The Onin War (1467) prompted a civil war in Japan, a period of unrest when warriors fought for power nationwide.Products started to circulate actively in castle towns of warring lords and around temples and shrines. Local sake excluding “Soubousyu” (sake produced in Buddhist temples by monks) expand...

By Ryuji TakahashiBetween Shinjuku district and Hatsudai district is an area traditionally called the Jyunisou district on the west side of Shinjuku C...

By Yuji MatsumotoRecently in the U.S., wine discount stores like BevMo and Total Wine and More, etc., are prosperous. Also, rural areas have local large liquor stores that sell various alcoholic beverages (tequila, ji-beer (local craft beers), champagne, whiskey, etc.) in addition to wine. When I we...

Sake Nation “A new way to promote Japanese sake combines a live-stream (two-dimensional) event with an in-person tasting (three-dimensional) event: Part I”By Kosuke KujiThe production volume of Japanese sake has been dropping continuously in Japan to date since 1975. To the contrary, production volu...

Sake was produced in Shinto shrines and Buddhist temple grounds in high volumes as offerings since the syncretistic fusion of Shintoism and Buddhism, “prohibition (of sake)” was issued in 1420. Annual rice yield collected as taxes gathered from across Japan to medieval Buddhist temples, as the vast ...

By Ryuji TakahashiKanemasu Brewery (Shibata city, Niigata prefecture), producer of Junmai Daiginjo “Hatsuhana” and “Kinmasu,” celebrated 200 years sin...

By Yuji MatsumotoHappy New Year! We look forward to working with you again this year.No matter how good a product is, the message needs to be communicated for customers to try the product.let’s consider when the appropriate timing is and how to communicate the appeal of Japanese sake in a way that l...

By Kosuke KujiHokkaido prefecture is fast garnering attention as home to one of several new locations of Kamikawa Taisetsu Sake Brewery, featured in the last report. Another reason Hokkaido is garnering attention is a sake brewery in Gifu prefecture relocated their entire sake brand to produce sake ...

Sake breweries were established by the Taira no Kiyomori era at the end of the 12th century. However, sake breweries started to operate nationwide around the 13th century.The Kamakura Shogunate (Tokiyori HOJO) destroyed approximately 37,200 sake barrels in Kamakura city in 1252, and promulgated the ...

By Ryuji TakahashiRecently, the “World Liquor and Cheese Festival” was held at the Daimaru Tokyo department store connected directly to the Tokyo Station, one of the terminal stations representative of Japan. The admission fee was 3,000 JPY, the shopping voucher to make purchases within the venue. T...