What Kizakura does

Kizakura Co., Ltd. (黄桜株式会社) is a privately held, family-controlled Japanese beverage company founded in October 1925 in Fushimi, Kyoto. The company manufactures and sells Japanese sake (its core product), craft beer (since 1995), whisky and gin (since 2018 via Tamba Distillery), shochu, and related food products, operating from its main brewing facility at the Misu Factory in Kyoto and the Tamba Distillery at 300m elevation in Tamba Sasayama, Hyogo Prefecture. Technical capabilities include the proprietary Kizakura Dry Yeast strain, traditional Kimoto and Yamahai brewing methods using two selected lactic acid bacteria strains, a five-stage brewing process, and maturation using Fushimi spring water — Japan's first recognized spring water landmark — alongside diverse whisky cask programs including bourbon, sherry, mizunara oak, and Japanese cedar casks.

The company distributes its products through a hybrid model combining four regional branches (Tokyo, Kansai, Chubu, Kanto) and four sales offices (Sapporo, Sendai, Fukuoka, Chugoku-Shikoku), direct-to-consumer e-commerce on its own shop, Rakuten, Yahoo, and Amazon, plus six direct-operated consumer venues including Kappa Country (Kyoto's first craft beer restaurant, opened 1995), Shofuro (Kyoto cuisine), and Fushimigura (Japan's first combined sake-and-beer brewery tour facility, opened 2016). Pricing spans entry-level sake (¥122 for 100ml) through craft beer (¥350-500 highball cans), premium whisky (¥5,000-15,000 single malts), and restaurant experiences averaging ¥3,000-6,000 per guest.

Revenue for fiscal year ending September 2025 was ¥9.4 billion (~US$62M) on a headcount of 211 full-time employees as of January 2025, with the company approaching its 100th anniversary in October 2025. The company is led by Chairman Matsumoto Shinji and President Matsumoto Yuji, both from the founding Matsumoto family, with no venture capital, private equity, or institutional investor involvement. Kizakura pursues selective co-development partnerships (e.g., craft gin with century-old Honke Nishio Yatsuhashi) and does not pursue M&A, having built growth through internal product extension into adjacent alcohol categories rather than acquisition.

Name

Kizakura

Legal name

黄桜株式会社 (Kizakura Co., Ltd.)

Website

https://kizakura.co.jp

Company type

Private

Founded year

1925

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

101–250 employees

Short description

Kizakura is a privately held, family-controlled Japanese beverage company founded in 1925, producing sake, craft beer, whisky, and gin in Kyoto for Japanese consumers through retail, e-commerce, and direct-operated restaurants and tourism facilities.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Sake Brewing

NAICS

Beverage Manufacturing (3121), Distilleries (312140)

SIC

Beverages (2080), Malt Beverages (2082), Food And Kindred Products (2000), Wholesale-Beer, Wine & Distilled Alcoholic Beverages (5180)

akta.pro primary industry

Sake, Soju & Other Asian Alcoholic Beverages Producers & Brands (CRADAIAF)

akta.pro secondary industry

Beer, Wine & Spirits Wholesale Distribution (CRAOAIAA)

Keywords

• Japanese sake brewing
• Craft beer production
• Whisky distilling
• Craft gin distillery
• Traditional brewing methods

Headquarters

HQ city

Kyoto

HQ country

Japan

HQ region

Asia

Offices8 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2C

Offering type

Hardware or Manufacturing

Cost components

Supply Chain, Operations, Personnel, Marketing or Sales, Infrastructure, Technology or R&D

Revenue model

1. Sake and Alcohol Sales: Core revenue from manufacturing and selling Japanese sake, with product categories including Daiginjo, Junmai Daiginjo, Junmai Ginja, Ginja, Honjozo, Futsu-shu, Kimoto/Yamahai, sparkling sake, local beer, whisky, shochu, and food products. Manufacturing code: M, located in Kyoto.
2. Restaurant Operations: Revenue from direct-operated restaurants including Kappa Country (beer restaurant), Shofuro (Kyoto cuisine), Fushimigura (factory tour with restaurant), and Kappa Shop. Restaurants offer sake, beer, and Kyoto cuisine directly to consumers.
3. E-commerce Sales: Direct online sales through official Kizakura shop, Rakuten, Yahoo, and Amazon marketplace channels.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion2 records

