The simple bottle stamped “Bigotomozu 16 Blended Houmei Liquor” looks as if it were precious holy water or Arcanum handed down from mountain hermits. With its long history and sacred appearance, “16 Blended Houmei Liquor” produced by “Houmei Liquor Shop” can transport us back to a calm and spiritual time.
It was in 1659 that Kichibei Nakamura, a Chinese medicine doctor in Osaka, produced Houmei Liquor at the current “Ota Family House” in Tomonoura where we can observe the well preserved manufacturing facilities including Nishi-kura which stores sticky rice and Chinese medicine, Minami Houmei Brewery for brewing and Higashi Houmei Brewery for preserving the products, making it designated as Japan’s Important Cultural Propertiy in 1991. The present store is renovated the part pf Ota Family house as “Houmei Liquor Shop” where we can appreciate for this taste handed down for generations at the place where it was given birth.
Houmei liquor made by “Houmei Liquor Shop” is blended with 16 kinds of grass roots such as rehmannia root, dioscorea rhizome, peony, apricot seed in its own formulation. They also offer us the product in Tokkuri sake bottle as this Houmei liquor was for the gifts and surprisingly, this bottle is made by the shop’s owner Sumio Okamoto by rolling the potter’s wheel and baking it, meaning that you can order him the custom made bottle if you like. Why don’t you have it as a special souvenir with full of the history of Tomonoura?
Houmei Liquor Shop (Tomo Brewery)
Address/ 1013 Tomo, Tomo-cho Fukuyama, Hiroshima
Tel/ +81-84-982-2011
Open/ 10:00〜17:00
Regular holiday/ none
http://tomonoura.jp
