202511Month29day.

Chuo Ward, Niigata CityANAWe lined up at the reception venue at the Crowne Plaza Hotel.59Books of Niigata sake.

Upper, Central, and Lower Etsuchi regions, Sado,59What all of the sake brewed by the brewery have in common is that they are made from the sake rice "Koshitanrei."

This day marks the birth of sake brewing rice "Koshitanrei."20The anniversary ceremony was held, and participants from Niigata Prefecture, the Niigata Prefectural Brewing Research Institute, the Sake Rice Project Team, producers, JA, sake breweries, the organizers, the Niigata Prefectural Sake Brewers Association's Rice Countermeasures Committee, and the Koshitanrei Cultivation Research Association Secretariat, who have been involved in the development of Koshitanrei up to now, attended.80More than a million people gathered.

A photo of the 2013 premium rice displayed in a corner of the venue

Best quality brown rice from the 2025 harvest

A sample of 40% polished rice was also on display.

21% polished rice. One of the features of Koshitanrei is that it can withstand high polishing.

"Sake72From "No." to "Koshitanrei"

About KoshitanreiSAKETOPICS 2024Years11Monthly issue “The dramatic story behind the birth of "Koshitanrei"As I introduced in "2004(Heisei16It was named "Koshitanrei" by then Governor Ikuo Hirayama in 1945.20More than a year has passed, and it has been a very busy 20 years.

In his opening remarks at the commemorative ceremony held prior to the social gathering, Toshiharu Ohira, president of the Niigata Sake Brewers Association, reflected on the past as follows:

 

"I still don't drink alcohol.72When the sake was still called "No. 1," I was allowed to try it and was given an explanation. They said that the variety they chose after trying out various crossbreeds was a cross between Yamada Nishiki and Gohyakumangoku, which resulted in a well-balanced product. I still remember saying "This is good" when I tasted it. It had a good balance that was a little closer to Niigata than the full-bodied Yamada Nishiki. It was light, yet had a deep flavor. I felt that they had created something new."

　Chairman Ohira once again expressed his gratitude for the fact that, based on the lessons learned from "Ipponjime," which was developed before "Koshitanrei," producers, sake breweries, and people from various backgrounds formed a project team to develop Koshitanrei and continue to work toward producing even better sake rice.

 

At the ceremony, Professor Kazuyuki Kobayashi of the Faculty of Applied Life Sciences at Niigata University of Pharmacy gave a keynote speech titled "The development history of Koshitanrei and key points for high-quality production."

The research collaboration between the Niigata Prefectural Crop Research Center and the Niigata Prefectural Brewery Research Institute has been strengthened.1996(Heisei8) ~97(Heisei9He spoke about the start of the joint development in 2011, and gave a detailed explanation of the characteristics of the Koshitanrei development and the difficulties encountered during the process.

Test brewing and large-scale trial production

As they developed varieties that met the needs of sake breweries with the aim of going all-Niigata, Koshitanrei was very different from previous sake rice development. "We kept the ease of cultivation for producers, which had been important up until now, to a bare minimum, and prioritized sake brewing characteristics above all else," says Kobayashi.

"The key to cultivar development is how to find and efficiently select plants with the desired characteristics.12~15From the early stages of breeding, the Prefectural Brewing Experiment Station and the Prefectural Sake Brewers Association mutually confirmed the sake brewing characteristics, repeatedly conducting test brewing at the experiment station and narrowing down promising strains and candidate varieties. Furthermore, in the final stage of variety development, manufacturers serving on the Sake Brewers Association's technical committee, such as Tsugawa and Murakami, and producers in Kita Ward (formerly Toyosaka City), conducted large-scale trial production on a practical scale, allowing for the accumulation of data. This ultimate sake rice, combining the excellent rice-polishing characteristics of Yamadanishiki with the gentle, gentle water absorption characteristics inherited from Gohyakumangoku, was born as a groundbreaking variety, and full-scale production has begun.

Our motto is "Any defect that can be overcome by changing the cultivation method is not a fatal defect."

The hardships continued after that.

"Koshitanrei" was selected with brewing characteristics as the top priority, so it is a difficult variety to cultivate and would have been abandoned in previous breeding methods.

However, they overcame this problem with the motto, "A defect that can be overcome by changing the cultivation method is not a fatal defect."1956(Showa31This famous quote was used in 2003 when breeding the difficult-to-cultivate Koshihikari rice. The pride of rice growers in Niigata Prefecture was embodied in these words.

Since then, skilled producers have registered, a cultivation study group has been established, and sake breweries have also joined, maintaining high quality and continuing to evolve.2009(Heisei21In 2011, the "Koshitanrei" development group was awarded the Niigata Nippo Culture Award in recognition of the trinity initiative of the Niigata Prefectural Agricultural Research Institute, the Niigata Prefectural Brewing Experiment Station, and the Niigata Prefectural Sake Brewers Association.

