Emi Machida

Emi Machida
Born	1975 Maebashi, Gunma Prefecture, Japan
Occupation	Toji (master brewer of sake)
Known for	First female toji at Machida Brewery; winner of seven gold medals at the Annual Japan Sake Awards

Emi Machida (町田 恵美) is a distinguished toji, or master brewer of sake in Japan, and notably the first female in her family to assume this position at Machida Brewery located in Gunma Prefecture, an establishment with a history spanning more than 130 years. She actively participates in the Women's Sake Industry Group. Among her prominent sake products are Junmai 60 Wakamizu (純米60 若水) and the Liao Sei line. The sakes crafted under Machida's supervision have garnered seven gold medals at the Annual Japan Sake Awards.

Biography

Machida was born in 1975 in Maebashi, Gunma Prefecture, and was raised within her family's brewery, which has been operational since 1883. As the oldest of three sisters, she completed a literature degree at Showa Women's University in Tokyo in 1996. After spending three years in an unfulfilling profession, she returned to join the family brewery in 2000, departing from Tokyo where her siblings pursued careers as a dancer and chef respectively.

Her brewing skills were honed through collaboration with experienced brewers and by studying time-honored recipes. Entering an industry traditionally dominated by men, she encountered gender-based challenges; women had historically been barred from sake production at her family's brewery. Initially, some male staff opposed her leadership, and certain customers declined to purchase sake brewed by a woman.

In 2001, she married Akiya, who took her surname and became involved with the brewery. Machida achieved her first gold medal for sake brewing in 2006, marking the first time a woman from the brewery earned this distinction. Since then, she has secured seven gold medals at the Annual Japan Sake Awards along with various accolades from local liquor evaluation panels.