1912年創業、気仙沼の風土を生かし、人と人、そして人と自然のつながりを大切にして地酒を醸す男山本店。 菅原社長は会社の舵取りをしながら、商工会議所の会頭、10個以上の団体委員会会長など様々な地域サポートをされ ています。杜氏(BREWING MASTER)の柏さんは、お酒の製造・品質管理をされ、全ての工程を5感でしっかり確 かめて、生き物を育てるかのように大事に大事にお酒を作られています。 ベトナムのGiangと韓国のHezinは、気仙沼と共に育む男山本店の魅力をどのように海外に向けて伝えるかのコミュ ニケーションデザインを考えました。

Otokoyama Honten has been brewing local sake since its establishment in 1912, using its local resources blessed by the climate of Kesennuma and the connections between people and nature, as well as the con- nection among the people. President Sugawara does not only manage Otokoyama Honten, but is also the head of the local chamber of commerce, and plays the role of advisor for more than ten local organizations. Brewing Master Kashiwa, who is in charge of the production process, quality controls, never goes through the motion during the technical checks. Instead, he watches, listens, smells, touches and even showers love during the checks as if he is bringing up a child. Our designers, Giang from Vietnam and Hezin from Repub- lic of Korea, came together and brainstormed on communication design ideas so as to communicate the allures of Otokoyama Honten and Kesennuma to people outside Japan.

実は、男山という名前の酒蔵は全国に10個以上存在します。また創業当時からラベルある京都の地名伏見があるた め、気仙沼地元のお酒と伝える必要性を感じ、 15年前より”蒼天伝”(SOTENDEN)をブランド名にしました。 蒼天伝: THE LEGEND OF BLUE SKY AND SEA、”気仙沼のカツオ(9月がシーズン)に合うお酒”という思いで作ら れたお酒です。

Actually, there are more than ten sake breweries with the name “Otokoyama” in Japan. However, the name “Otokoyama” actually originated from Kyoto, and so they decided to focus on communicating the brand of Kesennuma instead of the generic “Otokoyama”. For this purpose, they came up with the brand “Sotenden” 15 years ago.
Sotenden: The Legend of Blue Sky and Sea, was created as the perfect sake that complements bonito fish (katsuo), which is a popular local catch in Kesennuma.

震災前、男山本店のお店と事務所はフェリーポートの近くにあり、津波で建物の3階部分のみが残りました。(今後 再建予定) 津波は門の手前まで水が来ましたが工場は幸いなことに震災の被害がなく、気仙沼の復興の道標になるよう震災の 次の日から営業を再開されました。その後も男山本店ブランドは気仙沼復興の道標となり、そして全ての人の気持 ちをつなぐ、まさに菅原社長の活動を体現している商品です。

Before the Great East Japan Earthquake, the office and shop of Otokoyama Honten were located near the ferry port, but they were devastated by the tsunami, leaving only the third floor of the building. It is, however, due for reconstruction.
Fortunately, the factory was not terribly affected, and they resumed operations the day after the disaster and soon became a symbol of recovery and hope for Kesennuma. Otokoyama Honten’s brand contin- ued to be the beacon of hope as it united the locals together as the products became the perfect exem- plification of President Sugawara’s hard work.

2日目夜のホームステイでは、居酒屋にて地元にの料理と蒼天伝をいただきました。もちろん戻 りカツオと一緒に。地域に貢献されている菅原社長の人柄を垣間見ることができ、全てのお客 さんが菅原さんに挨拶をされていました。 デザイナー達はお酒つくりの工程を理解するのには苦労をしたようですが、気仙沼の風土を生 かした人と人のつながり、人と自然のつながりを大切にしているお酒、そしてアート作品を作 るようなお酒作りを体験させていただき、海外市場の展開についてのコミュニケーションデザ インをそれぞれの目線でチャレンジしました。

On the day of homestay, we had local cuisines, such as the seasonal bonito fish, togeth- er with Sotenden at a local Izakaya. President Sugawara’s presence, popularity and passion were apparent as we witnessed how every single customer in the Izakaya greet- ed him. His contributions to the region must have touched the hearts of all the locals. The designers had a hard time understanding the complicated sake production process, but we had a great time experiencing the human connections and human-nature con- nections that were created magically by the sake. We also had hands-on experience on sake production, which felt like we were creating an art masterpiece. Each challenging experience gave us further insights and ideas on how we could tweak the communica- tion design for business expansion overseas.

Giangは現在男山本店が抱えている課題、”気仙沼の男山本店ブランディング”、ロゴ、ラベルでのブランドコ ミュニケーションを提案。また”プレミアム酒を海外へ”伝えるためのアプリの提案、酒ウィキペディア、 味、 料理に合った酒の提案。
Giang suggested a change in Otokoyama’s brand design in terms of its logo and labels, as brought up earlier as a problem originally faced by Otokoyama due to the common use of the name “Otokoyama” in Japan. Furthermore, he also came up with the idea of a mobile app that conveys its premium sake to other countries, and Sake Wikipedia that compiles recommendations of food that complements the sake.

Hezinは、男山本店の価値を”気仙沼の希望”とし、それをアートで表現。山、海、人、そしてミラクルで構成されたグラフィックで、ボトルデザイン、ボックス、カード、T-shirt、そしてイベント展開する提案。

Hezin, on the other hand, focused on Otokoyama Honten as the beacon of hope of Kesennuma and expressed it through art design. She used graphic design with themes such as mountains, seas, humans and miracles, and combined them to produce sake bottles, boxes, cards, T-shirts and event themes.

二人の発表後、こちらのメッセージを男山本店さんより頂きました。
”発表の内容はお世辞抜きで素晴らしかったです。
Giangの米を使ったデザインは面白かったし、参考になりました。
Hezinのデザインを見たときは「え？」と驚きもありましたが、説明を聞いてすごく納得できるところが多かったです。
お二人が感じた気仙沼の山や海や人や神秘性を大切に感じながら酒造りをしていこうと思います。”

After listening to the designers’ prsentations, Otokoyama Honten gave us the following comments:
“The presentations were honestly, absolutely amazing.
Giang’s design idea using rice was interesting and provoked some inspirations.
Hezin’s design was puzzling at first but after listening to her explanation we were convinced by her message.
We are truly inspired and motivated by them, and we will always remember how they had interpreted Kesennuma’s mountains, seas, people and magic.
We also had a new realization: Sake connects us all, our feelings, our inner selves, our emotions.”

”お酒は全ての人の気持ちをつなぐ”
気仙沼、男山本店はいつかきっと世界のDOORへ気持ちがつながっていくと信じております。

“Sake connects us all- our feelings, our inner selves, our emotions”
I strongly believe that Kesennuma and Otokoyama Honten will open our doors to the world and connect ourselves with the people around the world, in the near future.