Female Frontrunners (May 2026)

Saori Kobari, the toji at Daitengu Shuzo, with her daughter born in 2025

This month, I am highlighting women in sake for the ninth consecutive year. I am proud to feature two women brewers this year from the Tohoku region: Saori Kobari from Daitengu Shuzo in Fukushima and Nanami Watanabe from Niizawa Jozoten in Miyagi.

As I write this in early April, I am fresh out of a meet-up with women in the sake industry in San Francisco. There, our tight-knit Bay Area sake community discussed the role women have played in sake. From the famous lore of shrine maidens chewing the mash to kick-start fermentation (kuchikamezake) to being banned from brewery grounds due to menstruation, the sake industry is guilty of regarding women as the second sex. But the tide is changing.

Currently, over 30 women serve as toji (head sake brewers) in Japan. That’s up from the ten or so I knew of when we started featuring the “Female Frontrunners” theme in 2017. This is encouraging. While I used to scour the internet for one more bottle made by a female toji, I now may cross paths with one or two during a visit to Japan.

Previously, a wife or daughter might have taken over brewing duties because the husband or dad had suddenly grew ill. This handful of women who took over out of necessity proved that women can make sake... and be really good at it. With that proof, one can change history. One of the OG women who changed history that comes to mind is Rumiko Moriki of Moriki Shuzo. She says, “Sake-brewing used to be a male-only world, and makers were forced to follow strict standards to keep uniform quality. Women were excluded for a long time, and for that reason, when they started sake-making they weren’t boxed into methods and ideas, and were more free to express unconventional ideas.”

This month, I introduce two next-generation women brewers who implement fresh, new perspectives into their practice. Watanabe of Niizawa Jozoten who gives brewers nine days off a month (historically brewers got no weekend day off and worked straight) believes happy people make tasty sake. Kobari of Daitengu Shuzo believes that women’s communicative skill in sharing information is an advantage in sake-making.

Nanami Watanabe, the toji at Niizawa Jozoten, who became the youngest toji ever at age 22

Thank you for changing history with us by supporting this theme for over 9 years! It’s a win for all of us, as we can kanpai to some really delicious sake.

Kanpai,

Yoko (Co-Founder + Sake Director, Umami Mart)

SILVER + GOLD

Usake Spring Nama Junmai Ginjo
Daitengu Shuzo (Fukushima, Japan)
Seimaibuai: 60% Yume no Kaori, SMV: -4, Acidity: 1.7

Usagi, or rabbit, combines with the word sake to create Usake, a seasonal sake series. Born in the year of the rabbit, Saori Kobari, the toji at Daitengu Shuzo created this unique series. This year’s spring Usake exhibits a soft profile akin to a Niigata sake. I enjoyed the sweet mochi notes, along with a crisp ending. Kobari-san recommends trying this sake at room temperature to taste the mellowness of the koji. She adds that, “This is a very small batch brew with nearly all of the bottles going to Sake Gumi members. It’s almost entirely an original sake made just for you!” Try this sake with fresh cheeses, roast beef, or karaage. We congratulate Kobari-san who told us that her daughter was born last summer. She adds “I’ve been cultivating yeast until now, but now I am also raising a child. I treat both of them with the same love. It is busy, but I’ve come to enjoy working at night.” Gambatte kudasai!

Hakurakusei “The Connoisseur” Junmai Daiginjo 
Niizawa Jozoten (Miyagi, Japan)
Seimaibuai: 40% Omachi, SMV: +5, Acidity: 1.6

Nanami Watanabe, took over as the toji at Niizawa Jozoten in 2018 at age 22 (the youngest toji in Japan). When we asked her why she thinks more women are entering the industry, she surmized that breweries are using more automation to cut back on physicial labor and shorten hours in the work day to maintain a better work-life balance. This benefits everyone, regardless of age or gender. “Happy cows are said to produce more nutritious milk (and more of it),” Watanabe says, “we believe that having happier employees will lead to better tasting sake.” And they achieve that goal in this junmai daiginjo. Enjoy the aroma of melons and bananas, with hints of muscat and mango. The refreshing acidity is a perfect complement to cold, fresh soba or green beans and gomadare. Put this sake in the coldest corner of your fridge and pour in a white wine glass!