The Shimbashi area of Tokyo has no shortage of drinking establishments and great sake bars. It has long been a haven for businessmen looking to unwind after work with coworkers over a few, or substantially more than a few, glasses of sake. Anyone looking to learn more about sake would be well-served by paying the…
by Matsuzaki Haruo | photography by Brian Kowalczyk Shukoku Tosa– “Tosa, the land of sake.” This is the marketing soundbite used by the sake industry in Kochi Prefecture, which utilizes the old name for the region, Tosa. There are many people who associate the Kochi way of life with lots of drinking, and not incorrectly.…
The drive from central Iwate Prefecture to the coast is quite pleasant. Most of the roads snake through idyllic towns and beautiful snow covered mountains, imparting a peaceful serenity that is quintessential Tohoku. As the coastline approaches, a darker reality sets in. In Kesennuma, the first major town when you reach the Pacific, there is…
Which was the more important year for Fujioka Shuzo, 1902, the year of its founding, or 2002, the year of its rebirth? Maybe it was several years before that latter date, when Fujioka Masaaki decided that he wanted to give the brewery his great-grandfather founded another chance. Those that love great sake should give thanks…
My connection to Japan started in the late 1980s, before I ever dreamed of travelling there. One of my first encounters involved three electronic music instruments that started regurgitating all the synthetic sounds I had come to love on my favourite electronic “Detroit Techno” records of that time: the Roland TR909 drum machine, the TB303…
Hiroshima, along with Nada in Kobe and Fushimi in Kyoto, is one of the most significant brewing regions in western Japan. However, it has only been so for a small part of sake’s long history. Until the middle of the Meiji Era about 120 years ago it was just a run-of-the-mill brewing region. What really…
Rice region. Sake region. There are probably no two greater associations that the Japanese make with Niigata. The prefecture is known as the largest producer of highly-prized Koshihikari rice and is additionally home to no less than ninety sake breweries, placing it second only behind Hyogo. In terms of overall production volume, it is third.…
The Japanese archipelago, stretching far from north to south, east to west, has several distinct climates depending on the region. The people that live in those respective regions also lead different lifestyles, accounting for differences in food culture in particular. The unique character of those food cultures persists today and in similar fashion the flavors…
Rice. The key ingredient of sake is also the staple of Japanese food culture. There have been periods in the past when obtaining enough to simply live was a struggle. The ancestors of many Japanese today anxiously watched over the cultivation of rice as if with prayers on their lips, and when the season of…