China, the United States and Hong Kong the top three destinations.
"There is no reason not to take the overseas markets into account," he said.
Yumesakagura plans to complete the turnaround of Yoshida Shuzo in three years. But it is only the start for the company, which plans to assist multiple local sake breweries find renewed success over the next decade.
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