2026/08/26 12:56
MANDOBA is a sake made in Yasuzuka, a mountain community in Joetsu City, Niigata.
It begins with Gohyakumangoku sake rice grown in a small terraced paddy called Mandoba. We cultivate the rice without pesticides or chemical fertilizers , then brew it nearby at Takeda Shuzoten using the traditional kimoto method and without added cultured yeast.
The rice changes with the water, weather and conditions in the field. After harvest, the brewing process brings another environment — and another group of microorganisms — into the making of the sake.
We call this Natural Terroir Sake.
Yasuzuka and Satoyama
Yasuzuka lies in the mountains of Joetsu City, in one of Japan's heaviest snowfall regions.
Rice paddies, forests, streams, fields and villages sit close together. In Japan, landscapes like this are known as Satoyama.
Satoyama has been shaped over generations through the interaction of nature and human activity. People cultivate rice paddies, manage forests, guide water, gather plants and adapt their lives to the seasons. The landscape, local culture and habitats for many forms of life have developed through this continued use of the land.
Yasuzuka is one such place.Snow covers the area through winter. When it melts, the water moves through the mountains and into the paddies. People have worked with this water, the forests and the land for generations.
Today, fewer people are able to maintain these landscapes. The population is declining, farmers are aging, and abandoned farmland is increasing.
U・STYLE first became involved in Yasuzuka by restoring abandoned terraced rice paddies. As we continued working there, we began cultivating rice ourselves.MANDOBA grew from this work.
Growing Rice in Mandoba
MANDOBA is made from Gohyakumangoku, one of Niigata's representative sake rice varieties.
The Mandoba paddy is located in the mountains, away from the broad plains generally associated with rice production in Niigata.
Its water comes from rain and snow that fall on the surrounding mountains and are held in the landscape before reaching the paddy.
We grow the rice without pesticides or chemical fertilizers during the cultivation period.
This means spending a great deal of time in the field.
We watch how much water is entering and leaving the paddy, look at the condition of the soil, control weeds and check the growth of the rice. The work changes with the weather and with the condition of the field.
No two years are the same.
Snowfall, spring temperatures, summer heat and rainfall all affect the rice that is eventually harvested.
Life in Mandoba
Many other forms of life share the Mandoba paddy.
Frogs, spiders, dragonflies, aquatic insects, plants and microorganisms can be found in and around the field. Some insects feed on the rice. Others prey on those insects. Many simply live in the same environment.
Looking closely at the field has gradually changed the way we see rice cultivation. We have come to pay attention not only to the rice, but also to what is happening around it.
Our own work is part of the field too. We guide the water, cut the grass, remove weeds and maintain the paddy banks throughout the growing season.
Rain and snow falling on the mountains move through forests and soil before reaching Mandoba. The same water supports the rice and the many plants and animals living around it.
From Rice to Sake
After harvest, the rice is taken to Takeda Shuzoten, a sake brewery in Joetsu City.
MANDOBA is brewed using the traditional kimoto method.
In kimoto brewing, lactic acid is not added directly to the sake starter. Naturally occurring lactic acid bacteria develop during the process and create the acidic environment required for fermentation.
MANDOBA is also brewed **without added cultured yeast**.
Fermentation relies on yeast present in the brewery rather than a selected commercial yeast strain being added.
The brewer follows the temperature, aroma, taste and progress of fermentation closely, adjusting the process according to what is happening in the tank.
As the rice differs from year to year, the fermentation does too.
Brewing: Takeda Shuzoten
Rice:100% Gohyakumangoku grown in Yasuzuka, Joetsu
Cultivation: No pesticides or chemical fertilizers used during the cultivation period
Brewing method: Kimoto
Yeast:No added cultured yeast
Sake type: Junmai
Rice polishing ratio:** 70% for the seasonal MANDOBA series
The Taste of MANDOBA
MANDOBA is made to retain a clear sense of the rice itself.Its flavor combines rice umami, acidity, gentle sweetness and fruit-like aromas.Each brewing year retains its own character. Weather affects the rice, and the condition of the rice and the course of fermentation are reflected in the finished sake.
Five Seasons from a Single Brew
MANDOBA's seasonal series follows the farming year and the changing seasons of Yasuzuka.
MEDASHI, TAYASUMI, SYUSSUI, KARIAGE and ETTOU all begin with the same brew from a single tank.
