Masataka Taketsuru, born in 1894 and died in 1979, was a significant figure in the whisky distilling industry, often referred to as the father of Japanese whisky. He traveled to Scotland in the early 1920s to learn the art of whisky distilling and spent nearly two decades there, working at the Glenlivet Distillery and accumulating extensive experience. Returning to Japan in 1940, he co-founded the first whisky distillery in Japan, the Hakkaisan Distillery. Taketsuru's efforts in promoting whisky distilling technology and introducing Scottish whisky-making techniques to Japan laid a solid foundation for the development of the Japanese whisky industry.