Taking Kagoshima’s Natural Blessings into the Future

Komaki Distillery is located in Satsuma Town, between Kagoshima and Izumi cities at the beginning of the Satsuma Peninsula.

The Komaki family has worked here since the16th century, initially in production of bean paste, soya sauce and tea. About a century ago, we turned our focus to shochu production. At each stage in our long history we have returned to the natural blessings of our local soil, as we experiment with new gustatory experiences.

Our distillery sits in a beautiful pastoral landscape, with the sacred Shibi Mountains as a northern backdrop. The Sendai River originates in those peaks before running past our stone warehouse.

Our production has always been on banks of the Sendai and its tributary, the Ana. Across the generations we have concentrated on production of a range of commodities, but each one uses the subterranean water from the Shibis. Local aquatic life includes a plant called kawagoke-so, which can only grow in the purest water. It is rare enough to be designated a Prefectural Natural Monument. Each day we look across this landscape and feel grateful for being able to live and work in such a rich and precious environment.

The Sendai River is 137km long with a 1,573㎢ basin. In Kyushu it is second in size only to the Chikugo River. Known as a “raging river” it had a tendency to flood after heavy rainfall. Many times our business has been endangered but we never dwell on what is past. We prefer to consider setbacks as opportunities to create a better future, and to reconstruct our work again.

Nature is easy to lose, and once it is gone it is lost forever. Yet it is so powerful and none of us can resist its vast forces. While never forgetting the thanks that are due to the awesomeness of nature, we also ponder how to act in the here and now, from the position in which we stand. Our conclusion is that we emphatically wish to keep advancing in brewing and distilling.

Text: Hisashi Ikai / Photo: Yoshikazu Shiraki