The Japanese rice wine called sake is made using ancient brewing methods. They date back more than a thousand years.
Junichiro Ozawa, the 18th-generation leader of Ozawa Brewery, founded in 1702, hopes sake-brewing will win recognition as a UNESCO Intangible Cultural Heritage. Officials of the UN agency are expected to decide on the nomination next month.
“We always think about the people who’re enjoying our sake when we make it. I’m now so excited, imagining the faces of all the people around the world,” he told reporters during a visit to the brewery on the edge of Tokyo.
Sake was the drink of choice of the nobility represented in Japan’s most celebrated work of writing, The Tale of Genji. Sake has been growing in popularity in recent years, helped by an increasing international interest in Japanese cooking and food.
Sake exports from Japan total more than $265 million a year, with the U.S. and China as the two biggest buyers. That information comes from the Japan Sake and Shochu Makers Association.
Sake exports have almost doubled in value since 2018. But exports still make up a very small amount of overall sake production in Japan. Brazil, Mexico and Southeast Asia, as well as France and the rest of Europe, all places where Japanese restaurants are gaining popularity, are starting to take a liking to sake.
The main elements in sake are rice and water. The production process takes about two months and includes fermentation and pressing.
For a product to be named Japanese sake, the rice must be Japanese. The relatively soft quality of freshwater in Japan, like that provided by the two wells at Ozawa Brewery, is also important.
Among Ozawa’s sake choices is the Junmai Daiginjo, one of the top offerings, with 15 percent alcohol content and costing about $23 for 720 milliliters.
Another, Karakuti Nigorizake, is unrefined sake. The liquid is not as clear as usual sake. It has 17 percent alcohol content and sells for $16 for 1,800 milliliters.
In Japan, sake is used to purify and to celebrate. Small tastes of sake from a cup show the confirmation of a marriage, for example.
“Sake is not just an alcoholic beverage. It is Japanese culture itself,” said Hitoshi Utsunomiya of the Japan Sake and Shochu Makers Association.
The UNESCO Intangible Cultural Heritage designation can be awarded to practices passed down for generations. These practices include spoken traditions, performing arts, and food making.
The UNESCO designation is not meant to be used for commercial purposes. But industry officials are open about their hope that such recognition will increase international sales. They believe the designation could help the tradition stay alive amid competition from beer, grape-based wine and other drinks.
One reason for sake’s growing popularity around the world is that its smooth flavor goes well with a number of foods. These foods include sushi, spicy Asian and Western dishes, says Max Del Vita, a sake wine expert and co-founder of The Sake Company, an import and distribution business in Singapore.
Del Vita told The Associated Press. “Sake is more than a drink. It is a living embodiment of Japan’s seasonal rhythms, community values and artistic heritage.”
I’m John Russell.
