Gekkeikan Okura Sake Museum
From Monday, December 4, 2023, to late February 2024, the Gekkeikan Okura Sake Museum will undergo renovation. During this construction period, some exhibition rooms will remain open to visitors, while other areas will be inaccessible. Admission will be free, and the sake tasting corner and store will operate on a limited schedule. We apologize for any inconvenience this may cause and kindly request your understanding.
・Please note that the museum may be closed on specific days, depending on the progress of the construction.
・We will announce the reopening date on our website as soon as the schedule is finalized.
Temporarily closed: from December 4 to December 6
Fushimi, the Sake Paradise of Kyoto
The Fushimi district of Kyoto is one of the foremost sake-brewing areas in all of Japan. The Gekkeikan Okura Sake Museum is a space where visitors can sense the spirit of Fushimi, its history and sake culture; and of Gekkeikan, a company that has led the development of sake-brewing in this area. After visiting the Museum, enjoy tasting a range of sakes brewed with the underground water that is Fushimi's natural bounty, using traditional techniques honed through our history of challenge and creativity.
Visitor Information
*We cannot accept tours for groups (13 or more persons).
*To prevent crowding, there may be temporary restrictions on entry.
| Address | 247 Minamihama-cho, Fushimi-ku, Kyoto City 612-8660 |
|---|---|
| Access | 5 mins walk from Chushojima Station or 10 mins walk from Fushimi-Momoyama Station on the Keihan Main Line. 10 mins walk from Momoyama-Goryomae Station on the Kintetsu Kyoto Line 18 mins walk from Momoyama Station on the JR Nara Line |
| Maps | English Japanese |
| Hours | 9:30 – 16:30 (last admission 16:00) |
| Closed | *New Years holiday period (from December 28 to January 4), O-Bon festival (from August 13 to August 16) |
| Admission | 20 or older: ¥600 / 13 to 19: ¥100 / 12 or younger: Free *Visitors 13 or older will be given free gifts. |
| Phone | 075-623-2056 |
| Web site |
Japanese（日本語） Traditional Chinese（繁體中文） Chinese（简体中文） Korean（한국어） |
| Museum Guide | Our Museum Guide lets you enjoy the Museum using your own device. You can learn about the stories behind the exhibits you view. It tells you the history of Gekkeikan from our founding to the present day, including episodes related to our sake brewing. We offer free Wi-Fi throughout the Museum. |
| Guided Tour | Our staff are prepared to give you a guided tour of the museum and the adjacent brewery (for a fee; reservations required). The tour is conducted only in Japanese. Japanese Web site |
Galleries and Exhibits
Entrance
The development of Fushimi as a sake production site began around four centuries ago, when Fushimi Port was developed as part of the construction work for Fushimi Castle. In one corner of this town, which was constantly busy with traffic to and from Kyoto, Osaka, and Nara, Gekkeikan was founded in 1637. As the founder was from Kasagi, in the south of what is now Kyoto Prefecture, the brewery was initially called “Kasagiya,” and his brew was labeled “Tama no Izumi,” or “Jewel of the Fountain.” Up until around the 1890s, the brewery was a small-scale affair, mainly selling locally. The Museum entrance is designed to incorporate elements of the pre-modern era, such as the exhibit recreating the payment counter, and visitors can immerse themselves in the atmosphere of an old Fushimi brewery.
Old payment counter
Ceiling roof-truss beams
Sake Brewery Courtyard
There is a courtyard between the Gekkeikan Okura Sake Museum and the Meiji-period Uchigura brewery next door. Up until the 1930s, open wooden containers were used, and the courtyard was filled with rows of large containers drying in the sun.
The south side of the brewery, where the well is located, was where washing was done, and there was an analysis and inspection office to the east, while to the west was rest area for the chief brewers and other skilled workers.
Sake container (roughly equivalent to fermentation tanks)
Gekkeikan Uchigura Sake Brewery
Inside the white-walled Uchigura brewery, which lies beside the Gekkeikan Okura Sake Museum and dates back to 1906, is the Mini-Brewery, which can produce sake year-round. Its annual production volume is 40 kiloliters, which is about the same as Kasagiya when it was founded back in 1637.
