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Maruishi Brewing Company
Maruishi Brewing Company’s Nito brand embodies the desire to do it all. Born at the end of the 17th century and rebuilt after World War II, the brewery’s four-person brewing team has modernized their mission: Make sake that perfectly balances seemingly impossible, contradictory flavors.
- Location Aichi prefecture
- Founded 1690
- Known for Balanced, food-friendly, visionary sake
- Popular choice Nito - Omachi 55 - Usunigori Nama Sparkling
Aichi prefecture
Nito - Omachi 55 - Usunigori Nama Sparkling
$47.00
Catching Two Hares: Over 330 Years of Resilience
Operating in Aichi prefecture since 1690, Maruishi Brewing Company has weathered immense challenges, including rebuilding from a surviving miso warehouse after World War II air raids. Today, a team of just four brewers honors that resilience through relentless dedication. Their flagship Nito brand, meaning “two hares,” defies the proverb, “He who runs after two hares catches neither.” Instead, they insist on catching both, proving that seemingly impossible, contradictory flavor profiles can be harmonized in every sip.
A hometown connection and a shared vision
In 2026, a mutual acquaintance introduced our CEO to Hideki Fukada, the president of Maruishi Brewing Company. When they met at the brewery, they instantly hit it off, largely because our CEO grew up incredibly close to the brewery’s location in Okazaki. Fukada is a brilliant leader who rarely appears in the media. He possesses exceptional business sense, creating the Nito concept and making equipment investments with a vision for decades ahead. Resonating with our mission, he agreed to let Palate Project directly import their unpasteurized sake via our Fresh From Brewery initiative.
The philosophy of the two hares
In 2015, Fukada launched the Nito brand and entrusted its brewing to brewmaster Kunimitsu Katabe, aiming to challenge the limits of sake and craft brews that people both inside and outside of Japan can enjoy. Creating sake that can encapsulate it all in harmony — sweet and dry, heavy and light, complex and clean — is the true meaning of the two hares that adorn every bottle.
To achieve this, the brewers meticulously control their environment, such as pressing the sake in a room chilled to 41 degrees Fahrenheit to lock in fresh carbonation. They even intentionally embrace subtle bitterness to pair beautifully with meals. When you try Nito sake, the brewery would like you to first sip it on its own, and then with food. This way, you can capture two different experiences.
A tiny team makes history
Despite operating with a remarkably small team of just four people making sake, their insatiable curiosity extends to regional revitalization. This is evident in their work with Banzai, a local, historical rice variety offered at the November 1915 Daijosai — a highly important, once-in-a-lifetime imperial ceremony for a new emperor. By the 21st century, cultivation of the strain had long ceased, but amid a local initiative to revive it and expand its utilization, Maruishi Brewing Company took up the challenge to brew sake with it. Partnering with a local research institution for technical rice analysis, Maruishi leveraged their high-level brewing techniques to make this a reality, successfully creating a new Banzai rice sake in 2014.
Why this matters
We chose this brewery because their story proves that disaster can be a catalyst for stunning innovation. Supporting Maruishi Brewing Company means championing a tiny team that fearlessly challenges conventional brewing wisdom and plans for a future of possibilities. When you taste their nama sake exclusively at Palate Project, you experience the absolute freshest expression of their art, brought directly from Okazaki to your table.
