If you have ever watched a Japanese historical drama, or just walked through Ueno Park, you have probably met Saigo Takamori without knowing it. He is the large, solemn figure people point to when they say Japan once had a man who stood for something even when it cost him everything. Most foreign residents get the outline of his story long before they get the details. This beer is a good reason to ask for them.
A pale lager for the last samurai
Meiji Restoration Saigo Takamori Beer comes from Nippon Craft Beer’s themed line in Tokyo, part of a modern themed series sold under the Ōkuma Shigenobu name. It is a Japanese craft pale lager at 4.5% ABV. The brief gives no recipe detail, so we will not describe hops or malt we cannot verify.
The name does the work. Saigo Takamori (1828-1877) is remembered as the “last samurai,” a leader of the Meiji Restoration who later led the Satsuma Rebellion. His life runs from one side of Japan’s great transition to the other, which is why his name still carries weight a century and a half later.
It is a themed expression, so the label is part of the product. A pale lager is a sensible match: light enough to keep drinking while the conversation turns serious, which with this name on the bottle it eventually will.
How Meiji Restoration Saigo Takamori Beer is drunk at home
In Japan, a round starts with Kanpai (乾杯) (KAHN-pie), “dry the cup,” raised with eye contact. The same characters appear in Chinese gānbēi and Korean geonbae, three East Asian cultures sharing one toast.
A light pale lager like this belongs to the nomikai, the after-work drinking party that is the foundational Japanese social ritual. It goes with yakitori, the grilled chicken skewers that define the after-work table. Edamame arrives first, young soybeans with salt, the universal opener before anything else is ordered. As the night goes on, otsumami takes over: the pickled, fried and dried small bar snacks that keep the table busy between rounds. Come hanami in April, cherry-blossom parties under the trees bring sake and beer out together, and a themed bottle gives the blanket a story to argue over.
How to drink it in Japan
Serve it cold, in a glass if you like, and read the label while you pour. From the conbini, pick up a pack of salted peanuts from FamilyMart; plain salt and crunch suit a light lager and a long conversation. For a Japanese dish, try it with tonkatsu, the breaded pork cutlet, where the crisp lager cuts through the fried coating.
It works from spring through early autumn, when a cold, light lager is what you want. At a Tokyo izakaya, a bottle of craft beer can run ¥800 or more. By the case at Omori Mart, the per-bottle price comes down noticeably.
Get Meiji Restoration Saigo Takamori Beer delivered in Japan
Meiji Restoration Saigo Takamori Beer is available now at Omori Mart, sold by the case in 330ml bottles.
- Free shipping on orders over ¥15,000
- Pay at FamilyMart, 7-Eleven, or Lawson, plus bank transfer and card
- Delivered nationwide across Japan
Rakuten and Amazon Japan don’t carry this themed release. If you like beers with a story behind them, this is where to find one.
[Shop Meiji Restoration Saigo Takamori Beer →]
https://omorimart.com/product/meiji-restoration-saigo-takamori-beer-330ml-x-24-bottles/
Kanpai (乾杯) is the word every other toast in this shop comes back to. Raise the bottle to the last samurai, dry the cup, and drink to the ones who stood by their convictions.
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