Fermentation room
Tools of the Trade
The traditional tools and equipment that were actually used for brewing sake at Gekkeikan from around 1900 to 1960 are displayed to guide visitors through the brewing process. There is also a series of illustrations showing the brewing process during the Edo period, which lets you see how these tools were actually used. In 1985, 6,120 items in the Museum's collection were registered by Kyoto City as Tangible Cultural Assets. The Museum features around 400 of these on permanent exhibition.
Preparing the moromi
The “Kasagiya” Name and the “Tama no Izumi” Brand
Gekkeikan's predecessor, Kasagiya, was founded as a sake brewery in Fushimi, Kyoto, in 1637. The name “Kasagiya” comes from the fact that the founder, Jiemon Okura, came from Kasagi in the south of Kyoto. Jiemon's father was involved in a wide range of businesses, including agriculture and commerce, and also owned a sake brewery, which is what led to the establishment of one in Fushimi. Fushimi had developed as a castle town, a riverside trading town, and a post town, and was constantly busy with people as a transportation hub, so Kasagiya sold its sake to travelers and locals under the brand-name of “Tama no Izumi.”
“Tama no Izumi” brand sake
Kasagiya “tokkuri” flask
Growth in Modern Japan
Unlike coastal Nada (Hyogo Prefecture), which developed considerably through shipping sake to Edo (now Tokyo), Fushimi is inland, and so the predecessor of Gekkeikan, Kasagiya, sold its sake to locals for many generations.
However, once the 20th century started, Fushimi sake started being shipped nationwide. Tsunekichi Okura, the 11th-generation head, registered the “Gekkeikan” (laurel wreath) trademark, symbolizing victory and glory in 1905, and in 1907 established a research office, bringing science and technology to the production of sake. While barreled sake production was at its peak, he pushed for bottling, and also tried other innovative approaches to brewing.
Utilizing the ever-expanding rail network, Gekkeikan tested out the market for bottled sake in Tokyo and other parts of the country. The company came up with a range of products, including small sake bottles that were sold complete with drinking cups that were sold at railway stations. The name “Gekkeikan” became known far and wide through sales of sake at stations and all the prizes it won at fairs.
Up until the 1800s, Kasagiya produced about 90,000 liters, so about 50,000 bottles' worth (1.8 L/bottle), but under the 11th head, Tsunekichi Okura, production increased a hundred-fold to 9 million liters.
11th-generation owner, Tsunekichi Okura
“Gekkeikan” (laurel wreath), symbolizing victory and glory (product label)
Commercialization of Bottled Sake
When barreled sake was still in its prime, sake shipped from brewers to retail shops would be blended with sake from other brands and poured into containers brought by the customers themselves. However, with the commercialization of bottled sake, products that Gekkeikan itself had bottled and labeled with its brand could now be provided direct to customers. The company came up with one new idea after the other, including the development of sake without preservatives and sake sold in small bottle with cups included (a forerunner of modern outdoor goods), the use of dark brown bottles to prevent degradation from ultraviolet light, and the exhibition at expos overseas of bottled sake in brown bottles designed in a Western style.
Small sake bottle with drinking cup
Bottled sake products
Sake Vessels
Vessels used to enjoy sake come in sets, which include a sake server, a Kan “tokkuri” for warming, and sake cups. To transport sake, sake barrels, containers, and large “tokkuri” are used. The names, shapes, and designs of these vessels has changed over time with the evolution of crafts and techniques to suit the ever-changing ways to enjoy sake.
Porcelain sake cup, “tokkuri” flask
Other Sake-related Items
Once it has been fermented and strained, sake is matured to give it a balanced, harmonious taste by storing it, and shipped in barrels or bottles. The barrels are wrapped with straw to protect them, and the wooden boxes used to transport the bottled sake display the trademarks and sake quality and are decorated with a wide range of designs, with paint imprinted using molds, or vermilion seals impressed using blocks. The Museum displays old sake coupons from Kasagiya, which are equivalent to modern gift certificates, and their blocks, along with other tools and equipment used in Edo period sake sales.
Hand-pressed hot brands
Sake coupons from Kasagiya and blocks
