Masataka Taketsuru

Masataka Taketsuru was the Japanese chemist and whisky maker who founded Nikka Whisky Distilling in 1934 and established its first distillery at Yoichi, Hokkaido. Nikka’s official history and distillery pages identify him as the company’s founder and state that he chose Miyagikyo as the site for Nikka’s second distillery in 1969 to create a whisky distinct from Yoichi. He is widely described by Nikka as the father of Japanese whisky, and the company’s current Taketsuru-branded blend is built around malts from Yoichi and Miyagikyo.