was a Japanese chemist and businessman. He is known as the founder of Japan's whisky industry and

Nikka Whisky Distilling The is a producer of Japanese whisky and other beverages headquartered in Tokyo. It is owned by Asahi Group Holdings. The company operates a number of distilleries and other facilities in Japan, including two Japanese whisky distilleries, the Yo ...

. Born to a family that had owned a

sake Sake, also spelled saké ( ; also referred to as Japanese rice wine), is an alcoholic beverage of Japanese origin made by fermenting rice that has been polished to remove the bran. Despite the name ''Japanese rice wine'', sake, and indee ...

brewery since 1733, he traveled to

Scotland Scotland (, ) is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Covering the northern third of the island of Great Britain, mainland Scotland has a border with England to the southeast and is otherwise surrounded by the Atlantic Ocean to the ...

in 1918 to study organic chemistry and distilling. He then returned to Japan establishing a whisky distillery at

Suntory (commonly referred to as simply Suntory) is a Japanese multinational brewing and distilling company group. Established in 1899, it is one of the oldest companies in the distribution of alcoholic beverages in Japan, and makes Japanese whisky. Its ...

and founded his own distilling company, Nikka Whisky, in 1934.

Early life

Masataka Taketsuru was born on June 20, 1894 in Takehara, Hiroshima, to a family that had owned a

brewery since 1733.

Experiences in Scotland

In December 1918, he arrived in

and enrolled at the

University of Glasgow , image = UofG Coat of Arms.png , image_size = 150px , caption = Coat of arms Flag , latin_name = Universitas Glasguensis , motto = la, Via, Veritas, Vita , ...

, where he studied

organic chemistry Organic chemistry is a subdiscipline within chemistry involving the scientific study of the structure, properties, and reactions of organic compounds and organic materials, i.e., matter in its various forms that contain carbon atoms.Clayden, J.; ...

in the summer of 1919. Taketsuru studied under Thomas Stewart Patterson, the Gardiner Chair of Chemistry. In April 1919, Taketsuru began his apprenticeship at

Longmorn distillery Longmorn distillery is a single malt Scotch, single malt Scotch whisky distillery in Longmorn, Moray, within the Strathspey, Scotland, Strathspey whisky producing area of Scotland. History The Longmorn Distillery Company was founded in 1893 by Jo ...

Strathspey Strathspey may refer to one of the following: * Strathspey, Scotland, an area in the Highlands of Scotland * Strathspey Camanachd Strathspey Camanachd is a shinty club based in Grantown-on-Spey, Strathspey, Scotland, currently competing in the ...

, Scotland, and then in July at James Calder & Co.'s Bo'ness distillery in the Lowlands region. On 8 January 1920, he married Jessie Roberta "Rita" Cowan of Middlecroft,

Kirkintilloch Kirkintilloch (; sco, Kirkintulloch; gd, Cair Cheann Tulaich) is a town and former barony burgh in East Dunbartonshire, Scotland. It lies on the Forth and Clyde Canal and on the south side of Strathkelvin, about northeast of central Glasgow. ...

, despite opposition from both their families. Initially, they lived in

Campbeltown Campbeltown (; gd, Ceann Loch Chille Chiarain or ) is a town and former royal burgh in Argyll and Bute, Scotland. It lies by Campbeltown Loch on the Kintyre peninsula. Campbeltown became an important centre for Scotch whisky, and a busy fishing ...

and his last apprenticeship began in May 1920 at Hazelburn distillery (purchased in 1920 by Mackie & Co., then owners of Springbank) before moving to Japan later in November 1920 via

New York New York most commonly refers to: * New York City, the most populous city in the United States, located in the state of New York * New York (state), a state in the northeastern United States New York may also refer to: Film and television * '' ...

and

Seattle Seattle ( ) is a seaport city on the West Coast of the United States. It is the seat of King County, Washington. With a 2020 population of 737,015, it is the largest city in both the state of Washington and the Pacific Northwest regio ...

Return to Japan

After returning to Japan, Taketsuru worked at Kotobukiya, which would later become

, where he helped establish a whisky distillery just outside of Kyoto. In 1934 he founded his own distilling company, Dai Nippon Kaju K.K., in Yoichi on the northern Japanese island of

Hokkaido is Japan's second largest island and comprises the largest and northernmost prefecture, making up its own region. The Tsugaru Strait separates Hokkaidō from Honshu; the two islands are connected by the undersea railway Seikan Tunnel. The la ...

. He believed that this part of Japan was the most similar to Scotland. He later renamed the company Nikka. Nikka whisky was first sold in October 1940. Taketsuru's wife, Rita, died in January 1961, of liver disease. Taketsuru died in 1979. He is buried in Yoichi together with his wife.

References

External links

Japanese Whisky History (1854-1918) - The Jurassic Period to 1980s

* ttp://www.nikka.com/eng/ Nikka website {{DEFAULTSORT:Taketsuru, Masataka 1894 births 1979 deaths 20th-century Japanese businesspeople Japanese whisky Alumni of the University of Glasgow Osaka University alumni People from Hiroshima Prefecture Whisky blenders

Early life

Experiences in Scotland

Return to Japan

See also

References

Further reading

External links