Founder of Nikka Whisky Masataka Taketsuru

Masataka Taketsuru was born in 1894, in Takehara Town (now Takehara City), Hiroshima Prefecture, as the third son of a sake-brewing family. He grew up with the sake brewery as his playground, learning about the challenges of sake production from a young age.

In his early years, he served as the captain of his middle school's judo club and went on to study brewing at Osaka Technical High School (now Osaka University). Becoming interested in Western spirits than sake, Masataka joined Settsu Shuzo in 1916 before graduating. In 1918, Settsu Shuzo began planning the production for domestic-made whisky. With many achievements and a growing reputation, Masataka was chosen by the company to travel to Scotland on his own.

In December 1918, Masataka enrolled as an auditing student at the University of Glasgow and Royal Technical College (now the University of Strathclyde), attending chemistry classes while studying whisky-making through books. He decided in April 1919 to visit a distillery in Speyside, as he felt academic learning was insufficient. Although he had no connections, Longmorn Distillery responded to his determination and allowed Taketsuru to learn the fundamentals of malt whisky production.

Later that year, he also learned and experienced grain whisky production using the Coffey Still at a distillery in Bo'ness, near Edinburgh.

In the summer of 1919, Masataka was invited by a student from the University of Glasgow to teach her younger brother judo. It was there that he met Rita, the eldest daughter of the family. They were quickly drawn together through shared interests in literature and music. Despite opposition from those around them, they got married in January 1920.

The couple made their way to Campbeltown, where Masataka Taketsuru studied and mastered not only malt whisky production but also the art of blending at Hazelburn Distillery. After six months of research and training, he compiled his findings into the now-famous "Taketsuru Notes." In November 1920, he returned to Japan, bringing his wife Rita along with him. Although Masataka intended to stay in Scotland, it was Rita who encouraged him to return to Japan.

Masataka resumed his position as the chief engineer at Settsu Shuzo, but the company abandoned its whisky production plans due to post-WWI economic challenges. He left Settsu Shuzo, taking work as a chemistry teacher, while Rita taught English. In June 1923, he joined Kotobukiya (now Suntory Holdings Ltd.), which was planning to build a whisky distillery. The company president, Shinjiro Torii, was among those who saw Masataka off when he departed for Scotland.

Though Masataka proposed building the distillery in Hokkaido, Torii preferred a location in Yamazaki, Osaka. Masataka led the construction based on his experiences in Scotland, overseeing the site as factory manager, and in November 1924, Japan’s first malt whisky distillery was completed. In March 1934, upon completing his contract, he left Kotobukiya to pursue his dream of creating authentic whisky in Hokkaido.

Masataka chose Yoichi in Hokkaido, an ideal location with a cool climate, crisp air, clear water, morning and evening mists, reminiscent of the Scottish Highlands. In July 1934, he established the Dai Nippon Kaju Co., Ltd. (the predecessor of Nikka Whisky) and completed the construction of Yoichi Distillery in October on the same year.

In 1936, he installed the first domestically designed pot still. While making whisky, he also made apple-based products using local apples, however these struggled to sell, leading to what he referred to as the "difficult years." After waiting years for the whisky to mature, he finally released his first whisky in June 1940, naming it "Nikka Whisky," taking the 「Ni」and「Ka」from "Nippon Kaju."

In Scotland, numerous distilleries produce distinct whisky types, from the robust Highland malts in the north to the soft Lowland malts in the south, blending these with grain whisky to make blended whiskies.

Taketsuru dreamed of creating distinctive malts at different distilleries, and producing grain whisky of the same quality as in Scotland.

In 1962-63, supported by Asahi Breweries, Masataka traveled to Scotland with his adopted son Takeshi to acquire a Coffey still, which began operation at the Nishinomiya factory in November 1964. In September 1965, he released the first Japanese whisky blended with Coffey Grain.

In May 1969, under Masataka’s direction, his team built Miyagikyo Distillery in a forest in Miyagi Prefecture. This distillery produced malt whisky with a character different from that of Yoichi. With Yoichi’s Highland-style malt, Miyagikyo’s Lowland-style malt, and Coffey Grain, they were able to create a unique whisky that no one had ever seen in Japan, fulfilling Masataka Taketsuru's dream.

Following Masataka, the second-generation starting with master blender Takeshi Taketsuru, along with craftsmen in responsible for production, have upheld Masataka's dedication to quality. They have continued to pursue new whiskies that met the consumers expectations. Today, Nikka Whisky is renowned worldwide, including in Scotland, where Masataka first learned his whisky-making.

According to Masataka Taketsuru, "There is no trick to making good whisky, sincere respect for nature is the foundation of everything." At Nikka’s two distilleries, enriched by nature, the whisky quietly matures, carrying Masataka Taketsuru's dream to the future.