Let’s talk about JAPAN.
Tonight, Have a Glass of Sake
今宵は、一献傾けて
What do you like to drink? Beer, wine, whiskey, or sake?
お酒は何が好きですか。ビール、ワイン、ウイスキー、それとも日本酒？
I don’t drink that much, but I like all kinds of alcohol. I am especially addicted to sake these days. When I get a rare brand of sake that I can rarely find, I get excited just imagining how it tastes.
私はそれほど量は飲みませんが、どのお酒も好き。とくに最近はまっているのは日本酒です。めったに出会えない希少な銘柄のお酒が手に入ったときは、どんな味わいなのかを想像するだけでワクワクします。
Daiginjo with its gorgeous aroma, ginjo with its elegant and refreshing taste, junmai with its deep flavor, honjozo with its refreshing taste, and sparkling sake with its effervescent type…… all have their own merits, so choose the one that best suits your mood and cuisine of the day.
華やかな香りの大吟醸、上品で爽やかな吟醸、重みのある純米、すっきりした本醸造、発泡タイプのスパークリング日本酒……それぞれ良さがありますので、その日の気分やお料理に合わせて選びます。
Good sake is always accompanied by good food. On cold days, hot sake goes great with pot dishes or served at room temperature with sashimi. Well-chilled dry ginjo-shu goes well with tempura. One of the charms of sake is that it can be enjoyed at a variety of temperatures, and that it can be paired with a variety of dishes, not just Japanese cuisine.
美味しいお酒に美味しいお料理はつきものです。寒い日ならお鍋に熱燗は最高ですし、そのまま常温でお刺身と一緒にいただくのもいい。キーンと冷やした辛口の吟醸酒は天ぷらによく合います。日本酒は、こうしたさまざまな温度で楽しめること、さらに、和食に限らずいろいろなお料理に合わせられることも魅力のひとつです。
Chef Joel Robuchon, who has received more Michelin stars than any other chef in France, has recently been gaining recognition overseas. He advocates the marriage of French cuisine and sake, and has been wowing food connoisseurs at his restaurants.
最近は海外での認知度も高まり、フランスで最もたくさんミシュランの星を獲得しているシェフ、ジョエル・ロブションは、フランス料理と日本酒のマリアージュを提唱し、レストランで食通たちをうならせているのだとか。
The flavor and aroma also depend on the sake container. There are various types of drinking vessels, such as tokkuri (ceramic sake bottles), ochoko (very small sake cups), crafts, “guinomi (sake cups slightly bigger than ochoko)” made by ceramic artists, glass wide-mouthed sake cups, and wine glasses. Sake served in a wide-mouthed cup will allow you to enjoy the soft aroma of the sake.
また、味わいや香りは酒器によっても変わります。陶磁器の徳利[ルビ：とっくり]やお猪口[ルビ：ちょこ]、工芸品、陶芸作家制作の手による「ぐい呑み」、ガラス製盃、ワイングラスなど、酒器（しゅき）もさまざま。口の大きく開いた器で頂けば、ふんわりと香りが立ちのぼるのを楽しめます。
Sake is made from sakamai (rice varieties for sake brewing), carefully selected clean water, and rice koji. There are about 100 varieties of sake rice used as raw materials, with Yamada-Nishiki at the top of the list. In recent years, ways have been created to grow the rice through contract farmers and self cultivating it.
日本酒は、酒米[ルビ：さかまい]（酒造り用の米）と厳選されたきれいな水、米麹で造られます。原料となる酒米は、山田錦を筆頭に100品種ほどあり、近年では契約農家に栽培してもらったり自家栽培したりと工夫を凝らしています。
The sake brewing process, which involves four stages of rice polishing, steaming, brewing (fermentation), and pressing over a long period of time, can be described as a master craftsman’s art. Sake brewers are passionate about sake brewing, and they devote themselves to making the best sake possible, cherishing the life of each grain of rice. Fermentation is encouraged in several stages, and the temperature and humidity are thoroughly controlled, and the time is managed down to the second. When you know the time, effort, experience, and wisdom that goes into making this product, the taste is doubled.
精米、蒸し、仕込み（発酵）、圧搾という4段階の工程を、長い月日をかけて行う日本酒造りは、匠の技と言えるでしょう。造り手たちは、酒造りに情熱を注ぎ、米一粒一粒の命を大切に、良いものを造ろうと精魂傾けています。何段階にも分けて発酵を促し、徹底した温度・湿度管理、秒単位での時間管理など、細心の心配り・目配りをしています。その手間と時間と経験値と叡智を知ると、美味しさも倍増です。
In Japan’s oldest historical book, Kojiki (Record of Ancient Matters), there is a story about a man who was given sake to kill the Yamata-no-orochi. The first documented brewing of sake using koji first appeared in the “Harima-no-kuni-fudoki” (written between the years of 713-715), a topography of the area around present-day Hyogo Prefecture. In the Nara period (8th century), the national government established the office of miki no tsukasa, or “sake brewer,” to brew sake for the imperial court. In the Heian period (8th-12th century), temples, shrines, and private individuals began to brew sake, and it was during the Muromachi period (14th-16th century) that full-fledged sake breweries appeared on the scene. From that time on, the shogunate began imposing taxes on sake.
