Eikun Junmai Ginjo Natsu-No-Shiragiku (720 ml)

In 1915, Saito Shuzo adopted the name Eikun to mark Emperor Taisho's ascension — a deliberate act of positioning that signalled the brewery's ambition within Kyoto's Fushimi district, Japan's most historically significant soft-water brewing zone. That water source, the 'Fusui' (Shiragikusui) underground spring flowing beneath the Momoyama Hills, is designated one of Japan's top 100 water sources by the Ministry of the Environment; its low-iron, low-mineral profile is the structural reason Fushimi sake trends softer and more yielding than the harder-water Nada style across the bay.

The Natsu-No-Shiragiku ('White Chrysanthemum of Summer') is a seasonal Junmai Ginjo brewed from Kyoto-grown Iwai rice polished to 60% seimaibuai — a variety so hyper-regional that Eikun controls roughly 40% of its entire annual production, making the terroir expression genuinely unreplicable outside the prefecture. Fermentation follows traditional sandan jikomi (three-addition) cold fermentation using Kyoto-sourced yeast under the guidance of a Nanbu Toji guild brewmaster. The result is pasteurised and bottled at approximately 15–16% ABV.

What distinguishes this expression within the Eikun range is its summer-release framing: where most premium ginjo is positioned as a cold-season product, this bottling is calibrated for warm-weather service — lighter in register, with the Fusui water's softness amplifying Iwai's characteristic gentle sweetness over any assertive umami weight.