果蔵_KAGURA

150 Years of Tradition Creates 600 Innovations,
Turning 'Mottainai' into Special Liqueurs

Applying sake-brewing techniques that have continued since 1868 to fruit liqueurs, we have created 600 innovative recipes. We transform 'mottainai' (waste) that cannot be sold in the market into special liqueurs through the farmers' passion and our technology, creating new value.

KAGURA
- A Story That Began with a Single Plum

Mottainai becomes special liqueurs
Transforming'mottainai' fruits that cannot be sold in the market into special liqueurs. The farmers' passion and our technology create new value.

The Day a Farmer Brought Us Plums

In the spring of 2000, we still knew nothing.
We had no idea that a single plum would change the fate of our brewery.

Kitaoka Honten has been a traditional sake brewery since its founding in 1868, continuing to preserve sake "Yatagarasu" in the land of Nara and Yoshino. But times were definitely changing. In 2001, when Kirin released "HYOKETSU" creating a new category of fruit and alcohol, we had already begun small experiments.

The catalyst was a consultation from a rice farmer in Nara Prefecture.
"We have B-grade green plums and ripe plums that can't be sold in the market. Can't we do something about it?"
These words opened the door to our new challenge.

The Weight of the Word "Mottainai"

At first, we simply made plum wine. But we quickly realized.
Making existing products would just get us caught up in price competition.
We needed something special that only we could create.

After trial and error, "Yoshino Monogatari Ume" was born. It's a liqueur that stands apart from conventional plum wines with 9% alcohol content and 32% fruit juice. It perfectly blends the sourness of green plums with the umami of ripe plums, enjoyable straight, on the rocks, or with soda. It was truly "plum wine that isn't plum wine ( Umeshu )."

This small success broadened our horizons. When we reached out to other farmers, we discovered there were many "mottainai" fruits in the same way.

Peaches from Arakawa River in Wakayama Prefecture, Akihime strawberries from Nara Prefecture, and more. Each and every one of these became treasures to us.

600 Recipes, Each with Its Own Story

Today, our fruit liqueur recipes exceed 600 varieties.
Looking at the numbers alone might be surprising, but each one has its own story.

7-degree dice-cut, 9-degree grated, 25-degree "oni-oroshi" (rough-grated). We adjust the alcohol content according to the fruit processing method and juice content. This isn't just a technical adjustment. It's our answer to bringing out the maximum individuality of each fruit.

For the Hokkaido series, we used apples from Yoichi and yogurt from Bocca Farm. For izakayas, we developed "Tokimeki Kajitsu" and "Shun no Irodori" and even created sour bases.

Listening to customer voices and sensing market changes, we have continued running.

The Scene I Saw at a Café

One day, during an overseas business trip, I saw young customers lining up to buy tea at a café like Starbucks. Various teas like matcha, jasmine tea, hojicha, green tea, and oolong tea were being enjoyed in various ways.

"This is our specialty"

I had that intuition. 20-degree alcohol tea series, 9-degree plum wine-based tea series. For bars, restaurants, retail stores, and izakayas. We developed products to meet each need.

"KAGURA" Takes Flight to the World

In 2018, we began overseas exports.

According to the National Tax Agency, liqueur exports are growing at over 10% annually. 2024 saw a 14% increase from the previous year, and the January-March 2025 period shows a 28% increase, indicating strong performance.

Recently, in conversations with overseas customers, we realized.
Our existing brands weren't fully conveying our passion.

More simply, more directly.

That's how the brand name "KAGURA" was born. Taiwan, Korea, China, Singapore, Thailand, Australia, Italy, America—it's a name born from conversations with customers around the world.

We hid the Yatagarasu inside the "kura" (warehouse) character of "KAGURA" on the label. With respect for over 150 years of tradition and the history of our predecessors.

A New Story Beginning with Ginger

The first release of KAGURA is a ginger liqueur.

Grating ginger, adding spices—we continue trial and error to create a stimulating and memorable liqueur.

While calling ourselves "a brewery that makes fruit liqueurs," we want to continue creating liqueurs that we think are delicious, not limited to fruits. Including upgrades of existing products, we carefully select products that can be released under the KAGURA name.

Between Tradition and Innovation

Over 150 years since our founding in 1868.

We have continued innovation while preserving tradition. We utilize sake-brewing techniques while not fearing new challenges.

Our story that began with "mottainai" continues.

The small challenge that began with a single plum has now created over 600 recipes and is about to take flight to the world.

KAGURA—it's a new chapter in the story of fruits liqueur, woven by tradition and innovation.