By Kosuke KujiBefore the novel coronavirus pandemic, sake competitions were actively held worldwide, such as the International Wine Challenge (IWC) in England, Kura Master in France, and Joy of Sake in America, etc. Due to the sweeping novel coronavirus pandemic however, these competitions were canc...

Sake production using mold to saccharify starch spread through Laurel forest, East Asia to northeast China, Japan, and Indonesia. Food ingredients consist of Japanese millet, proso millet, millet, rice, etc. From North China to Korea, wheat malt is used. Rice malt (loose koji grains) is not used. Al...

By Yuji MatsumotoEspecially when it comes to pairing Japanese sake with food, many people likely think, “What’s with the exaggeration…? It doesn’t really matter.” In this issue, I’d like to pass on to our readers a trick that enhances one’s abilities to pair sake with food.First, please select three...

By Kosuke KujiThe Beijing 2022 Winter Olympics and Paralympics were held this year. The festive mood seemed to continue as the games were held approximately six months after the Tokyo Summer Olympics was postponed a year ago. It was great to see the event held with thorough coronavirus measures in p...

Yashiori sake is the first sake mentioned in Kojiki (Records of Ancient Matters), Nihonshoki (Chronicles of Japan), “Kiki-shinwa” (Mythology) in “Yamatano-orochi: Eight-headed, Eight-tailed Serpent.” “Ya-” (eight) means “many times, repeatedly,” while “yashiori” means “to press.” Rice and malted ric...

By Ryuji TakahashiNakatani Brewing Co., Ltd. is a long-established sake brewery operating since the Edo period (1603-1867). Located in Yamato-koriyama city, Nara prefecture, the brewery’s sake product Mikka-odori garnered attention. Upon release, master sake brewers from other sake breweries visite...

By Yuji MatsumotoWhile sake and food pairing is now the norm, why not try to change your perception in your approach? While comparisons are made regularly, wine is compared to other wine, sake is compared to other sake, and shochu is compared to other shochu. This is great to compare the subtle diff...

By Kosuke KujiShocking news of Russia invading Ukraine rattled Japan in the end of February 2022. A nation that relinquished war based on the three non-nuclear principles and Article 9 of the Japanese Constitution, Japan advocates for peace. Therefore, it never occurred to the Japanese that a major ...

Kuchi-kami sake is produced by chewing grains such as rice or seed in the mouth, spit out, and left as is, documented in the “Oosumikoku-fudoki.” Geographically, kuchi-kami sake spread from the South Pacific Ocean to the northern/southern American continents, thought to have spread from the southern...

By Ryuji TakahashiSake shop Ji Sakeya opened in the neighboring town of Hatsudai in the Shinjuku ward of Tokyo six years ago. Our sake shop is still surviving while many businesses closed their doors due to the coronavirus pandemic. We owe many thanks to our restaurant clients continuing to place or...