Hi everyone! This is LEON （Leon Ono） from Denei.
Lately I keep ending up in places because of water. The spring water we use for our welcome tea, the tea fields of Mandokoro—and now, a 160-year-old sake brewery that a tea merchant told me about. This is the story of my day at Kawashima Shuzo.
Where Is Kawashima Shuzo? Getting There from Kyoto
Kawashima Shuzo is a sake brewery in Shin-Asahi, Takashima City, Shiga Prefecture, on the west side of Lake Biwa. Founded in 1865, it has been brewing sake under the name Matsu no Hana (“pine blossom”) for six generations, using underground water from the Hira mountains.
Getting there is easier than you’d think. I took the JR Kosei Line from Kyoto Station to Shin-Asahi Station, then walked about fifteen minutes. No taxi, no rental car. Just a quiet walk through a small town where, at some point, I realized I could hear water running everywhere.
This area is called a village of living water, and it’s not a tourism slogan. The neighboring hamlet of Harie is famous for its kabata—a centuries-old system where spring water flows directly into each family’s kitchen. It was selected as one of Japan’s 100 Famous Waters. When I arrived at the brewery, there was a small line of locals at the spring out front, filling plastic bottles to carry home. Nobody was taking photos. For them it’s just Tuesday.
The person who first brought me here, by the way, was Mr. Nakagawa of Nakagawa Seiseido—the same tea merchant who introduced us to Mandokoro-cha. This time I came back on my own.
Meeting the Sixth-Generation Brewer of Matsu no Hana
I hadn’t made an appointment. But when I stepped into the shop, President Tatsuro Kawashima—the sixth-generation head of the brewery—happened to be there, and he ended up talking with me for a long time.
What I loved was how he talked about the water. Not poetically. Precisely. Posted right at the spring is an official measurement certificate from an independent laboratory: pH 7.3 at 22°C, neutral, zero coliform bacteria. He told me the character of this water is close to that of Speyside in Scotland, the famous whisky region—and that other food makers in the area came here specifically for this water.
I stood at the spring with the ladle and drank. I’m not going to pretend I can taste pH. But it was soft, and clean, and I understood why people have organized their whole lives around it.
From Sake to Whisky: The Brewery’s New Chapter
Then Mr. Kawashima told me something I didn’t expect.
In 2021, the brewery started making whisky. The project involves a veteran whisky maker who spent his career on some of Japan’s most celebrated whiskies, then traveled the country after retirement tasting water sources—looking for the right one to build around. He chose this one.
I tried two: the Double Port Cask Finish and the Triple Sherry Cask Finish.
Full disclosure: I don’t know much about whisky, so I’ll skip the tasting notes I’m not qualified to write. I can only tell you what actually happened, which is that the aroma went through me in the most pleasant way, and I caught myself thinking: this might be the best whisky I’ve ever had. Take that for what it’s worth, from a tea person.
I bought a bottle to take home. Obviously.
Why This Water Matters to Us
Here’s the news I really came to share.
Tea is mostly water. Whatever leaf you choose, the water decides how it speaks. So starting this autumn, we plan to brew every cup of tea we serve at Denei with this water—the welcome tea before zazen, the matcha we whisk for our guests. All of it, carried from the living springs of Takashima to our zazen experience at Jusho-in in Kyoto.
A tea first planted by a Zen master, brewed with water a brewery has trusted for 160 years. When you sit with us, that’s what will be in your cup.
If you’re planning a visit and comparing zazen experiences across Kyoto, we also run Kyoto Zen Guide, an honest overview of temples offering sessions in English.
To Mr. Kawashima—thank you for your time, your stories, and your patience with my questions. And to Mr. Nakagawa of Nakagawa Seiseido, once again: thank you for showing me where the good water flows.
