Nada Gogō Shuzō Kumiai
- 【English】
- Nada Go-gō Sake Makers’ Association
- 【Japanese】
- 灘五郷酒造組合
In pre-war Nada, each go (association of villages) governed its own activities, but in the course of the Second World War, the “Sake Industry Organizations Law” (酒類業団体法) was enacted in June 1943. The resulting mergers saw the foundation of the original Nada Sake Makers’ Association (shuzo kumiai) . The law was repealed in March 1948 following the end of the war, and the Association was temporarily disbanded, but was re-established to support the industry under a slightly altered name (kumiai (組合, union), was changed to kyokai (協会, association)).
In September 1948, the Association was re-formed and re-named in accordance with the “Industrial Unions Law for Small and Medium-sized Businesses and Similar” (中小企業等工業組合法), then reverted to the original name with the passing in February 1953 of the “Act on Securing of Liquor Tax and on Liquor Business Associations” (酒税の保全及び酒類業組合等に関する法律), and the Association’s name has remained unchanged to the present day.
The sake industry of Nada lost the greater part of its membership in World War Two, but, thanks to the vigorous efforts of each firm towards reconstruction, production gradually increased and the number of members also recovered. Then, in 1995, the Great Hanshin Earthquake caused tremendous damage. Having also overcome this great disaster, the Association continues has it has done since its inception, coming through many great changes to serve Nada and the wider seishu industry.