We’re moving down from Tohoku and the next area is Kanto. Tochigi was the prefecture that was chosen next, and it’s not once that’s noted for its craft beer, like Aomori.
Craft Beer in Tochigi
Tochigi is the next stop on this guide, with it being at the northernmost part of the Kanto area – Japan’s largest urban area. However, that’s not to say that Tochigi is just another extension of Tokyo. It is in fact home to some of Japan’s best natural beauty, with over 20% of the prefecture being designated as national parks. Tochigi is home to Nikko, a major tourist destination in the Kanto area, and Oze National Park, that stretches out over the prefectures of Fukushima, Gunma, and Niigata too. On top of this, more than 50% of Tochigi is covered by trees.
In spite of the national parks and large proportion of tree coverage, Tochigi is also well known for being a manufacturing area, with manufacturing accounting for 36.6% of the prefecture’s total output. In terms of fruit and vegetables, Tochigi is also known for strawberries, Chinese chives, and Japanese pears sold throughout Japan and exported to other countries.
A Brief History of Tochigi
Tochigi, which takes its name from the numerous chestnut (栃) trees (木）that once were prevalent across the prefecture, was a province of Japan which was originally called Shimotsuke Province. During that time they built the Shimotsuke-Yakushi temple, making it the Buddhist capital of the Kanto Region.
In the late 12th century, when the aristocrats lost their power over the shogunate, outbreaks of civil wars would occur between the Genji Clan and the Heishi Clan. Nasuno Yoichi, an archer from Tochigi, became very famous for shooting an arrow in the middle of an opponent’s fan after being taunted by the fact that the Genji would not be able to shoot from such a distance.
In the early 17th century, Japan was unified by Tokugawa Ieyasu. Tokugawa Ieyasu chose the sacred site of Nikkō to be the location of his tomb, and thus the area prospered as a site of pilgrimage through the end of the Edo period. After his death, Toshogu was built in Nikko on what the shoguns thought of as the holy ground in order to protect and worship him.
In the late 19th century, the Tokugawa shogunate fell, with the removal of the han (province) system and the new government established the prefectures. The prefectural capital was established in the city of Tochigi after the unification of Utsunomiya Prefecture and Tochigi Prefecture in 1873. By 1884, however, the capital was transferred to Utsunomiya.
Beer in Tochigi
As with Aomori, there is very little history of beer in the area – in spite of the large agricultural links that were common in the early days with ji-beer. Moreover, it’s surprising because Tochigi Prefecture is the second largest producer of two-rowed barley in Japan, which is used to make beer.
The history with barley goes back even further as beer barley was introduced and popularized during the Meiji period by Tamura Ritsunosuke, who was born in Tochigi City (formerly Nishimizushiro, Ohira Town), and is known as the father of beer barley.
Tamura Ritsunosuke (1867-1932) promoted the agricultural and livestock industries, including beer barley (two-row barley), and made Tochigi Prefecture the number one producer of beer barley in Japan at the time.
Its high quality is also recognized, and it is used by major beer makers across the country, while also supporting the brewing of high-quality local beer by craft brewers in the prefecture.
What Tochigi does have, unlike other prefectures, is a craft beer promotion council, which has been active since 2012 with the goal of promoting Tochigi craft beer through active exchange and cooperation between craft beer makers in Tochigi Prefecture, related companies, support organizations, and other related groups, through new product development, added value to craft beer, and information dissemination.
At the time of writing, there are 13 breweries located in Tochigi with the first being Romantic Village Beer, though since then, more have opened up with Ushitora having their brewery there, as well as Nikko also gaining a couple of breweries.
