Sugihara Shuzo Co., Ltd.

Brewery of “Ibi”

With an annual production of only about 30 koku (approximately 3,000 bottles of 1.8 liters) in the 25th brewing year, this is the smallest sake brewery in Japan. The current fifth-generation owner, Yoshiki Sugihara, joined the brewery in 2003 after spending three years with the Japan Overseas Cooperation Volunteers. Driven by a desire to preserve the Japanese culture of sake, he returned to his family’s brewery in Ibi-gun, Gifu Prefecture.

He persuaded the previous generation, who were considering closing the brewery, to continue. He started by repairing the dilapidated brewery building himself. Without training at other breweries, he went through a process of trial and error, accumulating and verifying a large amount of data daily.

In collaboration with local contract farmers, he successfully cultivated “Ibi no Homare,” a sake rice variety created through 20 years of research by Hiromoto Takahashi, a rice enthusiast and staff member at the Gifu Prefectural Agricultural Experiment Station. In 2009, “Ibi” was born.

About Sugihara Shuzo Co., Ltd.

Brewery Name	Sugihara Shuzo Co., Ltd.
Location	Ono Town, Ibi-gun, Gifu Prefecture
Flagship Brands	Ibi
Origin of the Brand Name	Named after the local area, Ibi-gun, and with the idea of “shooting for beautiful sake,” the name “Ibi” was chosen. Additionally, the “Homare” in “Ibi no Homare,” the original sake rice, is named after Mr. Sugihara’s wife.