When Saneyuki Tsuchiya opened Urizun in 1972, the awamori scene was very different. The local drink had suffered badly at the hands of beer, cheap shōchūs and foreign spirits, and many makers were hunkered down in their foxholes, hoping only to survive. 2011, Chris Bunting, “Urizun (Okinawa)”, in Drinking Japan: A Guide to Japan’s Best Drinks and Drinking Establishments, North Clarendon, Vt.: Tuttle Publishing, →ISBN, chapter 3 (The Joys of Okinawan Awamori), page 130: