About

Before the establishment of the Yamato regime, it is believed that a large kingdom called Taniha (Tamba) flourished in the Northern Kinki region, centered on the Tango Peninsula. Although the name Taniha has long since been forgotten, there is a concentration of huge burial mounds in the Tango region, which some believe indicates the rise of the lost ancient power of the “Tango Kingdom. Since the Yayoi period, the “Tango Kingdom” is said to have had a group of people with advanced skills in glass working, iron manufacturing, etc., and did not succumb to the Yamato regime. Eventually, it was swallowed up by the Yamato regime, and in 713 (Wado 6), Tamba (Taniha) was divided into two parts, and its northern five counties (Kasa, Yosa, Tamba (later Naka), Takeno, and Kumano) were called Tango Province.

It is said that Qin Shi Huangdi sent a man named Xu Fu to search for an elixir of life. This legend of Xu Fu remains throughout Japan, and there are more than 20 places in the country where Xu Fu is said to have gone in search of the medicine.
One of these places is the present-day Tango Peninsula. The Tango Peninsula is one of the snowiest areas in the Kinki region, especially in the mountains, where snow accumulates to such an extent that it becomes uninhabitable.
The snow cover forms a natural defense wall, protecting the vegetation from human intrusion. We call the deep greenery of this unexplored region, where rich vegetation has been preserved since ancient times, the “Yakuso Yakujyu-no-Mori (medicinal herbs and trees forest).

Rain that falls on the mountain forests sinks into the ground, travels underground, is purified over a period of about 100 years, and eventually gushes up from an outlet near the top of the mountain. The water then becomes a river, fills the satoyama, supports the lives of people on the plains, and eventually flows into the ocean. The water that evaporates from the ocean eventually becomes rain again and returns to the land…. The blessing of this beautiful cycle, the most beautiful “water” is the water of the Mairingen distillery. We are receiving a gift 100 years from now.

Distillation” in gin making means extracting and combining the individual characteristics of each botanical.
This is where a “harmony” is created. We call this harmony and the process by which it is created “UZU”.

In this process, we want to learn about “nature” and distill “people” as well. The harmony, growth, and connection of each.
We want to be an entity that can continue to create “UZU” from various perspectives.
And we hope that this “UZU” will reach you as well.

Project Leader Yongtae
For me, Mairingen Distillery is a place that gives me unexpected choices. I hope Mairingen Distillery is like that for you.

Distiller Shinzan
The pandemic that occurred while I was in college made me stop and think deeply. I would like to pursue “what happiness means to me” through Mairingen Distillery.

The unobstructed sky. The sea in the distance. A lush green forest.
Kyotango Mairingen Distillery is located in the northernmost part of Kyoto, in a forest of medicinal herbs and trees.
This forest is the source of the natural cycle of the Tango Peninsula.
It is also the location of the legend of Xufuku, who is said to have come to Japan under the order of the first emperor of China, claiming that there was an elixir of immortality in the east.
It is a treasure house of medicinal herbs with more than 300 kinds of herbs growing wild.

The distillery, with a somewhat retro appearance built in the mid-Showa period, has a large 300-year-old tree that stands out against the white-painted interior.

The Mairingen Distillery is a piece of the continuous Shinra Bansho(Shinra Bansho : all things in nature).