Why it matters
The producer
Kitagawa Honke has been making sake in Fushimi, Kyoto, since 1657. Fourteen generations of the Kitagawa family have worked from the same district, drawing on the same underground water source, accumulating 21 gold medals at Japan's National New Sake Awards along the way. The brewery markets under the Tomio brand, and its export range is built around Iwai rice, a Kyoto sakamai variety that had nearly vanished before being brought back into cultivation through a collaboration between the Fushimi Sake Brewers Association and Kyoto Prefecture.
The current representative is Yukihiro Kitagawa. Head brewer Yoshifumi Tashima leads production. The brewery's stated philosophy, Preserving Tradition, Innovating for the Future, describes a position the record supports: continuous operation across three and a half centuries, combined with the deliberate choice to anchor the export range on a revived regional rice variety rather than a more widely grown sakamai.
Place and vineyards
Where the wines begin
Fushimi sits at the southern edge of Kyoto City, where the Uji River and its tributaries run close to the surface and an underground aquifer of soft water has sustained the district's sake breweries for centuries. That water, registered under the name Fushimizu, is the defining physical asset of the district. Soft water carries fewer minerals and produces sake with a rounder, less assertive character than the hard water used in regions such as Nada. The Fushimi style is generally smoother in the glass, with less of the dry, firm edge that hard-water brewing tends to produce.
In the cellar
Vineyards and cellar
Production at Kitagawa Honke follows traditional sake-making methods with carefully selected ingredients, as confirmed by the brewery's participation in the Kyoto Sake Makers Association's export programme. The cellar uses Fushimizu soft water, which reduces mineral hardness in the brewing process and contributes to the smooth, rounded character associated with Fushimi sake.
The Tomio Iwai Junmai Ginjo is made from Iwai rice. Junmai Ginjo is a category defined by rice polishing to at least 60 percent of the original grain and fermentation without added distilled alcohol. The polishing removes outer layers of the grain, concentrating the starchy core and producing a more aromatic, cleaner ferment. Iwai rice, with its robust flavour profile, contributes a fuller body than many Ginjo-class sakes, which tend toward delicacy. The result sits at an intersection: Ginjo-category aromatic character with the weight and richness that Iwai delivers.
Wines to know
The range in view
Kitagawa Honke's export range covers two expressions under the Tomio label.
Tomio Iwai Junmai Ginjo is the primary export bottle. Made from Iwai sakamai rice, it is a Junmai Ginjo, meaning it is fermented without added alcohol and polished to Ginjo standard. Iwai rice carries a reputation for robust flavour and delivers a rich, full-bodied sake. In the context of the Junmai Ginjo category, this positions the Tomio Iwai as weightier and more textured than lighter, more aromatic expressions of the same classification. It is the bottle the brewery leads with outside Japan.
A useful way in
A bottle to begin with
Start with the Tomio Iwai Junmai Ginjo. It is made from Iwai rice, a Kyoto sakamai variety revived specifically within the Fushimi brewing community, and it carries the full body and richness that Iwai delivers. The soft Fushimizu water smooths the texture, so the weight of the rice comes through without any mineral edge. It is a full-bodied Junmai Ginjo, and it is the bottle where the brewery's geographic and agricultural character is most directly expressed. Rich, smooth, and with more presence in the glass than the category often suggests.