EST. 1907
池錦
Since 1907 — 鹿沼市, Tochigi
A 1907 Nasu brewery whose century-old motto — 'the master himself must enter the kura' — survived a 2016 hiatus and a 2021 revival.
Ikejima Shuzo was founded in 1907 under a family creed set by its first head, Sennojo Ikejima: 'the master himself must enter the kura' — a commitment to hands-on, unmechanized brewing the house has kept ever since. Its flagship, Ikenishiki, became known locally as the 'famed sake of Nasu.' Brewing paused in 2016 when the toji (master brewer) fell ill, but in August 2021 Ichizo Kobayashi took over the business, and Ikenishiki is now brewed on at Kobayashi Shuzo's Maenikko brewery in Kanuma.