If you walk into our shop, or open our online store, you will find sake divided into two sections: Trad Sake and Craft Sake.
The first thing to say is that this is not a ranking. Neither shelf contains the “better” bottles.
Behind the split is an important legal distinction: drinks that Japanese law recognises as seishu — the legal category for sake in Japan — and rice-based drinks made with sake-brewing techniques that fall outside that definition.
Understanding that difference can make choosing a bottle much easier.
What does Japanese law define as sake?
In Japan, seishu — the legal term usually translated as sake or nihonshu — is defined by the Liquor Tax Act. In broad terms, it must be brewed from rice, rice koji and water, it must be filtered, and its alcohol content must stay below a set limit. A short list of additional ingredients is permitted, but the definition is narrow by design.
Koji is a mold, Aspergillus oryzae, cultivated on steamed rice. It converts starch into sugar so that yeast can ferment it, and it sits at the centre of Japanese brewing. In December 2024, UNESCO inscribed “Traditional knowledge and skills of sake-making with koji mold in Japan” on its Representative List of the Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity.
So the tradition is old, formally recognised, and legally defined. That last part is where things get complicated.
Why is it difficult to open a new sake brewery in Japan?
Here is the part that surprises most visitors: in Japan, you generally cannot start a new sake brewery.
A licence to produce seishu for the domestic market is subject to a supply-and-demand adjustment requirement, and in practice new licences for domestic sale are not issued. There is also a minimum annual production volume of 60 kilolitres, which is a substantial commitment for anyone starting out.
The situation loosened slightly in April 2021, when Japan introduced an export-only seishu production licence. It waives both the 60-kilolitre minimum and the supply-and-demand requirement — but, as the name says, the sake produced under it is for export. It cannot be sold domestically.
The result is that a new generation of brewers who wanted to make sake in Japan found the front door closed.
How did craft sake emerge?
Some brewers began working under different licence categories.
When a rice-based drink uses sake-brewing techniques but does not meet the legal definition of seishu — perhaps because it includes ingredients that are not permitted, or because the fermented mash is not strained — it must be sold under another tax classification.
Many craft sake products are classified as sonota no jōzōshu, meaning “other brewed alcoholic beverages”, although the exact legal category depends on the ingredients and production method.
The minimum annual production volume for this category is 6 kilolitres rather than 60, making small-scale brewing far more realistic.
“Craft sake” is therefore not a legal category. It is a modern brewing genre based on rice and traditional sake-making techniques, while allowing ingredients and methods that conventional seishu cannot use.
In June 2022, six breweries established the Craft Sake Brewery Association, with Shuhei Okazumi of Ine to Agave as its first chairman.
These breweries did not avoid the law. They simply created a new genre within the space that the law allowed.
What is the difference in the glass?
Because craft sake is not bound by the seishu definition, the range is wide. You may find rice brewed with hops, with fruit, with herbs, or unfiltered doburoku with the rice solids still in it. Many are cloudy, many are lower in alcohol, and quite a few taste closer to a farmhouse ale or a cider than to what you may picture when you hear “sake”.
Trad sake, meanwhile, is not a museum. Within the legal definition there is enormous variation — kimoto and yamahai brewing, long ageing, unpasteurised bottles, ancient rice varieties.
That last point is worth holding onto, because it complicates the neat story. Ine Mankai, made by Mukai Shuzo in Ine, Kyoto, is brewed with an ancient purple-black rice and comes out pink and sharply sweet-sour. It is legally seishu — trad sake, on our shelf — and it tastes nothing like the stereotype. The legal line and the sensory line are not the same line.
Which shelf should you choose from?
We separate the two sections to set expectations, not to limit your choice.
- If you already enjoy sake and want to explore further: Start with Trad Sake and ask about kimoto, ageing or warming.
- If you enjoy natural wine, cider or farmhouse beer: Craft Sake may feel more familiar.
- If you are looking for a recognisably Japanese gift: Trad Sake is usually the easier choice.
