Suzuki Shoten (Suzuki & Co.) , which was established in Kobe in 1874, built Dairi Shusei Seizosho (spirits manufacturing; present-day Nikka Whisky Distilling Co., Ltd. Moji Manufacturing Plant) in the Dairi area of Moji City (present-day Moji District, City of Kitakyushu) in 1914. It procured the fermentation ingredients such as molasses, wheat bran, and brewer’s yeast necessary for brewing shochu (clear liquor) from Teikoku Bakushu K.K. (Imperial Beer Co., Inc.) , Dairi Seifun (Dairi Flour Mills), and Dai Nippon Seito (Dai Nippon Sugar) operated by Suzuki & Co., and manufactured shochu to export to Korea and China. The biggest reason Suzuki & Co. built a plant in Dairi was because of the developed infrastructure crucial to the advancement of commerce and industry. Moji Port was designated a special port of export for goods such as coal in 1889, and 2 years later Moji Station (present-day Mojiko Station) opened. The Dairi District was close to both and was a major base of distribution that transported raw materials and products by railroad and ship. Exporting to foreign countries was also possible. This accessibility caught the attention of Suzuki & Co., and it first built Suzuki & Co. Dairi Seitojo (sugar refinery; present-day Kanmon Seito Co., Ltd. ) in 1903. Dairi Shusei Seizosho was constructed in 1914 and reorganized into Nippon Shurui Jozo (brewing company) in 1917. In 1925, the 3 companies of Higo Shusei (spirits manufacturing), Dai Nippon Shusei (spirits manufacturing), and Shimabara Nishihi Kogyo in Kyushu merged to form Dai Nippon Shurui Jozo (brewing company). After subsequent repeated mergers, the company joined with Kyowa Hakko Kogyo in 1960 and the company name was changed to Kyowa Hakko Kyogo Moji Plant. For the time being, the mergers came to an end. Over the next 40 years Kyowa Hakko Kyogo Moji Plant grew as one of Japan’s leading liquor plants that manufactured products including shochu, mirin (sweet sake used as seasoning), and raw alcohol. When the liquor business of Kyowa Hakko Kyogo was split and transferred to Asahi Breweries, Ltd. in 2002, the Asahi Kyowa Shurui Moji Plant was established. In 2006, Asahi Breweries bought all the stock owned by Kyowa Hakko Kogyo and the company merged with Nikka Whisky, which is a subsidiary of Asahi Breweries. Thus, the Nikka Whisky Moji Plant was created and still exists today. In 2014, the plant celebrated its 100-year anniversary. It handles the entire shochu manufacturing process from brewing and distillation to blending and filling, and manufactures products and unprocessed sake such as shochu made from wheat, rice, and buckwheat.