Meikun (Matsuyama Shuzō)
Matsuyama Shuzō was founded in 1923 in Nabari, Mie Prefecture, and in 1958 it became a part of the Ōkura Shuzō group, today’s Gekkeikan. Before moving to Fushimi, Matsuyama Shuzō produced about 216 kiloliters of sake annually.
In 1959, Matsuyama Shuzō rehoused its entire production process in Ōkura Shuzō’s Kitagura brewery in northern Fushimi. Production increased over the next five years until Matsuyama Shuzō reached an annual production of 900 kiloliters under the brand name “Meikun.” The name Meikun translates roughly as “in praise of the wise monarch who creates a bright world for all.”
In 1967, the company moved again, to Ōkura Shuzō’s Taishōgura. To this day, the company brews inside the Taishōgura building, making traditional styles of sake. The Taishōgura building was built on the site of the Shimazu clan’s Fushimi lodgings, where Sakamoto Ryōma (1836–1867) sought refuge from armed government forces during the Second Teradaya Incident of 1866.