Tsukasabotan ( the name means “King of Peony”) is one of the oldest and most prestigious breweries in Kochi prefecture. Located in a valley surrounded by the Shikoku mountain range, it was founded in 1603 in the town of Tosa and was once the private brewery of Shigeyoshi Fukaoizuminokami, the feudal lord of Sagawa castle. Traditionally, sakes from Tosa were bright and dry. Today sakes of all styles are brewed in the region, but Tsukasabotan remain staunch traditionalists, making dry, expressive sake that pair with the region’s sea-influenced cuisine.

Tsukasabotan’s sakes are historically important enough to be referenced in novelist Ryōtarō Shiba’s 1962 masterpiece, Ryōma Goes His Way, set during the events of the Meiji restoration.