From there, the timing of bottling, pasteurization, storage and the portion of sake selected give the same brew different expressions.
Each name comes from a season or an activity connected with rice cultivation and life in Yasuzuka.
Spring | MEDASHI
Early Summer | TAYASUMI
Summer | SYUSSUI
Autumn | KARIAGE
Winter | ETTOU
MANDOBA MEDASHI
Spring | Sprouting
In Yasuzuka, snow can remain well into spring.
As it begins to melt, work for the new rice-growing season starts.
Seed rice is selected and soaked in water until the first small shoots appear.
Medashi refers to this moment of sprouting.
Taste | Fresh and Gently Sparkling
MEDASHI is bottled unpasteurized.
It has the freshness of newly brewed sake, with gentle natural effervescence and a lively finish.
Fresh / Gently sparkling / Unpasteurized nama sake
MANDOBA TAYASUMI
Early Summer | A Rest After Rice Planting
After rice planting, Yasuzuka traditionally observes Tayasumi no Sekku, a day of rest after the busy planting season.
Sasa-mochi and sekihan served on magnolia leaves are offered at household altars, and sake is shared while people take a short break from farm work.TAYASUMI takes its name from this local custom.
Taste | Fresh and Lively
The sake is stored without pasteurization and pasteurized once before release.
It retains much of the freshness of nama sake while developing a slightly calmer character.
Fresh / Bright / Namachozo / Pasteurized once
MANDOBA SYUSSUI
Summer | Rice Ears Emerge
From early to late August, pale green ears of rice begin to emerge from inside the stalks.
In the early morning, they are often covered with dew.
This is also a crucial period for the year's harvest. The weather during these weeks can greatly affect how the grain develops.
Syussui means the emergence of the rice ears.
Taste | Powerful and Rounded
SYUSSUI is a nigori sake with a smooth texture and a powerful, rounded flavor.
The umami of the rice comes through clearly.
It can be enjoyed on its own, over ice or with soda.
Nigori / Smooth and full-bodied / Pasteurized twice
MANDOBA KARIAGE
Autumn | Harvest
Harvest is when months of work in the paddy finally become rice.
In the mountain paddies of Yasuzuka, clay-rich soil, slopes and autumn weather can make harvesting difficult.
In the past, rice was cut, carried, dried and threshed by hand.
The methods have changed, but the relief and pleasure of finishing the harvest remain.
Kariage means the completion of the harvest.
Taste | Clean and Full
After resting through summer, the sake develops a calmer character.KARIAGE has a clean finish while retaining the fullness and umami of the rice.It can be enjoyed chilled, at room temperature or gently warmed.
Clean / Full-bodied rice umami / Pasteurized twice
MANDOBA ETTOU
Winter | Overwintering
After the rice harvest, Yasuzuka enters its long snowy winter.
Snow has shaped everyday life here for generations. It has also been used as a natural source of cold.
A yukimuro, or snow cellar, maintains a stable low temperature using stored snow.
MANDOBA ETTOU is matured for several months in a yukimuro in Yasuzuka.
Taste | Nakadori Matured in Snow
ETTOU uses nakadori, a selected middle portion of the same brew used for the seasonal series.
The sake matures slowly in the snow cellar, where the stable low temperature allows its flavor to settle over time.
Nakadori / Snow-cellar aged / Pasteurized once
MANDOBA 85
MANDOBA 85 is made from the same Gohyakumangoku grown in Yasuzuka, with a rice polishing ratio of 85%.
Only 15% of the outside of each grain is removed.
Leaving more of the grain intact gives the rice a stronger presence in the finished sake.
Like the seasonal series, MANDOBA 85 is brewed using the kimoto method without added cultured yeast.
Taste | Rich Rice Umami
MANDOBA 85 has a fuller, more grain-forward character than the seasonal series.The rice umami is pronounced, balanced by gentle sweetness, acidity and a smooth finish.
Rice polishing ratio: 85%
Rich and full-bodied
Pronounced rice umami
Kimoto / No added cultured yeast
Pasteurized twice
Natural Terroir
MANDOBA is made from the rice of one place and one year.
Water, weather and work in the paddy shape the rice. Fermentation carries that rice into sake.
The differences of each year remain in the bottle.
This is what we mean by Natural Terroir.