- If you want something difficult to find outside Japan: Ask about both shelves.
- If you are unsure: Tell us the last drink you enjoyed. That is often more useful than choosing by category.
Many disappointing first experiences with sake are simply the result of mismatched expectations.
A hop-brewed doburoku will be very different from the clean, dry sake you may have had with sushi. A mature kimoto junmai, meanwhile, may be far removed from the cold, fruity style someone else imagines when they hear the word “sake”.
Neither is better. They are simply different drinks.
At Nagahama88
On the Craft Sake side, we carry small-batch releases from breweries including Ine to Agave, Happy Taro Brewery and Lagoon Brewery.
The selection changes frequently. Alongside doburoku, you may find drinks brewed with fruit, hops, herbs, spices or other ingredients, depending on what each brewery has recently released. Rather than keeping the same bottles on the shelf throughout the year, we introduce new arrivals as they become available.
Our Trad Sake selection comes from around eight breweries across Japan. It includes everything from fresh, unpasteurised sake to mature kimoto, warming sake and bottles made with unusual rice varieties.
Producers such as Umetsu Shuzo in Tottori and Mukai Shuzo in Kyoto show how broad the category can be, but no single brewery represents the whole shelf.
Nagahama 88 is a small bottle shop in Yomitan, Okinawa, and we do not carry a wide catalogue. Everything on either shelf is there because we drank it and wanted it on our own table. The category tells you which rules the brewer was working under. It does not tell you whether we think it is good — that part, we will happily talk about in person.
In short
Trad Sake is legally classified as seishu. Craft Sake is rice-based drinks that use sake-brewing techniques while going beyond the legal boundaries of seishu.
Knowing which side a bottle comes from will not tell you how it tastes. But it will tell you roughly what the brewer was free to do, and that is a surprisingly good place to start a conversation.
FAQ
Is craft sake a lower-quality version of sake?
No. The distinction is a licensing one, not a quality one. Craft sake is often priced similarly to or above comparable seishu, partly because the breweries are small.
Is craft sake legally considered sake in Japan?
Not usually as seishu. “Craft sake” is a brewing-industry term rather than an official tax category. The legal classification of each bottle depends on its ingredients and production method.
Is all traditional sake conservative in flavour?
No. Seishu can be aged, cloudy, unpasteurised, sweet, dry, acidic or made with unusual varieties of rice.
Ine Mankai, for example, is legally classified as seishu despite its pink colour and distinctive sweet-and-sour character.
Is doburoku the same as sake?
Not legally. Doburoku is an unstrained rice-based alcoholic drink that contains visible rice solids. Because the fermented mash has not been strained, it does not meet the legal definition of seishu.
Related articles
Products in this article
Craft Sake
We carry small-batch releases from producers including Ine to Agave, Happy Taro Brewery and Lagoon Brewery.
Depending on the season and the latest releases, the selection may include doburoku and rice-based drinks brewed with fruit, hops, herbs, spices or other ingredients.
- Category: Craft Sake
- Producers include: Ine to Agave, Happy Taro Brewery and Lagoon Brewery
- Availability: Changes frequently
- Sales: In store / online store
Trad Sake
Our Trad Sake selection ranges from fresh, unpasteurised sake to mature kimoto, warming sake, cloudy styles and bottles made with unusual rice varieties. Producers include Umetsu Shuzo in Tottori and Mukai Shuzo in Kyoto, alongside a changing selection from other breweries.
- Category: Seishu
- Styles include: Junmai, kimoto, aged sake, nama and warming sake
- Availability: Changes with new releases and vintages
- Sales: In store / online store
Ine Mankai
Brewed with ancient purple-black rice, pink in the glass and sweet-sour in a way that surprises most people. Legally seishu, and nothing like the stereotype.
- Category: Seishu
- Producer: Mukai Shuzo (Ine, Kyoto Prefecture)
- Availability: In store / online store
In Japan, alcohol is for those aged 20 and over. Please drink responsibly.