Passion for draft beer and Hiroshima

Shigetomi-saketen is a liquor shop in Hiroshima with a long history, offering tasty beer over many generations. Hoping to revitalize Hiroshima with draft beer, Mr. SHIGETOMI, the president of Shigetomi-saketen liquor shop, pours draft beer for customers from the server by himself. We interviewed Mr. SHIGETOMI.

It is a goal but also a step in the process.

Interviewer： First, please tell us about the Hiroshima Genki Project you have been promoting?

Mr. SHIGETOMI：When I was the PTA head of the local elementary school, I organized a paper plane competition as a school event. At that time, I saw the children looked very happy, seeing their parents excited and having fun. I realized that the smiles of the parents could make the children really happy. However, there are some parents who cannot smile because of their work or other reasons. But they can be a bit happy and smile if they eat something good and drink some tasty draft beer. And if the parents smile, their children can also smile. So I launched this project with the aim of raising the quality of draft beer throughout Hiroshima. I opened the Draft Beer College that hosts seminars and provides advice for restaurants, and disseminated information about beer via SNS.

Transform the time when we cannot serve beer into the time when we can communicate information

Interviewer： What do you think about the present situation under the COVID-19 crisis?

Mr. SHIGETOMI： I think the time when we cannot serve beer has been transformed into the time when we can communicate information about beer. In this situation, we have set up a “Beer Channel” to communicate how to pour draft beer to make it tasty, and other similar information. We can communicate online with people who cannot go out or who are afraid of the crowds, and therefore cannot drink draft beer at restaurants or bars. In fact, the number of restaurant business owners who take courses of the Draft Beer College has increased due to the COVID-19 pandemic, because they became motivated to study while their stores were closed.

Looking forward to the day when we can raise a glass to each other as usual

Interviewer：Finally, please tell us your goal in the future.

Mr. SHIGETOMI：The goal is to raise the quality of draft beer in Hiroshima and then improve the quality of draft beer throughout Japan. When the COVID-19 pandemic ends, I want everyone to drink tasty draft beer and say “Otsukare-sama (well done)!” By promoting tasty draft beer, I want to be known by many people, and I want Hiroshima to be better known through my activities. As an Abombed city, it is Hiroshima’s mission to make many people realize how precious their ordinary life is, when people can drink beer together, and how happy we are to have peace.

Shigetomi-saketen Inc.

10-12 Kanayama-cho, Naka-ku, Hiroshima

+81-082-244-4147

www.sake.co.jp

Interview with

Director：SHIGETOMI Yutaka

We conducted interviews!

HIGAKI Hinata（Yasuda Women’s University）：The beer was good!

KIMURA Moe（Fukuyama University）：We learned a lot!

MATSUYAMA Kaho（Yasuda Women’s University）：We felt his passion for beer!

Comment from editor

We were impressed that he did not take the impact of COVID-19 negatively but took this opportunity to do what he could do in this situation. Through the interview, we understand that Mr. SHIGETOMI aims to tell people that happiness is in their ordinary daily lives by working to familiarize people with tasty draft beer. We think that Shigetomi-saketen may be a place for us to start thinking about peace.