日本語で読む | This is the English version of a bilingual article.
Today’s Pairing
- Craft beer: Toriidou Brewing “Kanuma Shumai Senyo! Ekizochikku Bīru” (“Exotic Bier, made exclusively for Kanuma shumai”) — Spice Wit style, wheat malt paired with sansho pepper and anise seed, 5% ABV, 17 IBU, SRM 3 (cream yellow), light-bodied / Toriidou Brewing (1416-14 Toriiato-cho, Kanuma City, Tochigi; Toriiato Building 1F)
Official Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/toriidou.beer/ - Music: “Densetsu no Otoko ~Viva Gutsu~” (“The Legendary Man ~Viva Gutsu~”) by Hanawa (2004)
YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yDR9vau8Khk
▶ If the player above doesn’t play, open it on YouTube
The Story of the Brewery
A one-minute walk from Tobu Shin-Kanuma Station: on January 16, 2026, Toriidou Brewing opened as a pre-launch in Toriiato-cho, Kanuma City — the first craft beer brewery in the city’s history. It’s run by Kyoji Kazama of Kazama Sogo Service, who also runs the “Nikko Coffee” cafés in Kanuma and Nikko. Kazama had held the idea for this brewery for five years, but the plan was pushed back once by the COVID-19 pandemic. It finally came together when an experienced brewing consultant and two passionate brewers, each arriving from different paths, happened to meet and found they shared the same goal. About a month after the pre-opening, in February, the brewery obtained its license and began serving its own beer, brewed on-site.
Its signature beer is “Kanuma Shumai Senyo! Ekizochikku Bīru” — literally, “Exotic Bier, made exclusively for Kanuma shumai.” It’s a Spice Wit built on wheat malt, combined with sansho (Japanese pepper) and anise seed — a pairing the brewery says has no precedent anywhere in the world. It comes in at 5% ABV, 17 IBU, SRM 3 (a cream-yellow color), and a light body, with aromas suggesting sansho, anise, licorice and mandarin orange. It’s designed to show its true character alongside Kanuma shumai, a dumpling the city is trying to promote as a local specialty. The brewpub has an attached Chinese-style tavern where you can try the freshly brewed draft alongside the house’s own Kanuma shumai.
The Story of the Land
Kanuma City is home to the Oashi River, often called the finest clear stream in the Kanto region. Tochigi Prefecture is also known as a barley-growing region: according to the prefecture’s official website, it ranks second nationwide in two-row barley harvest.
Guts Ishimatsu (born Suzuki Yuji), who died of pneumonia on June 2, 2026, at age 76, was born in Awano, Kamitsuga District, Tochigi — formerly the village of Kiyosu. Following a 2006 merger, that area became part of today’s Kanuma City. Toriiato-cho, where Toriidou Brewing stands, and Kiyosu, where Guts was born, are now both within the same city. In November 2004, Guts built his own pre-death grave at Satsuki Cemetery in Nishizawa-cho, Kanuma. The gravestone reads “Guts Family Grave,” alongside the words “OK Bokujo” (“OK Corral”) and carvings of a boxing glove and championship belt. In September 2026, Kanuma Mayor Shoichi Matsui told the city assembly he was positively considering setting up a memorial hall in Guts’s honor.
The Story of the Song
“Densetsu no Otoko ~Viva Gutsu~” was released on June 30, 2004, on Imperial Records, a Teichiku label. Hanawa wrote both the words and the music himself. The song grew out of a comedy bit he performed on Nippon TV’s “Enta no Kamisama,” built around Guts Ishimatsu’s distinctive turns of phrase and mannerisms, and the single’s jacket featured Guts himself.
On September 2, 2026, around 600 people attended Guts Ishimatsu’s memorial gathering at Tokyo’s Korakuen Hall, including former champions Fighting Harada and Yoko Gushiken and active boxer Naoya Inoue. The ring was decorated with the gown and traditional wide-brimmed hat he wore during his career, along with flowers shaped like red boxing gloves. On that stage, Hanawa sang “Densetsu no Otoko ~Viva Gutsu~,” and reports say the gathering closed with everyone present counting down and shouting “OK Bokujo!!” together. In a place where the man himself was no longer present, the song written for him rang out from start to finish.
Why This Pairing
Guts Ishimatsu was loved for his many sayings and mannerisms, and was often treated as a figure of fun. But listening to Hanawa’s song, what comes through is that he wasn’t simply laughed at — he seems to have been in on the joke, building the laughter alongside everyone else. He wasn’t a man people laughed at; he was a man who made people laugh. Seen that way, the fact that this song was sung all the way through at a memorial gathering he could no longer attend carries even more weight.
“Ekizochikku Bīru” was also built to surprise people and make them smile, pairing sansho and anise in a combination nobody would expect. The brewery chose an unconventional recipe specifically to stand alongside Kanuma’s local shumai. In that willingness to delight people with an unexpected combination, this beer shares something with the kind of laughter Guts left behind.
