MASUDA TOKUBEE SHOTEN - TSUKI NO KATSURA IWAI 88 JUNMAI

Brewery Information

In Fushimi, Kyoto’s historic sake district, the Masuda family has been brewing sake since 1675. During our visit to Masuda Tokubee Shoten, we met Tokubee Masuda, the fourteenth generation, and his son Junichi Masuda, the fifteenth generation. Their shared philosophy quickly became clear: preserve the knowledge of previous generations while making room for new ideas.

Tsuki no Katsura Iwai 88 Junmai

For this junmai, the brewery uses Iwai, a historic sake rice variety from Kyoto, grown in Fushimi by selected contract farmers using pesticide-free cultivation methods. The rice is only lightly polished: 88% of the original grain remains, allowing its full character to shine.

The brewing method adds another layer of richness. Tsuki no Katsura uses tōsui-jikomi, an Edo-period technique that involves brewing with less water. This produces a concentrated sake with pronounced umami and a substantial body. Iwai 88 was introduced in July 2025, replacing Iwai 80.

In the glass, we find ripe banana, steamed rice, and notes of caramel and chocolate. The palate is rich and full, combining natural rice sweetness with deep, savoury umami. The brewery compares this depth to a carefully prepared dashi: intense, yet harmonious.

Enjoy it chilled, at room temperature, or warmed. A thin drinking glass, a traditional ochoko, or a wide, shallow sake cup known as a hirahai each offers a different way to explore its character. Pair it with grilled fish, slow-cooked dishes and dashi-based preparations, or try mushroom pizza, roast chicken or a creamy risotto.

The Water of Fushimi

Water is one of the foundations of the brewery’s style. Fushimi is historically associated with 伏水, meaning “hidden water”: the groundwater flowing beneath this part of Kyoto. Masuda Tokubee shoten draws its brewing water from a well approximately 70 metres deep.

This water contains fewer minerals than the famously hard brewing water of Nada. It supports the rounded texture and gentle mouthfeel associated with Fushimi sake. In Iwai 88, that softness meets the concentrated richness of lightly polished rice and tōsui-jikomi brewing.

A Name Rooted in Culture

The brandname Tsuki no Katsura, “the katsura tree on the moon”, refers to a poem by the court noble Ayanokōji Arinaga, who had connections with the Masuda family. Situated along the historic Toba Kaidō road, the brewery became a meeting place for court nobles, writers and calligraphers. Here, sake and culture have been intertwined for centuries.

The brewery emblem on the label reflects this imaginative world. Turn it upside down and you can make out rabbit ears: a playful reference to the rabbit that inhabits the moon in Japanese folklore. It gives the brewery’s poetic name a visual expression.

From Doburoku to Sparkling Nigori

One of the most fascinating chapters in Tsuki no Katsura’s history is the development of its sparkling nigori sake. For centuries, people in Japan drank doburoku: a cloudy fermented rice drink in which the rice solids remain. In 1899, the government prohibited home brewing, severely restricting this domestic brewing tradition.

The thirteenth generation of the Masuda family later sought a way to make that cloudy, lively character accessible again. Working with the relevant authorities, the brewery developed a method of filtering the sake only coarsely. This allowed it to meet the legal requirements for sake while retaining some rice solids and its lively character.

In 1964, Tsuki no Katsura released its sparkling nigori. It offered a new expression of doburoku’s character within the sake category, becoming an important part of the brewery’s identity.

Koshu: Giving Sake Time

The same curiosity can be found in the brewery’s koshu, or long-aged sake. During our visit, we saw more than a hundred porcelain jars in the brewery’s attic, where sake is left to develop slowly over many years.

This practice began in 1965, inspired by the Honchō Shokkan, a Japanese culinary encyclopaedia published in 1695. The jars are sealed using paulownia wood, Japanese paper and lacquer. As the sake matures, its colour, aromas and flavours deepen.

A distinctive expression of this approach is Kohakukō, “amber light”, named after the colour of the aged sake. Some jars contain sake more than fifty years old. We even discovered a collaboration with Onkyo, in which sound vibrations are transmitted directly into the sake to investigate their possible influence on maturation.

From sparkling nigori to long-aged koshu and this rice-driven Iwai 88, tradition at Tsuki no Katsura provides a foundation for continued exploration.