In 1918, a young Japanese man with an ambition to make genuine whisky went alone to Scotland to unveil the secret of whisky making. He is Masataka Taketsuru, the founder of Nikka Whisky.
Given the chance to go to Scotland, Masataka became the first Japanese ever to master how to make whisky. He enrolled at the University of Glasgow, took chemistry courses and then apprenticed at three Scotch distilleries. The young and passionate man was fortunate to learn first-hand from craftsmen and have practical trainings to master blending. The two notebooks filled with every detail later became Japan’s very first guide in whisky production.
In 1920 Masataka returned to Japan with his Scottish wife Jessie Roberta (Rita). The two had married earlier that year and Rita decided to immigrate to Japan to support her husband’s dream. However after returning to Japan, Masataka and Rita were heartbroken to find out that Settsu Shuzo, the company which invested in Masataka to learn in Scotland, had to abandon its plan to produce genuine whisky in Japan due to recessions after World War I.
In the meantime another company, Kotobukiya Limited (Suntory), was in search for someone who could conduct whisky production. Being the only Japanese who knew how to produce whisky at that time, Masataka was hired by Kotobukiya in 1923 to direct building the Yamazaki Distillery. There he led the project and devoted himself to producing Japan’s first genuine whisky.
