Founded in 1550, Konishi Shuzo has the honour of being the oldest sake brewery owned and managed by the same family, the Konishi family. Hyogo Prefecture is renowned as being one of the most important sake producing regions in Japan and the Konishi family first started making sake in Itami as a side-line to selling medicine; they were the first to start producing clear sake (an accidental discovery, made when ash was mistakenly dropped into a fresh batch!) Itami’s importance as a sake-producing area grew during the late 16th and 17th century, especially once the capital was moved from Kyoto to Edo (now Tokyo), to meet this demand the Konishi family launched a shipping company to swiftly transport their sake directly to Edo. Throughout history, the Konishi family have been on the forefront of sake production and innovation. Early adoption of new technology and methodology has allowed them to remain one of the most popular breweries in Japan. Their flagship brand - Shirayuki - is well known, but it is their new brand (since 2012) which goes under the family name - Konishi - that is reserved for their latest innovations, where they bring 450 years of brewing expertise to bear. Tengu Sake is delighted to bring two Konishi branded products to the UK.