And above all, this beer was born in the very place where Guts Ishimatsu was born and raised. Toriiato-cho, home to Toriidou Brewing, and Kiyosu, his birthplace, both now sit within the same city of Kanuma. Raising a freshly brewed glass from that hometown, it felt right to remember the other legendary man this town sent out into the world. That’s the pairing this article set out to write.
Where to Try It
“Ekizochikku Bīru” is served only as fresh draft beer, brewed on the premises. It isn’t sold in cans or bottles, and there is no mail-order option. The only way to try it is to visit the brewery in person.
- Name: Toriidou Brewing
- Address: 1416-14 Toriiato-cho, Kanuma City, Tochigi Prefecture, Toriiato Building 1F
- Access: A one-minute walk from Tobu Shin-Kanuma Station (roughly 1 hour 20 to 30 minutes by limited express from Tokyo’s Asakusa Station)
- What to expect: A brewpub with in-house brewing, attached to a Chinese-style tavern serving fresh draft alongside the house’s own Kanuma shumai
- Official Instagram: @toriidou.beer (hours, closing days and the tap lineup can change, so please check before visiting)
All of Toriidou Brewing’s beers, including “Ekizochikku Bīru” featured here, are served only as on-site draft — there is no mail-order option (confirmed September 2026).
▶ If the player above doesn’t play, open it on YouTube
The film JUDGEMENT, released in cinemas in 2012.
That same year also saw the release of Guts Ishimatsu’s film “Tsumi to Batsu” (Crime and Punishment).
With Kazutoshi Inudo (left), the film director who produced JUDGEMENT.
Pairing Dishes Worth Trying
- Toriidou Brewing’s own “Kanuma Shumai”
This beer was designed specifically to pair with Kanuma shumai. The sansho and anise aroma holds its own against the fat of the pork filling. - Mapo tofu seasoned with Sichuan pepper
The tingling sensation of Sichuan pepper shares an aromatic family with sansho, so it layers naturally with the beer’s spice character.
A note on the science: the pungent, aromatic compounds in sansho are highly volatile and register as scent as much as taste, rising up through the nose as you drink. Sichuan pepper, familiar from Chinese cooking, carries a similar tingling sensation, so the two aromas layer together rather than clashing. Carbonation and a mild bitterness are also known to reset the palate after rich, fatty food.
Visiting the Brewery
Toriido Brewing
1416-14 Toriiato-cho, Kanuma City, Tochigi (Toriiato Building 1F). About a 1-min walk from Shin-Kanuma Station (Tobu Nikko Line).
Kanuma City’s first craft beer brewery, opened in January 2026. You can drink its draft beer at the attached bar (there is no mail-order).
Sights Nearby
- Yatai no Machi Central Park / Kanuma City | ~20-min walk (~5 min by car) from the brewery
A park displaying the carved festival floats of the Kanuma Autumn Festival (UNESCO Intangible Cultural Heritage), with a products hall and the Kikusawa-en Japanese garden. - Kanuma Imamiya Shrine / Kanuma City | ~5 min, ~1.5 km by car from the brewery
The shrine where the Kanuma Autumn Festival float rites are dedicated. Its brightly painted main hall is a Tochigi prefectural cultural property.
Hot Springs Nearby
- Kanuma Onsen Hana-Yurari (New Sunpia Tochigi) / Kanuma City | ~15 min, ~8 km by car from the brewery
A day-use hot spring with an open-air bath and a mist sauna; some of its baths are free-flowing spring water.
Opening hours, closing days and day-use bathing availability can change. Please check each facility’s official information before visiting.
A Quick Glossary of Beer Terms
- Craft beer: Beer made by small breweries that put the character of the maker front and centre, as opposed to the uniformity of mass production.
- Malt: Germinated barley (or wheat). It forms the foundation of a beer’s sweetness, colour and body; how deeply it is roasted determines colour and toastiness.
- ABV: Alcohol By Volume. Beer typically runs around 5%; above 8% is considered strong.
- IBU: An international measure of bitterness. Around 10 you barely notice it; above 60 you are in clearly bitter IPA territory.
Sources
- Toriidou Brewing — official Instagram
- Toriidou Brewing crowdfunding project page — MotionGallery (Japanese)
- Vol.7 update — specifications for “Ekizochikku Bīru” — MotionGallery (Japanese)
- Kanuma’s craft beer brewing project — Shimotsuke Shimbun (Japanese)
- Kanuma mayor considers a memorial hall for Guts Ishimatsu — Shimotsuke Shimbun (Japanese)
- Guts Ishimatsu — Wikipedia (Japanese)
- “Densetsu no Otoko ~Viva Gutsu~” — Wikipedia (Japanese)
- Guts Ishimatsu’s memorial gathering — Sankei Sports via Yahoo! News (Japanese)
- Two-row barley — official Tochigi Prefecture site (Japanese)
If you notice any errors in this article, please don’t hesitate to reach out at info@soundrecords.jp.
Read this article in Japanese: 笑わせていた人へ