SAKIMOTO AWAMORI DISTILLERY
Awamori-Making Since 1902 in Shuri, Okinawa
Sakimoto Awamori Distillery was founded in 1902 in Shuri, Okinawa, the former royal capital of the Ryukyu Kingdom.
Awamori is Okinawa’s distinctive distilled spirit, made from rice and black koji. With a history said to span more than 600 years, it has been passed down through generations, intertwined with Okinawa’s climate, cuisine, culture and everyday life.
For more than 120 years, Sakimoto Awamori Distillery has preserved this tradition and the craftsmanship behind it.
Yet its history has not always been an easy one.
Black Koji That Survived the Flames
A Single Orange Jasmine Tree and a Miraculous Revival
In 1945, Shuri was devastated during the Battle of Okinawa, and Sakimoto Awamori Distillery was destroyed by fire.
Along with the equipment and tools needed to make Awamori, the black koji culture essential to production was believed to have been lost.
After the war, Seiryou Sakumoto, the second-generation owner, returned to the distillery ruins.
There, one clue remained: a single orange jasmine tree that had miraculously survived the fire.
Using the tree as a landmark, Seiryou searched for the site where the distillery had once stood. Among the ruins, he found fragments of a nikubuku, a woven rice-straw mat traditionally used in the koji-making process.
Thinking the black koji might still have survived, he placed pieces of nikubuku over steamed rice and left them overnight.
The following morning, black koji had begun to grow on the rice.
The culture that had survived the devastation of war had come back to life.
It is said that Seiryou was moved to tears at the sight.
The revival of this black koji not only marked a new beginning for Sakimoto Awamori Distillery but also breathed new life into Awamori production across Okinawa, which had suffered immense destruction during the war.
For us, black koji is far more than an ingredient in Awamori production. It is a symbol of Okinawa’s resilience and of an Awamori culture that survived the devastation of war and continues to be passed down today.
Awamori Crafted Without Compromise
Hine-koji, Low-Temperature Fermentation and Minimal Filtration
Since its founding, Sakimoto Awamori Distillery has followed one fundamental principle: never rush the process.
One example is the traditional practice of hine-koji, in which the black koji is cultivated for longer than usual. Allowing the koji to develop fully helps create greater depth and richness in the finished spirit.
The moromi mash is then fermented slowly at low temperatures for around 20 days.
Rather than prioritising speed or volume, we focus on achieving the right balance of aroma, umami and flavour.
Filtration is also kept to a minimum in order to preserve the natural aroma and flavour compounds that give Awamori its distinctive character.
Our focus is not simply on whether the spirit tastes good today.
We also ask what kind of spirit it will become in five or ten years’ time.
Okinawa has a long tradition of ageing Awamori to create kusu. It is a culture built on allowing a spirit to develop and mature with time.
At Sakimoto Awamori Distillery, we make Awamori with that future potential in mind.
TAKOYAMA
Named After a Real Mountain
TAKOYAMA is not a name created simply for the brand.
It is the name of the mountain that rises directly in front of Sakimoto Awamori Distillery today.
In 2020, after nearly 120 years of making Awamori in Shuri, the distillery relocated to Onna Village on the west coast of Okinawa’s main island.
In this new home, we continue to preserve the traditions passed down from Shuri while taking on the challenge of creating Awamori for a new generation.
To symbolise this new chapter, we chose the name of the mountain before us: TAKOYAMA.
The kanji characters 多幸山 may suggest the idea of a “Happy Mountain” in English. But this is not a name coined after the fact.
Takoyama is a real mountain.
Step outside the distillery and you can see it for yourself.
At its foot, we continue to make Awamori today.
Sharing tradition with the world in new ways.
At the heart of TAKOYAMA lies more than 120 years of Awamori-making tradition passed down through Sakimoto Awamori Distillery.
But to us, preserving tradition does not mean preserving only the ways Awamori has been enjoyed in the past.
Enjoy it straight.
On the rocks.
With soda water as an AWAMORI HIGHBALL.
Or in a cocktail that showcases a bartender’s creativity.
We want people around the world—including those discovering Awamori for the first time—to enjoy it freely, in whatever style suits them.
This is not about changing tradition. It is about sharing the value of that tradition with the world through contemporary ways of enjoying Awamori.
That is what TAKOYAMA stands for.
A Distillery at the Heart of Okinawan Culture
Today, Sakimoto Awamori Distillery is located within RyukyuMura, a cultural attraction in Onna Village, Okinawa.
Traditional Okinawan houses, music, performing arts, food and crafts all come together here, creating a place where visitors can experience many aspects of Okinawan culture.
It is within this setting that we make our Awamori—an unusual distilling environment even by international standards.
We do not want to introduce Awamori to the world simply as an alcoholic spirit.
We want each glass to become a gateway to Okinawa: an opportunity to discover its nature, its history and its culture.
Through a single glass of Awamori, we hope to share the story of the island behind it.
FROM SHURI TO TAKOYAMA
FROM OKINAWA TO THE WORLD
Sakimoto Awamori Distillery was founded in Shuri in 1902.
Although everything was lost in the devastation of war, a single orange jasmine tree that had survived became the clue that led to the ruins of the distillery. There, black koji that had miraculously survived the war was discovered, and with it, Awamori-making began once again.
Today, at the foot of Takoyama in Onna Village, we carry that legacy forward while taking on new challenges in Awamori-making.
Black koji that survived the devastation of war.
Craftsmanship passed down for more than 120 years.
And a new home at the foot of Takoyama.
From Shuri to Takoyama.
From Okinawa to the world.
TAKOYAMA by SAKIMOTO AWAMORI DISTILLERY
A Spirit of Okinawa, Since 1902.
