Not every figure from Japan’s turning point is on the winning side of the story. Spend a little time with historical dramas, museum exhibits or the people at your local izakaya, and you will find that some of the most admired names belong to those who fought to keep the old order standing. Hijikata Toshizo is one of them. This beer is a good way to meet him.
A pale lager for a Shinsengumi commander
Meiji Restoration Toshizo Hijikata 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 is the story. Hijikata Toshizo (1835-1869) was the Shinsengumi vice-commander who fought for the Tokugawa shogunate. In a series built around the Meiji Restoration, he is the figure from the other side, which makes the set more honest about how divided the era was.
It is a themed expression, so the label is part of the product. A pale lager is a sensible companion for a story like this: light enough to keep pouring while the conversation turns to loyalty, and to what people owe a cause that is already losing.
How Meiji Restoration Toshizo Hijikata 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 pass around.
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 cheese chikuwa from FamilyMart; the soft, salty fish-paste snack suits a light lager. For a Japanese dish, try it with karaage, Japanese fried chicken, where the crisp lager cuts through the oil and keeps the plate from feeling heavy.
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 Toshizo Hijikata Beer delivered in Japan
Meiji Restoration Toshizo Hijikata 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 Toshizo Hijikata Beer →]
https://omorimart.com/product/meiji-restoration-toshizo-hijikata-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 commander who stayed loyal to the end, dry the cup, and drink to the ones who kept faith with a lost cause.
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