In 794 the Imperial Japanese capital Heiankyo was found., laid out on a square grid design modelled after the Chinese capital city of Chang'an. In the center of the city stands the magnificent Imperial Palace, locus of national power and site of numer-ous ceremonies and rituals. Many of these ceremonies were deeply related with sake and brewing industry grew up in the city in order to supply capital with sake. At its peak in the fifteenth century, Kyoto was home to some 342 sake breweries, some of them were already located in Fushimi. The company known today as Gek-keikan was founded in 1637 by Jiemon Okura, who named his brewery Kasagiya after his hometown of Kasagi in southern Kyoto. The house speciality sake he named Tama no lzumi, meaning 'jewel of the (water) spring.' When Gekkeikan was founded in the middle of the seventeenth century, the Fushimi area boasted a total of 83 breweries, producing about 2.7 million liters of sake annually.

Trials and successes

However, the early days of the company were not always easy. At the time, Fushimi was out of favor with those in power, and its produce was re jected from market distribu-tion. Logistically too, Fushimi was at a disadvan-tage, located inland and away from then-predominant sea transport. Sake had .be slowly transported by road, which meant a less-than-fresh product hurt the brand, image. At its peak, Fushimi had been home to over 80 sake breweries, but by the 1860's, Gekkeikan was one of only two remaining. But times change, and as the privi-leges and prejudices of the past faded, laws were changed to allow freer trade. At the same time, development and moderniza-tion of transportation networks cut deliv-ery times and enabled breweries to supply sake of higher quality. The industry began to recover, and a century later Fushimi entered its second Golden Age, with over fifty sake breweries operating by the 1970'x. Today, sake is enjoyed all over the world, and the number of varieties and styles has exploded to meet changes in consumers cultures and tastes. Premium gin, sake, unpastuerised namazake, and sparkling sake have all become popular over the past twenty years. With Japanese cuisine now a worldwide phenomenon, Fushimi's sake makers are dreaming of an even brighter future for their products.