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 Sake
is the traditional rice wine of Japan. It comes in several
different varieties, and was first made at least 2,000 years
ago. Since then, sake has played an important role in Japanese
culture and history. From its origins as the "drink of
the Gods" to its current status as one of the most
popular drinks in the country, the history of sake is steeped
in tradition, innovation, and custom.
Sake was
first brewed in Japan after the practice of wet rice
cultivation was introduced in that country around 300 B.C.
Though the origins of sake can be traced in China as far back
as 4,000 B.C., it was the Japanese who began mass production
of this simple but delicious rice concoction. The basic
process of making sake involves "polishing" or
milling the rice kernels, which were then cooked in good,
clean water and made into a mash. The earliest
"polishing" was done by a whole village: each person
would chew rice and nuts and then spit the mixture into a
communal tub – the sake produced was called "kuchikami
no sake," which is Japanese for "chewing the mouth
sake." The chewing process introduced the enzymes
necessary for fermentation. Although it was part of a Shinto
religious ceremony, this practice was discontinued when it was
learned that Koji (a mold enzyme) and yeast could be added to
the rice to start the fermentation process.
At first,
sake was produced for private consumption by individual
families or villages. While this practice continued, sake rice
also became a large scale agricultural product. The largest
production area was centered around Nada, near the present-day
city of Kobe. Although more sake was being made, it was mostly
consumed by the upper classes. Sake was used for many
different purposes in the Shinto religion, including as an
offering to the Gods and to purify the temple. The bride and
groom each consume sake in a Shinto wedding ceremony in a
process known as Sansankudo. There were many other uses for
sake in Shinto, most of which are still in practice today.
It was in the
1300s that mass production of sake allowed it to become
Japan's most important drink. In the years that followed the
production process was improved, and sake breweries popped up
throughout the nation. All of the early variations of sake
were cloudy until a seventeenth century brewery worker thought
to use ashes to settle the cloudy particles in the sake. The
story has become somewhat of a legend, because the employee
was apparently disgruntled, and was trying to destroy the
batch; instead, his actions refined the sake and earned him a
place in history. Japan's Industrial Revolution in the
nineteenth century introduced automation and machinery into
the brewing process, making this popular drink even more
available.
In the
twentieth century, a press replaced the traditional canvas
bags for squeezing the liquid out of the rice mash, yeast, and
koji mixture, although some sake is still brewed the
old-fashioned way. Shortages of rice in World War Two also
caused changes in the brewing process: glucose and pure
alcohol were added to the rice mash in order to increase the
production yield and brewing time. Although borne of
necessity, this process has been continued to this day, but
sake made with just water, koji, yeast, and rice is still
available.
Though the
brewing process and availability of sake has changed over the
years, sake's important role in Japanese culture has not. From
its earliest beginnings sake has been a drink of reverence,
family, and friendship, consumed to mark important occasions.
Because it is meant to be enjoyed with friends and family,
tradition holds that a person must never pour their own sake;
instead another person pours for you, and you do the same for
them. For thousands of years sake has been a major part of
Japanese life, and its popularity is now increasing on the
international stage.
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