The Secret Story of the Maker

Joraku Shuzo has a store stocking all their products, located on the distillery grounds surrounded by lovely, large trees. Inside, a giant statue of Antonio Inoki, professional wrestling legend, stood staring at me while I browsed through the Kuma shochu and liqueurs.  The statue is a remnant of the "Antonio Inoki Bar," which was once operated by a group company to which Joraku Shuzo belonged. There are only a few shochu bottles remaining with Inoki's actual handwritten signature on the labels.
 
"Michi," named after a famous poem, is a potato shochu, and "Burning Spirit," symbolizing Mr. Inoki, is a barrel-aged rice shochu. "In fact, Mr. Inoki visited Joraku Shuzo, and his picture is still displayed," Mr. Yoshida said, and then told us a secret "I heard that the brewery was closed that day he visited, and so no one met him."
Antonio Inoki, of Japanese descent, took the world by storm with his professional wrestling and mixed martial arts performance.  His grandfather on his mother's side is said to have been the last generation of the Sagara clan that ruled Hitoyoshi Kuma region - and Mr. Inoki said he felt that he had a special bond with Kumamoto. Joraku Shuzo will be a "sacred place" not only for Kuma shochu fans, but also for Inoki fans.
 

A note for English readers:

Kanjoi Inoki, best known by the ring name Antonio Inoki, was a Japanese professional wrestler, martial artist, later a politician and Member of the House of Councilors of Japan, and a lifetime promoter of professional wrestling and mixed martial arts. The New York Times newspaper headline October 1, 2022, reads  "Antonio Inoki, Japanese Wrestler and Improbable Diplomat, Dies at 79 - After gaining fame for an odd 1976 bout with Muhammad Ali, he became a politician and globe-traveling broker of peace."