Sake Guides
Articles on choosing, tasting, serving, and how sake is made. Currently available in Japanese.
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14Traditional Sake Brewing and Japanese Culture: Shinto Rituals, the Seasons, Gift-Giving, and Sake Day
Sake is a drink, but in Japan it has always been more than that, a constant companion to daily life. It is poured out as an offering to the gods, raised in celebration at New Year and weddings, enjoyed as a marker of the changing seasons, and wrapped up as a gift. Behind all of this lie the geogr...
Culture & History #Intermediate #culture #history #seasonal -
22Toji and Kurabito: The Artisans Behind Japanese Sake
Browse a sake label or a brewery's website and you will often come across the word "toji" (杜氏, master brewer). Usually pronounced "toh-jee" with a long first vowel, the same characters can also be read with a short one ("to-jee"); either way, the term refers to the person in charge of the entire ...
Culture & History #Intermediate #culture #history -
25Shiboritate, Hiyaoroshi, Akiagari: The Language of Seasonal Sake
Sake carries the seasons in its name. Shiboritate belongs to winter, natsuzake to summer, hiyaoroshi to autumn. Even from the same brewery, the timing of brewing and shipping changes both the taste and what the bottle is called. Once you map these terms onto the calendar, picking the sake that's ...
Culture & History #Beginner #seasonal #terms