"Takenami Sake Brewery" (Tsugaru City, Aomori Prefecture, TEL 0173-23-5053), which has been in Aomori and Itayanagi for about 370 years, restarted at a new base on December 1.

Founded in the early Edo period and the Shoho period, the sake brewery is known for its signature products such as "Masamune Iwaki" and "Shirobei", which mainly use pure rice sake from Kanshu. The base was moved to the site of the Nagauchi Sake Brewery in Inagaki-cho, Tsugaru City in October last year, but it went bankrupt in March this year. A new company was established by the investor and inherited the business of the previous company that has continued since the Edo period.

Reiaki Takenami, the 17th generation of the Takenami family, will be in charge of manufacturing at the new company. About 20 years ago, he was involved in sake brewing as Mr. Toji. Although he was not interested in sake brewing when he was a student, he became a member of society and began to help his father, who was his predecessor, so he became absorbed in sake brewing. Mr. Takenami recalls, "I was looking for a way to continue. There was a time when I thought that I didn't have to stick to the prefecture."

It is said that the relocated approximately 1,350 square meters of brewery site was agreed by Nagauchi Sake Brewery in two replies, saying that it would be used as a brewery. During the relocation period, the residents around me sometimes cheered "Do your best" and "I'm waiting". Mr. Takenami said that he began to feel that "I heard that the land is warm, but I have to live up to my expectations."

We welcomed Akira Kawaguchi, the second son of the long-established confectionery store "Kawaguchi Anpan" in Itayanagi, which closed in April, and Natsumi Sawada, who has been helping out as a part-time job since May last year. Mr. Kawaguchi and Mr. Takenami are classmates and childhood friends. He has experience as a bartender and event planning, and joined because he lost his job due to the corona disaster. Mr. Sawada called out after seeing his efforts in the relocation work from the old sake brewery.

Takenami says, "I'm still busy preparing and I have a lot to prepare." Currently, the stock brewed in the old sake brewery remains, and new sake made in Shintenchi will not be available until next spring. "I don't know until the environment changes and I try to make what kind of sake. When new sake is made, I'm worried that there will be demand in the infection situation," says Takenami. "I have no choice but to do it now."

In addition to new sake brewing, there are many things that he wants to set up, such as direct sales at the factory, online shopping, and so on. Mr. Takenami says, "I'm just grateful to everyone who has taken care of me so far. I want to try new things while maintaining the style of pure rice sake and sake that I have continued so far."