Even now, they continue to hold cultivation study meetings, analyze rice from all producers at the prefectural brewing testing center, and publish the results to all producers and sake breweries, as they strive to improve themselves.

"Using such wonderful Koshitanrei as an ingredient, each brewery will use their proud techniques to create Shikomi, and I hope the world of Niigata sake will expand, inspiring people," said Kobayashi, while also touching on the future.

"20Years have passed since then. To solidify this position, new projects have been launched. Development has also begun on sake rice varieties that are resistant to high temperatures and have stable sake-making properties. Using the latest technology, it is an extremely difficult challenge, but there are high hopes for the development of even better sake rice varieties produced in the prefecture. Our initiatives are still ongoing."

New Characters

The keynote speech was given by Mr. Kobayashi.2017(Heisei29) from the year2025(Reiwa7Yoshiki Watanabe of Watanabe Shuzoten (Itoigawa City) produced premium rice by 2013 and was awarded the prize on this day.

Reiwa2annual production·4Watanabe, who produced premium rice in the yearly harvest, is a Koshitanrei grower and says, "Koshitanrei's in-house cultivation　2008He spoke under the title "From the start of planting in 2000 to the present."

"Koshitanrei is more difficult to cultivate than Gohyakumangoku. However, the quality of the sake it produces is different, so it's an important variety to use as a variation. When you use Koshitanrei, you can make a truly wonderful sake. Its character is clearly different from Gohyakumangoku," he said, explaining the significance of Koshitanrei's existence, and expressing great expectations for the potential of this sake rice, saying, "The greatest feature of Koshitanrei is that it is well suited to aging." At the same time, he spoke passionately about future challenges, such as the issue of successors and how to deal with high temperatures.

"My role is to create the foundation, the basis, that will make young people want to work in this field with hope for the future. This is not something that can be done by one company alone. I think the key is collaboration and sharing problems. I feel happy to be able to make sake and drink delicious sake, and today I would like to talk about your ``Koshitanrei'' sake," he concluded.

 

On this day, along with Watanabe, the person who received the award as a special rice producer was Susumu Homma (Heisei29Tetsuo Kawakami of the Chuetsu branch (Heisei30Annual Production/Reiwa1annual production).

Seed producer Naoaki Itagaki was also recognized.17He has been working as the only producer cultivating Koshitanrei seeds for 2018. At the social gathering after the ceremony, Itagaki said, "I always feel a great deal of responsibility and pressure, but today is the most stressful day. I can really feel how many people are involved in Koshitanrei, and it makes me feel that my work is worthwhile." He said he was interested in sake made with Koshitanrei, so he looked at the label and bought it and started drinking it.

"primary school6My son says he wants to become a rice farmer. I want to pave the way so that the baton can be passed on to the next generation," Itagaki said with a smile.

59 bottles of Koshitanrei sake shining with pride

The social gathering began with a toast from Yoshihei Saito, former chairman of the Prefectural Sake Brewers Association. Everyone shared Koshitanrei sake, made in collaboration between producers and sake breweries, and those involved in the project reflected on the hardships they faced and shared the joys they gained from it, filling the venue with smiles.

 

 

Also present at the event were Kenichi Watanabe, who served as director of the Prefectural Brewing Testing Station during the development of Koshitanrei, and Yoshihito Nabekura, a specialist researcher who was responsible for the repeated test brewing.

The two smiled as they recalled the brutal experience. Watanabe also shared an anecdote about how Koshitanrei has impacted the industry.

"The year after receiving the Niigata Nippo Culture Award,22Until then, at the National New Sake Tasting Competition held each brewing year, the judging had been divided into categories based on whether or not Yamada Nishiki rice was used, but this distinction was abolished."

Documents from the organizers state that the reason for the abolition was that sake rice other than Yamadanishiki had grown and the rate of gold medal winners had increased. "It is no exaggeration to say that 'Koshitanrei' changed the system," Watanabe said proudly.

Yoshiki Watanabe, who gave the keynote speech, said, "Koshitanrei is a treasure of Niigata."

"Niigata Prefecture has acquired a treasure. If we can use it carefully and preserve the farmers who grow it without expecting too much from it, it will become an even more attractive character for sake."

 

At the end of his opening remarks, Chairman Ohira said, "I think that in the near future, the time will come when this rice will be freely produced all over the country. However, our connections and what we have done so far will be our advantage, and we will continue to make better and better rice. We will continue to research and evolve so that it can adapt to changes in the weather and other factors. I hope that this rice will remain that way."

 

Everyone who participated in the 20th anniversary event reflected on the significance of the existence of "Koshitanrei," which they love as if it were their own child.30Year,40We confirmed that we will continue to move forward as one team, overcoming difficulties as we move towards the new year.1It was the day.

 

 

 

Neil

"CushuNotebook "" From NiigataR"Editor-in-chief

Mariko Takahashi

cushu.jp