Hōken Shuzō is a sake brewery founded in 1871 in Nigata, a district of Kure in Japan’s Hiroshima Prefecture. The name of its sake, Hōken (“treasured sword”), recalls the craftspeople who once made swords and files in the area.

Water springs up within the brewery after being naturally filtered through the Mount Noro area. Master brewer Tetsuya Doi uses it to make sake in small batches, relying especially on Hattan Nishiki rice grown in Hiroshima. His aim is a clean, dry sake that complements a meal without overpowering its flavors.