Think of a national drink and, even if it has never touched your lips, Japan’s sake would be on most shortlists, along with France and wine, Germany and beer, and Russia and vodka. And now, the centuries-old tradition of making an alcoholic beverage from polished rice was recently nominated by a UNESCO committee for inclusion on a list of practices that are an “intangible cultural heritage of humanity”.
Besides sake (pronounced sah-kay), the committee this year nominated a wide range of regional specialities, including one from the Caribbean. As reported by the Associated Press (AP), “At a meeting in Luque, Paraguay, members of UNESCO’s committee for safeguarding humanity’s cultural heritage voted to recognize 45 cultural practices and products around the world, including Brazilian white cheese, Caribbean cassava bread, and Palestinian olive oil soap.”
Like fine wines, the taste of a sake will depend on the rice used, the water that it is fermented in (and often added to soften its taste), and most critically, the koji, the yeast added to the fermentation process. Traditional sake brewing is a highly labour-intensive affair, definitely not for the faint of heart. It requires 24-hour human interaction, every day from October to April each year. In some breweries in Japan, the workers live together as a unit for the entire six-month period.
The process of traditional sake making itself is a complete workout.
Sake is made by master brewers (toji) with the help of brewery workers (kurabito), as reported by the Japan Times. Brewery workers use a long paddlelike ladle to stir huge wooden vats of steamed rice, water and koji mould by hand every 10-15 minutes for several hours. Then there’s the periodic smell test to gauge the flavour, and sorting through the steamed rice by hand to check for and break up clumps.
It was primarily this feature that recently earned it a place on UNESCO’s list.
The Japan Sake and Shochu Makers Association’s website notes that the consideration began when, in 2022, Japan submitted an application for traditional Japanese sake brewing techniques, including Japanese sake, honkaku shochu and awamori, to UNESCO’s Intangible Cultural Heritage list. Shochu and awamori are regional variations of sake.
The Japan Times reports that, “The art of traditional sake brewing, which was recommended for the list last month, was recognised by the committee for its high level of technique that has been passed down for centuries, as well as the relevance that it continues to hold in Japan.”
Sake is often enjoyed warmed, but many drink it cold. A proper sake cup is about the size of a large thimble, but it can also be a small dishlike cup or a square, open-top box shape made of wood.
While there is cautious anticipation that the UNESCO designation will provide a major boost for sake sales globally, Tatsuya Ishikawa, head brewer for Tsukinoi Sake Brewery is hoping for even more – a direct recognition of the work of artisans, craftsmen, and a respect for the process as a uniquely Japanese traditional culture.
Addressing a webinar hosted by the Foreign Press Centre of Japan on Tuesday, December 17, on the topic - “Traditional Sake Making Added to Intangible Cultural Heritage List - Ishikawa said that while there are different ways to make koji, the most traditional was to make a koji using specially handcrafted tools.
He notes that, in the application, the one request was that the koji be made by hand. The handmade koji, and the elements used in its creation, including a special box and wooden bucket, ensure that “there is no interaction with machines”.
He insists that the use of these traditional tools is key to distinguishing it as traditional cultural heritage, which should be carefully passed on to the younger generation.
“Of course, we as brewers have to develop our people to pass on the tradition but we also can’t do that alone. That is because (the number of) these craftsmen – who have to be skilled to make these tools is actually declining. And the reason is that our industry is using less and less of these tools.”
Ishikawa says more attention should be paid to “true traditional sake making which would recognise using these tools which would (engage) more of the craftsmen making these tools”.
Ishikawa, who is also vice-chair of the Preservation Society of Japanese Koji-based Sake Making Craftmanship, fears that the craft/tools may soon cease to exist, and urges preserving the authenticity of the process – ensuring that “we are passing down skills and techniques that will never change in the future”.
As for the end product, Ishikawa says there are various ways to make sake which still give good results, “but just looking at the results is not enough”. The drive, he says, is “to develop people to adopt the more traditional way”.
He hopes that the focus will be “to expand to develop the human resources by being more aware of the techniques and skills”.