Master Blender
Jota Tanaka
Master Blender, Fuji Gotemba Distillery
- Discipline
- Master Blender
- Based in
- Gotemba, Japan
i. Biography
Since 2017, Jota Tanaka has held the Master Blender role at Fuji Gotemba Distillery in Gotemba, Japan, where the work sits between sensory judgment, repeatable process, and accumulated house knowledge. His career has stayed close to Japanese whisky blending, with each step adding range in quality control, product development, and the coordination required to shape a final blend.
The Climb
Training at Hokkaido University and the University of California, Davis gave Jota Tanaka a base that linked technical rigor with the practical vocabulary of taste. From 1995, he worked in wine quality assurance and product development at Kirin-Seagram, Fuji-Gotemba plant in Japan, where consistency and control were part of the daily brief. In the same period, from 1995–1998, he also served as wine marketing representative at Kirin-Seagram, moving between production-side precision and the outward language used to present a product. That combination of analysis and communication carried into his next post. In 2002–2009, he served as director of quality, in charge of product development at Four Roses Distillery LLC in Kentucky, USA, extending his work beyond Japan and into a different production context. By 2010–2017, he had returned to Japan as chief blender at Kirin Whisky in Japan, a role centered on composition, balance, and the maintenance of house character. Since 2017, Jota Tanaka has been Master Blender of Fuji Gotemba Distillery. Read in sequence, the roles show a career built through quality assurance, product development, marketing, and blending leadership, with the line of work narrowing steadily toward the management of whisky character.
Today
Since 2017, Tanaka has served as Master Blender at Fuji Gotemba Distillery in Gotemba, Japan. His specialty is Japanese whisky blending, and his own wording is direct about the role: "I am a Master Blender for Fuji Gotenba distillery. I am a second Master Blender in our 50-year whiskey making history." That line places the work inside a longer institutional history while also marking his position within it. It frames the role as one of inheritance and responsibility, with the emphasis on what the blender carries forward rather than on ceremony.
Career - Master Blender — Fuji Gotemba Distillery, Japan (2017–present) - Wine quality assurance and product development — Kirin-Seagram, Fuji-Gotemba plant, Japan (from 1995) - Wine marketing representative — Kirin-Seagram (1995–1998) - Director of quality, in charge of product development — Four Roses Distillery LLC, Kentucky, USA (2002–2009) - Chief blender — Kirin Whisky, Japan (2010–2017) Education: Hokkaido University; University of California, Davis
In Their Words “I am a Master Blender for Fuji Gotenba distillery. I am a second Master Blender in our 50-year whiskey making history.”
Recognition
Jota's honors include Inducted into the Order of the Writ, Master Distiller / Master Blender of the Year, and Induction into the World Whisky Awards Hall of Fame. Each recognition points to a career that has moved across institutions and borders while earning notice within the whisky trade.
FAQ What is Jota Tanaka's current role? As of 2026, Jota Tanaka is Master Blender. Where did Jota Tanaka train or study? Jota Tanaka trained at Hokkaido University and University of California, Davis. What recognition has Jota Tanaka received? Inducted into the Order of the Writ (2019).
