Its founder studied at the University of Glasgow and married a Scottish woman.
All across the world, there are towns and villages with surprising links to Scotland. The Daily Record has previously investigated settlements in Canada and France that have unique Scottish traditions and even their own Highland Games.
Now, we are travelling all the way to Japan. Specifically, we are looking at the town of Yoichi—which has a truly fascinating whisky heritage.
Yoichi is situated in the Shiribeshi Subprefecture on the island of Hokkaido, around an hour by car from the city of Sapporo. The coastal town, which is home to a population of around 18,000, is a popular surfing and swimming destination amongst people across Hokkaido.
Yoichi is twinned with two Scottish towns: the neighbouring Glasgow suburbs of Bishopbriggs and Kirkintilloch. However, its links to Scotland go much deeper than that.
The Japanese town is home to the Yoichi whisky distillery, which was founded in 1934. The distillery’s malts are known for their bold and strong character, as well as their with peaty notes and smokiness brought about by its traditional direct coal-fired distillation.
The Yoichi distillery is owned by Nikka Whisky Distilling, which was in turn founded by Japanese chemist Masataka Taketsuru. The businessman is widely regarded as the father of Japanese whisky, credited with bringing the art of Scotch whisky-making to the country.
Taketsuru was born in the city of Takehara in 1894 to a family who had owned a sake brewery since 1733. However, he instead became interested in whisky.
Taketsuru travelled to Scotland in 1918 to learn the secret of whisky production. He studied organic chemistry at the University of Glasgow and undertook apprenticeships at the distilleries such as Longmorn in Strathspey and Hazelburn in Campbeltown.
It was during his time at the University of Glasgow that Taketsuru fell in love. He met Jessie Roberta ‘Rita’ Cowan, who was the daughter of a Glasgow doctor and was studying organic and applied chemistry.
Despite disapproval from both of their families, Taketsuru and Cowan wed in January 1920. They lived together in Campbeltown briefly as Taketsuru completed his final apprenticeship, before moving to Japan after he confessed to Cowan that his dream was to bring Scottish whisky production to the country.
After working for a few years in Osaka, Taketsuru eventually founded his own distillery in Yoichi. He chose the location because he thought the northern island of Hokkaido was the area of Japan that most closely resembled Scotland.
The Nikka Whisky Distilling website states: “For his first distillery, Masataka Taketsuru seeks similar conditions to Scotland, where he had himself learned everything about whisky making. Yoichi is established in 1934, in the small eponymous coastal town.
“This extraordinary location benefits from a cold, austere climate and local peat bogs were originally at the source of Yoichi’s peaty notes, while the salty sea breeze leaves its imprint on these whiskies of undeniable character.”
Over the following years and decades, Nikka Whisky Distilling grew in size and would later found the Miyagikyo distillery near the city of Sendai. It even purchased the Ben Nevis distillery in Fort William in 1989.
Cowan passed away in 1961 at the age of 64, while Taketsuru died in 1979 at the age of 85. They are buried together in Yoichi, where there is also a bust of Taketsuru.
The home where the couple lived, known as the Rita House, has been preserved as a designated cultural property. It can be viewed during tours of the Yoichi distillery, featuring personal artefacts and offering a glimpse into Taketsuru and Cowan’s lives.
More information about Masataka Taketsuru and Jessie Roberta ‘Rita’ Cowan can be found on the Nikka Whisky Distilling website.
