This Academy aims to learn about koji from the past and present, from the microscopic koji mold to the macroscopic, global perspective and the scale of human history. By experiencing and tasting koji, and engaging in discussions, we seek to utilize it in the future.
The event is scheduled for Thursday, February 20, 2025!
This time, we welcome Shoya Imai, representative and brewer of LINNÉ, as our guest speaker.
mentor
Instructor Profiles
Yuichiro Murai
29th Head of Kojiya Sanzaemon
After graduating from Keio University, he obtained an MBA in Global Management in Arizona, USA. After gaining on-site experience in the family business, he became the head in 2016. Aiming to create a new fermentation culture, he is engaged in new businesses to expand the market for seed koji. As a manager of a seed koji manufacturer, he gives lectures on koji both domestically and internationally, and in 2022, he obtained a Master of Arts degree from Kyoto University of the Arts. He currently lectures at the same university, and in 2024, he published his first book, "Hatsukou as General Education for Business Elites" (Asa Publishing).
Shoya Imai
Representative of LINNÉ, Brewer
Former Toji (master brewer) of WAKAZE. After graduating from the University of Tokyo's Faculty of Agriculture, he joined Oisix Ra Daichi (now Oisix ra daichi) and was involved in EC business, retail store business, and corporate planning. From 2015, while training at breweries such as Aramasa Shuzo, Masuda Shuzo-ten, Abe Shuzo, and Hijiri Shuzo, he co-founded WAKAZE in 2016. He established breweries as the first Toji in Tokyo and Paris, respectively. After 4 and a half years of brewing experience in Paris and California, he returned to Japan in 2024 and founded Linné Co., Ltd. in April, with the desire to "unleash the unknown potential of koji" to the world once again from Japan. His family runs Hijiri Shuzo in Gunma, founded in 1841. His eldest brother is the 8th kuramoto (brewery owner), his second eldest brother is a kura-bito (brewery worker) at Nito in Aichi, and both his mother and grandmother are from brewing families. photo: ©AKANE
Takeshi Imasato
Executive Chef, Hotel Arc Riche Toyohashi
Born and raised in Nagasaki Prefecture in a family that owned a restaurant, he began his culinary career under Katsumi Kamikakimoto, one of the leaders of French cuisine in Japan. After honing his skills at L'Hôtel de Hieizan and French restaurants in Osaka, he became the head chef of the main dining room when Hotel Arc Riche Toyohashi opened, and was appointed executive chef in 2014. He has inherited the concept of "local production for local consumption" and cuisine that maximizes the quality of ingredients and delights the five senses, which he has built since the hotel's opening. As a member of the "Escoffier Society of Japan," he works to develop and promote French cuisine. He is also involved in activities and social contributions to make Higashi-Mikawa a mecca for food creators, as part of the "Higashi-Mikawa Food Valley Concept" promoted by the SARA Group, to which the hotel belongs.