Yamagata Prefecture: 1819-68.

Ushu province (today’s Yamagata Prefecture) has a long tradition of making sake. The region has abundant fresh water, and the climate is well-suited for growing sake rice. This archive of 22 manuscript reports was produced for local tax collectors by two sake manufacturers in Higashine village, Murayama, Ushu province: Genshirō 源四郎 (20 reports) and Hachizaemon 八左衛門 (two reports). Neither is in business today.

Sake was a heavily regulated industry in Edo Japan and a major source of tax revenue. The shogunate also controlled production levels in order to conserve rice in times of shortage and to regulate... More