Beverage of the Gods Has a Long History!

KOBE – Visitors to the Nada area of Kobe, one of the earliest and most international of Japan’s seaports, encounter an intriguing aroma that permeates the ground, the buildings, and the air.

This aroma is the scent of O’sake (Oh-sah-kay), Japan’s original alcoholic beverage, which is still enshrined as the national drink. (The “O” in front of sake is an honorific.)

Sake, a kind of wine made from rice, has been brewed in Japan since shortly after the introduction of wet-rice farming in the third century B.C. and was the only alcoholic drink in the country until the introduction of European wines and whiskeys by foreign traders in the 16th century.

In early Japan, brewing and drinking sake was closely related to Shintoism. Every community shrine had its own rice paddies. At first, the rice from these fields was made into gruel, and eaten. Over a period of time, the process was refined to produce a clear liquid, and became drinkable.

The liquid version of sake was still considered a special offering to the gods, but as time passed it became common to drink it at parties and banquets not associated with shrine rituals. The Imperial Household has its own rice fields and sake brewery, as did temples and other institutions of the day.

To make sake, the rice is milled, washed, soaked and steamed. Then fresh spring water and yeast made from malted rice are added to induce fermentation. During the fermentation process, which lasts for about 20 days, the mixture seems to come alive, bubbling and making all kinds of sounds.

After fermentation, the wine is separated from the rice residue by running it through a press. The liquid is then filtered and placed in large vats, where it settles and becomes clear. It is then pasteurized and bottled. The alcoholic content of sake take from the top of the vat is from 12 to 14 percent. That taken from the lower turbid portion has an alcoholic content of 17 to 18 percent.

Sake is graded by a national inspection agency on the basis of taste, color and aroma, and comes in three grades: tokkyu (toke-que) or first grade; ikkyu (eek-que), second grade; and nikkyu (neek-que), third grade. The inspectors look for a subtle blend of sweetness, sourness, pungency, bitterness and astringency.

The characteristics of any batch of sake is determined by the rice itself, how much of the rice has been milled away, whether or not distilled alcohol is added, the mineral content of the water used in the fermenting process, the amount of yeast, when the yeast is added, how long the process is continued, and, according to experts, some elements that master brewers keep to themselves.

There are four main types of sake, each of which is determined as much by the milling of the rice used as well as the brewing process. These four sake types are:

Junmai-shu (at least 30% of the rice polished away and no distilled alcohol added. This type is referred to as pure rice wine). Honjozo-shu (at least 30% of the rice milled away, and some distilled alcohol added).
Ginjo-shu (at least 40% of the rice polished away. When some alcohol is added it is called Ginjo. If no alcohol is added it is called Junmai Ginjo.)

Daiginjo-shu (at least 50% of rice polished away; again with or without added alcohol; if labeled Daiginjo, it means distilled alcohol was added; if labeled Junmai Daiginjo, it means no alcohol added).

A fifth type of sake refers to all of the above when they have not been pasteurized, in which case they are called Namazake (nah-mah-zah-kay), literally “raw sake.”

The first four categories are known as Tokutei Meishoshu, or Special Designation Sake. Each category has its own flavor profile based on the brewing methods employed and how much of the rice has been polished away. Sake gourmets pride themselves on being able to distinguish the types by their taste, rather than reading the labels.

Several districts in Japan have been known for the quality of their sake since ancient times. These include Nada in Hyogo Prefecture, (now within the city of Kobe), Kyoto and districts in Akita, Nagano and Hiroshima prefectures.

Top sake brands include Hakutsuru (Hah-kuu-t’sue-rue) or White Crane, Ozeki (Oh-zay-kee), which refers to a sumo champion, and Gekkeikan (Gake-kay-e-kahn). Okura Shuzo, the company that produces Gekkeikan, was founded in 1637.

Altogether, there are some 3,000 sake makers in Japan, most of them producing what is called jizake (jee-zah-kay), or local brands.

In addition to “regular” sake, there are also sweet, carbonated, dry, hard, and aged varieties. Sake is generally heated before drinking to bring out the taste and give it more of an immediate kick. One special type of sake is brewed for drinking cold, or on ice.

Sake was traditionally served and drank before meals, not during or after meals. But many people now drink sake during their meals and as well as in between meals.

Enormous amounts of sake are consumed at gatherings held to enjoy the beauties of nature, especially when viewing cherry blossoms, the full moon, and newly fallen snow.

Like wine experts, sake gourmets claim that they can also identify the region a particular sample of sake came from by its taste and aroma.

Copyright © 2007 by Boye Lafayette De Mente
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ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Boye Lafayette De Mente has been involved with Japan, Korea, China and Mexico since the late 1940s as a member of a U.S. intelligence agency, student, journalist, and editor. He is the author of more than 50 books on these countries, including the first books ever on the Japanese way of doing business: Japanese Etiquette & Ethics in Business, first published in 1959, and How to Do Business in Japan, published in 1961.

To see a complete list of his titles [each one linked to Amazon.com’s buy page], go to his personal website: http://www.phoenixbookspublishers.com/.