Abstract
Fifty-four samples of Sake brewing water, which were gathered from brewers located in nearly all the districts of Japan, were compared with their chemical compositions. They can be devided into five groups as follows; the first group is characterized by the rich contents of phosphates, the second group shows generally higher quantities of all components except phosphates compared with the other groups, the compositions of water of the third group are very similar to those of the first except the very low contents of phosphates, the fourth group consists of those which are lower in the salts contents than those of the third except sodium, and then the fifth group involves the water which has the lowest content of salts. All of the first group belong without exception to the water called “Miyamizu” which is famous for being used for the brewing of “Sake of Nada” The third group includes samples from Fushimi and Hiroshima areas which are also well known for the production of good Sake.
