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[Fūmi Zekka, Kokimurasaki]
This series is named “Fūmi Zekka.” “Fūmi Zekka” is not simply “delicious,” but a term expressing the highest level of affirmation and praise, particularly used when describing the quality of food, sake, or traditional crafts like knives. (Japanese people would recall Morinaga Caramels’ packaging upon seeing this phrase.)
What stands out is the absence of details such as production date, rice polishing ratio, or special-designation. Instead, it bears the name of a Japanese traditional color. This sake is named Kokimurasaki (deep purple). The rice variety is Aoki Sake Brewery’s specialty, Koshi-Tanrei.
Kokimurasaki R7BY offers an elegant and refined flavor befitting its given color name. It boasts remarkably rich umami. After opening, about fifteen minutes later, its sharpness increases, revealing a refined and well-balanced profile. Well-chilled, it’s a sake that tastes delicious.
This series might seem difficult for non-Japanese people, as it involves episodes related to traditional colors and stories from Japanese history. However, that’s not the case. We believe it allows people to intuitively enjoy the sake through the label colors, and for those who want to delve deeper into the sake’s essence, they can ponder what the color name signifies based on the sake’s flavor, or look into the meaning of that color.
[Kokimurasaki]
Murasaki was a representative wild grass of the Nara and Heian periods, appearing in numerous poetry anthologies and tales, including the Manyōshū. It is a perennial herb of the Murasaki family that blooms with small white flowers around June.
Kokimurasaki (deep purple) is an intensely deep purple tinged with black, standing out as one of the most prestigious colors among Japan’s traditional colors. Using the pigment shikonin extracted from the roots of murasaki, this deep hue was rare in ancient times and symbolized authority and elegance.
The backdrop to Kokimurasaki gaining special significance is the “Cap and Rank System of Twelve Levels” established by Shōtoku Taishi (Prince Umayado) in the 11th year of Empress Suiko’s reign (603 AD). In this system, rank was indicated by color, with purple shades—especially deep purple—used for the highest rank. In other words, Kokimurasaki was not merely a beautiful color but one that visually embodied virtue and order.
By the Heian period, purple became even more beloved in aristocratic culture. Sei Shōnagon wrote in The Pillow Book: “All things purple are truly wonderful—flowers, threads, paper, and all.” While Kokimurasaki itself was a color of authority, within the sensibilities of the Heian era, it was cherished as evoking intelligence, elegance, and refined charm.
[Koshi-Tanrei]
Niigata Prefecture is one of Japan’s foremost sake-producing regions. However, Niigata breweries used Yamada-Nishiki rice from other prefectures until the 1990s to brew Ginjo-shu or Daiginjo-shu.
Niigata is famous for Gohyakumangoku, a rice variety well-suited to cold regions, which has produced many masterpieces in Niigata and throughout the Hokuriku region. However, Gohyakumangoku is not suitable for high degrees of polishing and thus was not ideal for making Ginjo-shu. Among producers, there arose a strong desire to produce Ginjo-shu using locally grown rice. So, from the mid-1990s, the Niigata Prefectural Agricultural Research Center began developing new sake rice to surpass Yamada-Nishiki.
A vast number of crossbred varieties were cultivated in small quantities, quickly brewed into sake at the prefectural brewing research station, and evaluated for selection. Among them, there were lineages that repeatedly survived. This later became known as “Sake NO.72.” It was a variety crossed with Yamada-Nishiki as the maternal parent and Gohyakumangoku as the paternal parent.
Test cultivation of Sake NO.72 started in 2001, and this new variety was officially registered in September 2004 and finally named Koshi-Tanrei.
In the development of Koshi-Tanrei, brewing characteristics were prioritized over cultivation traits. Thus, Koshi-Tanrei has some cultivation issues such as tall stalks prone to lodging. However, it is well-suited to the climate of Niigata’s cold region, produces large grains, and has excellent sake brewing qualities that allow for the high polishing required for Daiginjo-shu. It has a low protein content, making it optimal for Ginjo-shu and Daiginjo-shu. The flavor is soft and full-bodied. Although its yield is lower than Gohyakumangoku, it is higher than Yamada-Nishiki.
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