Kitaoka Honten brewery is located in the town of Yoshino, south of Nara, which was the first capital of Japan in the 8th century, at the eastern end of the Silk Road. The brewery was founded in 1868 and began by fermenting soy sauce and Sake until Sojuro, one of the heirs of the estate, saw the potential in distilling and fermenting local fruit and flora. Today, Kitoaka Honten has built a reputation across Japan for their extraordinary liqueurs.