Distribution channels6 records

Marketing channels6 records

Core offering

Kizakura manufactures and sells Japanese sake (Daiginjo, Junmai, Ginjo, Honjozo, Futsushu, Kimoto/Yamahai, sparkling), craft beer (LUCKY CAT/DOG series, Kyoto Beermaster), single malt whisky and craft gin (Tamba Distillery), shochu, and food products. The company also operates direct restaurants (Kappa Country, Shofuro, Fushimigura) and factory tour experiences at its Fushimi and Tamba facilities, with distribution via its own e-commerce platforms (official shop, Rakuten, Yahoo, Amazon) and four regional branches across Japan.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• 丹波蒸溜所 (Tamba Distillery): Whiskey and gin distillery located in Tamba Sasayama, Hyogo Prefecture, producing single malt whisky and craft gin products
• 伏水蔵 (Fushimigura)
• 金印黄桜 (Kin-in Kizakura)

Products and services

• Kizakura 辛口一献 (Karakuchi Ikkon) Dry Sake Popular dry sake line ranked No. 1 in Japan's dry sake category (2022–2024 cumulative sales). Available in sizes from 100ml (¥122) to 3000ml (¥2,346); 14% alcohol, made with proprietary Kizakura Dry Yeast. Targeted at everyday sake consumers seeking quality dry sake at accessible prices.
• 金印黄桜 (Kin-in Kizakura) Sake Signature everyday sake launched 1966 as the company's representative accessible drinking sake. Available in 300ml (¥350), 720ml (¥795), and 1800ml (¥1,925) sizes; 16% alcohol, ordinary sake classification. Marketed as first-grade quality at second-grade pricing.
• 黄桜 ペルル (Perle) Sparkling Sake Sparkling sake using wine yeast, 500ml bottle, 8% alcohol, Special Junmai classification, 70% rice polishing. Sweet/sour taste profile. Named after the French word for pearl. Won Gold Prize in the Sparkling Sake division of the 2023 Wine Glass Award.
• Tamba Single Malt Whisky Series Single malt whisky line distilled at the Tamba Distillery (established 2018, 300m elevation in Tamba Sasayama, Hyogo). Includes first edition (2022) plus limited annual editions featuring diverse cask finishes (bourbon, sherry, mizunara oak, red wine, Japanese cedar). 47% alcohol, 700ml bottles priced ¥5,000–15,000+. Multiple World Whisky Awards and TWSC medals.
• 黄桜 Craft Gin Series (花物語, 不知火, 木頭ゆず) Craft gin series featuring Japanese botanicals: 花物語 (Hanamonogatari, 2021) with turmeric cherry, Uji matcha, yuzu, sansho; 不知火 (Shiranui, 2024) with shiranui citrus peel; 木頭ゆず (Kitou Yuzu, 2026, scheduled) with Tokushima yuzu. 47% alcohol. 花物語 won Bronze at TWSC 2022 Spirits Division.
• LUCKY CAT / LUCKY DOG / LUCKY DOG CHICKEN Craft Beer Series Craft beer series using unfiltered brewing method. LUCKY CAT (350ml can/330ml bottle, 5.0% alcohol) with light body and yuzu/sansho; LUCKY DOG with Citra hops fruity aroma; LUCKY CHICKEN (5.5% alcohol) with mosaic hops. Marketed to craft beer enthusiasts seeking Japanese craft beer with local character.
• Kappa Country (カッパカントリー) Direct-Operated Beer Restaurant Direct-operated craft beer restaurant in Fushimi, Kyoto, opened 1995 as Kyoto's first craft beer restaurant. 160 seats, average budgets ¥1,000 lunch / ¥3,000 regular / ¥4,500 banquet. Serves exclusive and limited Kizakura craft beers alongside traditional cuisine. Includes memorial hall and shop.
• Shofuro (祥風楼) Traditional Kyoto Cuisine Restaurant Direct-operated traditional Kyoto cuisine restaurant near Takase River, 2 minutes from Kawaramachi Station. Kaiseki courses from ¥5,000 (tax included); lunch bento from ¥2,000 (tax included). Average budgets ¥2,000 lunch / ¥6,000 regular / ¥6,000 banquet. Serves Kizakura sake paired with Kyoto cuisine.
• Fushimigura (伏水蔵) Factory Tour & Restaurant Direct-operated factory tour facility and restaurant at the Misu Factory (Fushimi, Kyoto), opened 2016. Japan's first facility where sake brewing and craft beer brewing can be toured simultaneously. Combines experiential tourism with sake and craft beer tastings and on-site dining.
• Cask Magic Blended Malt (杉樽フィニッシュ Japanese Cedar Cask Finish) Blended malt whisky finished in Japanese cedar (sugi) casks previously used for sake storage. First product in the Cask Magic series. No coloring or chill filtration. Won Silver Medal at World Whisky Awards 2025 (Blended Malt, Non-age statement).
• Sakura Chronos Blended Malt Blended malt whisky combining Kizakura malt whisky with Scotch whiskies, featuring smooth, sweet aroma with honey and pear notes (2023 edition). No coloring or chill filtration. Annual release under the Sakura Chronos label.
• 黄桜 生酛山廃 (Kimoto/Yamahai) Sake Sake produced using traditional Kimoto/Yamahai brewing method with two proprietary selected lactic acid bacteria strains. Improved cultivation cycle taking approximately one month to cultivate healthy yeast.

