The quake that shook Noto’s sake brewing tradition

Wajima, Ishikawa Pref. –

Akira Hiyoshi, his wife and 6-year-old son were returning from the customary first shrine visit of the new year and about to enter their house when the earth began to convulse.

Roof tiles on their century-old sake brewery — adjacent to their home in the city of Wajima, Ishikawa Prefecture — came raining down, and the structure began collapsing before their eyes.

“My wife said she heard me muttering ‘It’s over,’ while we stared at what was unfolding,” says the fifth-generation owner and tōji, or master brewer, of Hiyoshi Sake Brewery, which is known for its Kinpyo Shirakoma brand of sake.