Kirishima Shuzo

Kirishima Shuzo Co., Ltd. is a Japanese alcoholic beverage manufacturer based in Miyakonojo, Miyazaki. Its origins trace to May 1916, when founder Kichisuke Enatsu began shochu production under the predecessor name Kawahigashi Enatsu Shoten. The company was reorganized as Kirishima Shuzo Co., Ltd. in April 1949, and since April 1, 2015 it has been a wholly owned subsidiary of Kirishima Holdings Co., Ltd. Its business covers the manufacture and sale of alcoholic beverages and a restaurant business, and its product range includes imo shochu, mugi and rice shochu, craft beer, and barrel-aged spirits.

In May 1916 (Taisho 5), founder Kichisuke Enatsu began shochu manufacturing at the predecessor Kawahigashi Enatsu Shoten in Kawahigashi, Miyakonojo, Miyazaki. In August 1933 the company registered the trademark "Kirishima". In August 1945 Junichi Enatsu took over the family business, and in April 1949 the company was reorganized as Kirishima Shuzo Co., Ltd., with Junichi Enatsu becoming president. In 1955 the company succeeded in drilling its first well, later named Kirishima Rekkasui. In 1957, at the Kyushu Old-Style Shochu Council in Hitoyoshi, Kumamoto, Junichi Enatsu proposed the name "honkaku shochu" for shochu otsu-rui. In September 1963 the main factory was newly built and relocated, becoming a mechanized, rationalized plant. From 1965 to 1970 the company began using the Kogane Sengan sweet potato as the raw ingredient for imo shochu. In September 1971, with rising sales, the factory was expanded and became, as a single factory dedicated solely to honkaku shochu, the largest scale in Japan at the time. From 1972 to 1982 the company improved the horizontal still "Enatsu-style E-II still" (improved and expanded in 1981), expanded koji-making equipment, and introduced vacuum distillation equipment. In March 1982 it opened the Kirishima Natural Farm at the foot of Mount Kirishima. In May 1983 it opened a Tokyo branch. In 1984 it launched the mugi shochu "Ho". In March 1985 it opened an Osaka branch, and in July 1985 it established a paper-pack filling plant building. In April 1986 it launched paper-pack "Kirishima". In October 1986 the Shibita Factory was completed, introducing state-of-the-art equipment ahead of the industry. In 1986 it launched the 70th-anniversary commemorative bottle "Kichisuke". In April 1988 it opened a Fukuoka branch. In April 1996 Juniyuki Enatsu became the third president; in May 1996 the company marked its 80th anniversary, setting out a "New Promise", corporate philosophy, and management policy, and the "Kiri no Kura Hall" was completed at the Shibita Factory with a oak barrel storage and multipurpose hall. In 1996 it launched the 80th-anniversary commemorative bottle "Kiri no Kura". In December 1996 it opened a Miyazaki branch. In July 1997 the cultural facility "Kiri no Kura Museum" was completed within the Shibita Factory. In June 1998 it launched the black-koji honkaku imo shochu "Kurokirishima" as a Miyazaki Prefecture limited release, and in July 1998 it opened the craft beer factory and restaurant "Kiri no Kura Brewery" within Kirishima Factory Garden. In May 1999 "Kurokirishima" was released nationwide. In May 2000 the original company building was relocated within Kirishima Factory Garden and named "Kirishima Sogyo Kinenkan Kichisuke". In November 2000 the company obtained ISO14001 environmental management system certification, and the "Kirishima Festival" was held at Kirishima Factory Garden (held twice yearly, spring and autumn, thereafter). In February 2003 "Kurokirishima" received the Excellent Hit Award in the alcoholic beverages category of the FY2002 Food Hit Awards. In July 2003 a shochu lees recycling plant was completed within Kirishima Factory Garden (Kirishima Recycle Cooperative).

• Kurokirishima

  Black-koji honkaku imo shochu, launched in June 1998 as a Miyazaki-limited release and released nationwide in May 1999.

• KIRISHIMA No.8

  A product featured in the 110th anniversary limited release "Hyakuju".

1. 1霧島酒造株式会社kirishima.co.jp
2. 2霧島酒造の歴史 | 企業情報 | 霧島酒造株式会社kirishima.co.jp
3. 3会社概要 | 企業情報 | 霧島酒造株式会社kirishima.co.jp
4. 4企業情報 | 霧島酒造株式会社kirishima.co.jp