Nada is a long linear region towards the east and west, facing the Osaka Bay with the Rokko Mountain in the background, five of the regions in this area currently referred to as the “Nada Goko.” This region is traditionally wider with the Mukogawa River towards the east, and the Ikutagawa River towards the west in general terms. Sake production in this region is said to have started in 1624, however, the name Nada first comes up in documents in 1716.
Ikeda (Ikeda City, Osaka prefecture) was the main production region for sake produced for the Edo market from early to mid-Edo Era, an advanced region of morohaku; while Itami, especially Itamizake, referred to as “Tanjo,” was highly reputable. However, Ikeda and Itami started to decline from the later half of the 18th century, replaced by Nada sake at the forefront, the greatest reason being the premium quality of Nada sake.
The greatest reason why the quality of Nada sake improved drastically is due to the introduction of the water mill for rice milling, utilizing a rapid stream from the Rokko Mountain. During the golden days of Itami, rice was traditionally milled using a pedal-type milling device. However, during the mid-18th century, Nada was the first to switch to water milling to mill rice. Not only did water milling drastically increase the quantity of rice milled, the quality of sake rice significantly improved to levels not comparable to before the water mill, which significantly improved the quality of sake. Although Itami tried to compete with sake from Nada through efforts to improve their quality of sake, the switch to water mills was not possible due to geographical reasons, with Nada sake finally exceeding Itami sake in production volume in 1815. Further, Miyamizu, most suitable for producing sake, was discovered in 1840, cementing Nada’s name and reputation with quality sake.
On the other hand, Fushimi has a long history of sake production that reached its peak during the Muromachi Era (1336~1573), with 342 sake breweries in the Kyoto region in 1425. However, Fushimi and Saga in the suburbs of Kyoto were both renowned sake regions.
Fushimi prospered as a castle town after Toyotomi Hideyoshi completed the construction of the Momoyama Castle in 1594. Early into the Edo Era, the number of breweries gradually increased as an important region for the Yodogawa water transport. Although approximately 83 sake breweries operated at the time, Nada first emerged as a sake production region in 1657 after the middle of the Edo Period, as Kyoto was monopolized by Itami sake due to the wishes of court nobles and the Konoe Family, who were the feudal lords of Itami. Also, geographical disadvantages caused delays in shipments to Edo, which led to Nada sake further dominating the market, and a drastic decline in Fushimi sake breweries. Furthermore, the battle of Toba and Fushimi added a great blow to Fushimi. However, since the Tokaido Line opened in 1890, the distribution route opened up for Fushimi sake, which miraculously revived the region to become one of the largest sake production regions alongside Nada.
日本酒の代表的な産地
灘とは六甲連山を背にして大阪湾に臨む東西に長い帯状の地域で、現在は、その中の五つの地域を「灘五郷」と総称しているが、古くはもっと広範囲で、東は武庫川、西は生田川に至る地域の総称だった。この地で酒造りが始まったのは寛永元年（1624）とされるが、灘の名が文献に初めて登場するのは正徳６年（1716）のことである。
江戸時代の初期から中期にかけての江戸向け酒の主生産地は、諸白の先進地であった池田（大阪府池田市）と伊丹で、とくに伊丹酒は「伊丹諸白」とか「丹醸」と呼ばれて高い評価を得ていたが、１８世紀の後半あたりから池田、伊丹は衰退し始め、代わって新興勢カである灘酒が台頭していくことになる。その最大の理由は灘酒の酒質の優秀さにあった。
灘酒の酒質を飛躍的に向上させたのは、第一に六甲山系からの急流を利用した水車精米の導入だった。伊丹全盛の時代、精米の方法はまだ昔ながらの足踏み精米だったが、１８世紀半ば頃、灘ではいち早く水車精米に切り換えられた。水車精米によって大量の精米が可能になったばかりでなく、それまでとは比べ物にならない高精白米が得られ、酒質を著しく向上させたのである。伊丹も酒質の改良に努めて灘酒に対抗したが、地形の関係上、水車精米への転換はかなわず、文化１２年（1815）、灘酒の生産量はついに伊丹酒を抜いた。さらに天保１１年（1840）にはいわゆる宮水が発見され、 灘酒の名声は揺るぎないものとなる。
一方、伏見での酒造りの歴史は古い。室町時代に京の酒造りは隆盛期を迎え、応永３２年（1425）には、洛中洛外合わせて３４２軒の造り酒屋があったが、なかでも伏見と嵯峨はともに洛外の銘醸地として知られた。
伏見は文禄３年（1594）に豊臣秀吉が桃山城築城後は城下町として、江戸時代に入ってからは淀川水運の要地として栄え、造り酒屋の数も次第に増加していった。灘が酒の産地として産声を上げた頃の明暦３年（1657）には８３軒を数えたが、江戸時代中期以後、伊丹領主だった有力公家 ・近衛家の意向によって、京の町の酒は伊丹酒で独占されてしまう。また、地の利の悪さから江戸への出荷も遅れをとるうちに灘酒が急激に台頭し、伏見の造り酒屋は激減。さらに明治元年の鳥羽伏見の戦いで大打撃を受けた。しかし、明治２２年に東海道線が開通して以後、伏見酒は販路が拡大されて奇跡的な復興を遂げ、ついに灘と並ぶ２大生産地になった。
