- Miwa-the birthplace of Sake-brewing
- Sake-brewing is said to be started from "Miwa". Omiwa Shrine in Miwa is an important place in the history of Sake-brewing. Omiwa Shrine is Japan's oldest shrine and it does not have a main hall. It is a shrine to worship Mount Miwa as the object of worship. From ancient times, Mount Miwa is also called as "Mimuroyama" and referred as "Umashumimuroyam" where "Mimuro" means "fruit mash" which also means "the origin of Sake". It is also said that it is a nickname comes from the faith as a God of Sake. On 14th November every year, Sake brewers and the chief brewer of Sake brewery across the country gather in Omiwa Shrine to attend the Brewing Prayer Festival(Sake Festival). After the Brewing Prayer Festival, a cedar ball will be distributed to the brewery over the country. Within the precinct, Sake is given away and it is crowded with many worshipers and tourists.
- God of chief brewer of Sake brewery-Ikuhi Shrine
- Why Miwa is being called as the birthplace of Sake? The answer can be found from the description in chronicles of Japan. In the era of Emperor Sujin (The oldest Emperor), the country is in a state of confusion under the epidemic. When the Emperor was worried and was thinking what could be done to situation, he fell asleep and in his dream, the deity told him, "To the chief mourner Tane Daejeon child is an ancestor of me, Please make my ancestor, Taneko Ota to be the head priest and dedicate Sake to her" After hearing this, the Emperor asked Ikuhinomikoto Takahashi to perform Sake brewing overnight and sacred Sake was offered to the God. After that, the epidemic was gone from the country and the country began to abound. At that time, Ikuhinomikoto Takahashi had created a poem, he said "This Sake for God is not made by me but it is made by deity of who creates Japan. The glorious will last even after few generations." Because of this incident, Ikuhinomikoto Takahashi was worshiped(enshrined) as the "God of chief brewer of Sake brewery" in the Ikuji Shrine which is an auxiliary shrine of the Omiwa Shrine. It was Sake who had had saved the country.
- "Miwa"-the birthplace of cedar ball
- The cedar ball hanging at the brewery is delivered from Omiwa Shrine to the brewery over the country. If you look at the bills which have been suspended under the cedar ball, you can see that it is written as "God of Miwa, cedar ball of mark" for every brewery over the country. Please find it out when you visit the brewery over the country. In addition, the cedar ball is "a sign of new Sake is being produced". By the time of new Sake is being produced, a "fresh and green cedar ball" will be suspended. It will gradually turn brown over a year. It is said that it represents the degree of ripening of Sake.
- The deep relationship between "Sake, Miwa and God"
- It can be said that "Miwa" is a name which is deeply involved with Sake and rituals. "Sacred Sake (Miki)" is one of the examples. In ancient times, it is said that a drunken state is a state to synchronize with the God. Sake was treated as an important thing to connect with the God. "Sacred Sake" was pronounced as "Miki" in Japanese nowadays but in the past it was pronounced as "Miwa" in Japanese. Moreover, the people of ancient times called the God as "Miwa". It can be shown by the fact that the Omiwa Shrine is the official name but not the Okami Shrine according to the Kanji(Chinese characters). As "Sacred Sake = Miwa = God", it suggest that there must be a deep relationship between "Sake, Miwa and God".
- "Delicious Sake" was the preface (pillow word) of Miwa
- "Delicious Sake" was the preface (pillow word) of Miwa as it is written in Manyoshu (Japan's oldest anthology of poems). ※ What is the meaning of "pillow word"? It is a word to represent the land. The famous poem of Nukatanookimi is introduced here as an example. Mount Miwa is nostalgic. Until this mountain is hidden between the mountains of Nara, Until the piling up and overlapping of several corner of the road, The mountain that I want to see clearly, The mountain that I want to see when I look back sometimes, Don't you think it is so cruel to be hidden by the clouds?
- Imanishi Brewery is the only remaining brewery in the birthplace of Sake-"Miwa"
- There were three old breweries in Miwa before but now we are the only the existing brewery. Our brewery had been brewing Sake for more than 350 years under the trademark of "Mimurosugi" from the fact that 【Mount Miwa was called as "Mimuroyama" from the past】and【It was believed that the God lived in the cedar in Mount Miwa.】The brewing water used is the underground water of Mount Miwa, the rice used are cultivated in Miwa which are all made by "Miwa".