Quantifiable outcome

• No.1 in dry sake category - 辛口一献 ranked top in Japan for dry sake by sales amount (2022-2024 cumulative)
• +1 more outcomes

Named customers1 record

Segments3 records

Ideal customer profiles3 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Integration1 record

Feature4 records

Partnerships

Two partnerships are on record, tiered minor.

• 本家西尾八ッ橋株式会社 (Honke Nishio Yatsuhashi Co., Ltd.)minorStrategic or Co-development PartnerCollaboration on craft gin product '八ツ橋' - uses traditional yatsuhashi ingredients (nichi-kon, anko, rice flour) from the century-old yatsuhashi maker combined with Kizakura's sake brewing expertise and米粉 from sake production process.
• 東山酒造 (Higashiyama Brewery)minorOthersSake producer featured at Shofuro restaurant, representing local Kyoto breweries alongside Kizakura's own products. Offers traditional Kyoto-style sake brewing with focus on tradition and quality.

Scale indicators6 records

Recent moves8 records

Expansion highlights4 records

Direct peers

• Kubota / Asahi Sake (朝日酒造): Niigata-based Asahi Sake produces the premium Kubota brand, a craft/Junmai Daiginjo focused competitor to Kizakura's premium sake lines. It shares Kizakura's strategy of combining traditional brewing expertise with modern branding and selective restaurant distribution.
• Ozeki Sake (大関酒造): Ozeki is a major Hyogo-based sake producer with broad portfolio of Futsu-shu through Daiginjo, plus shochu and mirin. It competes with Kizakura across mass-market and premium sake segments domestically and in export markets.
• Gekkeikan Sake (月桂冠): Gekkeikan is Kizakura's most direct competitor: another long-established Kyoto (Fushimi) sake brewery founded in 1637, producing a similar portfolio of sake, shochu, plum wine, and mirin. The two share the same Fushimi spring water source and compete head-to-head in premium sake, restaurants, and export markets.
• Hakutsuru Sake (白鶴酒造): Hakutsuru is one of Japan's largest sake breweries, headquartered in Kobe (Nada) - the other great traditional sake region. It offers a directly overlapping product range (Junmai, Daiginjo, Honjozo) and competes with Kizakura across retail and restaurant channels.
• Asahi Shuzo / Dassai (旭酒造): Yamaguchi-based Asahi Shuzo produces Dassai, Japan's most recognized premium Junmai Daiginjo brand. While positioned upmarket from Kizakura, the two compete for the same craft/premium sake consumer and restaurant placements, and Asahi Shuzo has aggressively expanded globally - setting the export template Kizakura has not yet pursued.
• Nikka Whisky (ニッカウヰスキー): Nikka operates Japan's second-largest whisky distillery network (Yoichi, Miyagikyo) and is the most direct peer to Kizakura's Tamba Distillery in the Japanese single malt category. Both target craft whisky enthusiasts and compete in the same World Whisky Awards and TWSC competitions.
• Masumi / Miyasaka Brewing (宮坂醸造): Miyasaka Brewing in Nagano produces the premium Masumi brand and is widely credited with developing yeast #7 that revolutionized modern Japanese sake. It overlaps Kizakura on proprietary yeast-driven sake craft positioning and competes in similar premium/specialty retail and restaurant channels.

Broad incumbents

• Suntory (サントリー): Suntory is Japan's largest spirits conglomerate, producing Kakubin whisky, Premium Malt's beer, and a portfolio of sake (including collaborations) that overlaps Kizakura's beer and whisky categories at far larger scale. It competes both as a direct beverage manufacturer and as a buyer of premium Japanese whisky barrels.
• Kirin Brewery (キリンビール): Kirin is one of Japan's major brewers with Ichiban Shibori and a growing portfolio of craft beer labels and spirits (including Fuji Whisky). It competes with Kizakura's craft beer and emerging whisky categories through superior distribution scale and marketing budget.
• Asahi Breweries (アサヒビール): Asahi Breweries produces Super Dry and an expanding line of craft/premium beer and whisky offerings. As a broad incumbent, it competes with Kizakura's LUCKY CAT craft beer and Tamba whisky through national accounts, marketing scale, and restaurant chain placements.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/kizakura_kappa_
• Facebookfacebook.com/kizakura.jp
• Instagraminstagram.com/kizakura_kappa

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles2 records

Subsidiaries1 record

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Kizakura