In 1984, current chairman Hiroshi Sakurai inherited a brewery on the verge of collapse. Traditionally, sake was brewed by “toji” (brewmasters) and “kurabito” (workers) — skilled specialists who left their rural farming villages during the winter to work as seasonal labor. This system faltered when Sakurai shifted focus to highly refined sake. The existing toji team, struggling to capture the elegant flavors Sakurai envisioned and anxious about the company’s future, departed mid-season. Out of necessity, the brewery abolished the seasonal model and employed permanent workers to manage production year-round using precise data.

Under the leadership of the fourth-generation president, Kazuhiro Sakurai, the brewery is accelerating its mission to make sake a global staple. To that end, they opened a state-of-the-art Dassai Blue brewery in New York’s Hudson Valley, where they successfully blend Japanese expertise with local resources. The brewery also partnered with the nearby Culinary Institute of America to bring sake education to its students.

But they didn’t stop at overseas expansion. DASSAI’s ambition now literally reaches for the stars with “Dassai MOON”: the first sake to ever be brewed in space. In late 2025, they sent rice, koji and yeast to the International Space Station to test fermentation in zero gravity. As there is indeed water on the moon, the hope is that in the coming decades, humans working and living there will be able to enjoy sake to improve their quality of life. DASSAI Inc. views each new frontier as an opportunity to bring happiness to people through the art of sake — no matter where they may be.

DASSAI Inc. is the peerless champion of junmai daiginjo, yet they remain eternal challengers who refuse to rest on their global acclaim. Their sake embodies the belief that true quality speaks for itself; it is intuitively delicious, offering new discoveries in every glass while delivering pure happiness. By choosing their sake, you support a vision that values artisanal labor, Japanese cultural heritage and courageous innovation. Their remarkable leap from near-bankruptcy to the edge of human exploration brings the pinnacle of Japanese craftsmanship to every drinker, whether you’re looking for an affordable, everyday brew or one of the most rare and expensive bottles ever sold.