There is the word "sake rim". "Sake connects" -When a wonderful relationship is created by sake, is it often used with gratitude?

"Ghibli 3D Building Exhibition" has been held since October at the Kumamoto City Museum of Contemporary Art. A sake called "Kumamoto Castle" is on sale at the shop inside the venue. Producer Toshio Suzuki of Studio Ghibli wrote the letters on the label that stands proudly.

By the time we got there, there was a miraculous "liquor rim" that happened to overlap.

◆ Accidental encounter

Zuiyo, which manufactures sake "Kumamoto Castle", was founded in 1867 and is a long-established store located in Kawashiri, Kumamoto City. A brewery that has manufactured "Akashu", which is a favorite cooking liquor, "Zuiyo", a sake bearing the company name, and shochu. The April earthquake caused great damage, partly because it was close to the epicenter.


The encounter between Zuiyo and Studio Ghibli comes about two months after the earthquake.

Somewhere in Tokyo in early June. A party was held to support Zuiyo, a gathering of sake fans. The staff of Ghibli participated in this meeting by chance. The fateful "liquor relationship" is connected. "Is there anything we can do together for reconstruction?" With my feelings for Kumamoto in my heart, I started to move from a fresh state.


After repeated discussions, the theme of the exhibition being prepared at that time was "building", so in order to support the reconstruction of Kumamoto Castle, the symbol of Kumamoto, the sake "Kumamoto Castle" will be sold under the original label. It seems that it has become.

◆ Kumamoto Castle that is particular about "Kumamoto products"

"Kumamoto Castle" was built to coincide with the 400th anniversary of the construction of Kumamoto Castle, and since 2004 Junmai Ginjo (720ml (24.35us fl oz)) and Junmaishu (300ml (10.14us fl oz)) have been sold only in Kumamoto Prefecture (currently). sold out). Rice, water and yeast are all "produced in Kumamoto". It is a brand that is particular about Kumamoto.


Renewal from this term. The point of using the raw material of "Kumamoto" remains the same, and we use the first prefecture-original sake rice "Hananishiki" that has just been developed (both 720ml (24.35us fl oz) and 300ml (10.14us fl oz) are unified into pure rice sake).

◆ "If it's a letter, I'll write it!"

Initially, the idea was to adopt an exhibition leaflet design for the newly created label. However, it was not realized due to copyright issues. It is said that he received a suggestion from producer Suzuki, "If it's a letter, I'll write it!"

In this way, the project came to fruition, and the original label sake was completed, incorporating the books of "Kumamoto Castle" and "Zuiyo" handwritten by Suzuki producer. On October 8th, they lined up at the store with the start of the exhibition. Limited to 10,000 due to limited production volume. A part of the sales will be donated for the reconstruction of Kumamoto Castle.



At the time of the meeting, such an episode.

When the Zuiyo staff visited Studio Ghibli, it happened that Ghibli's latest work "The Red Turtle: A Story of an Island" had a meeting and batting. It seems that he was supposed to talk about the "Kumamoto Castle" label next to Director Michael and Hayao Miyazaki (what a precious thing!). The sake he brought as a souvenir at this time was in the hands of director Michael, who likes Japan.

◆ "Rim" is connected forever

It's been half a year since the earthquake. At Zuiyo, preparations for this term began at the end of September. It seems that the production volume of red sake and sake has returned to the level of about 80% before the earthquake, despite the shortage of equipment.

However, the current situation is that "overall, recovery has not progressed yet." In particular, the aftershocks and heavy rains have caused great damage to the buildings, and there are no craftsmen who can repair them.



Sake born from Zuiyo and Ghibli's "Sake Marriage" connects us with our customers. The edges are connected forever.


* Photos at Kura and Studio Ghibli were provided by Zuiyo.