日本最古の歴史書「古事記」には、ヤマタノオロチを退治するのに酒を飲ませたという話が出てきます。麹を使った酒造りが初めて文献に登場したのは、今の兵庫県辺りの地誌である「播磨国風土記[ルビ：はりまのくにふどき]」（713～715年）。奈良時代（8世紀）には国が造酒司（みきのつかさ）という役所を設置し、朝廷に献上する酒を造らせていました。平安時代（8～12世紀）になると寺院や神社、民間でも酒造りが始まり、本格的な酒屋が登場したのは室町時代（14～16世紀）。その頃から幕府は酒に税金を課すようになりました。
During the Edo period (17th to 19th century), “kan-brewing” began, in which sake was brewed during the winter, enabling a stable supply of sake. It was also around this time that a system was introduced in which the owner of a sake brewery was called kuramoto and a group of craftsmen called kuraudo worked under the supervision of a touji who managed the entire brewing process. In the Meiji era (19th to 20th century), sake brewing began to make full use of scientific knowledge, and a national research institute was established for the future of sake. It was not until World War II that the production and sale of sake was licensed, a system that continues to this day.
江戸時代（17～19世紀）には、冬に醸造する「寒仕込み」が始まったことから、お酒を安定供給できるようになりました。酒蔵のオーナーを蔵元（くらもと）と呼び、全工程を管理する杜氏（とうじ）を長として蔵人（くらうど）と呼ばれる職人たちが働く体制になったのもこの頃です。明治時代（19～20世紀）になると科学的知識を駆使した酒造りが行われるようになり、日本酒の未来のための国立研究機関もできました。酒の製造・販売が免許制になったのは第二次世界大戦の時からで、これは現在も続いています。
Sake, by the way, has been associated with Shinto rituals since ancient times because of its enjoyment of nature’s bounty. Sake dedicated to the gods is called “omiki”, and is an integral part of festivals. It is also used at the ground-breaking ceremony to pray for safety when building a house. Sake is still indispensable in important ceremonies, such as the sansankudo ceremony (the exchanging of sake cups by the bride and groom to solidify their union) held at a shrine.
ところで、日本酒は自然の恵みを享受することから、古来、神事と結びついてきました。神様に奉納するお酒を「御神酒（おみき）」と言い、祭りにはつきものですし、家を建てるときに安全祈願を願って行う地鎮祭でも用います。神社での挙式では三三九度を交わす（新郎新婦が盃を交わして契を結ぶ）など、今も重要な儀式にお酒は欠かせません。
Sake brewing itself is also sacred, and many brewers pray to a Shinto altar every morning before starting work, with some breweries having a shrine. Shinto priests perform rituals, and the koji-muro, is regarded as an inviolable place, and a sacred rope is tied around it.
酒造り自体も神聖なもので、毎朝、神棚に手を合わせてから作業に入る蔵人も多く、社（やしろ）を設置している蔵もあります。神職が儀式を執り行い、「麹室（こうじむろ）」を不可侵な場所と見なして、しめ縄を張ったりします。
Sake is attracting attention from around the world, but the number of sake breweries, which was about 7,000 at its peak, has declined to about 1,400 today. As the number of alcohol options has increased and the trend has shifted, sake consumption has decreased by one-third. However, exports are growing and have reached record highs for 12 consecutive years. Sake’s popularity overseas is on the rise, with sake competitions being held in many parts of the world.
世界から注目される日本酒ですが、最盛期に約7千あった酒蔵が、現在は約1,400に減少。アルコールの選択肢が増えトレンドが移り変わり、日本酒の消費量は3分の1に減っています。ただ輸出は伸びており、12年連続で過去最高を更新しています。世界各地でコンクールが開催されるなど、海外での人気はうなぎのぼりです。
Sake breweries are relentlessly striving to improve Japan’s unique brews, which are rooted in the region and bring delicate and complex flavors to the market. We want as many people as possible to realize the goodness of sake, to taste it, and to keep Japanese culture alive. And we hope that we can continue to preserve Japanese culture.
酒蔵は、地域に根差した繊細で複雑な味わいをもたらしてくれる日本独自の醸造酒をより良いものにしようと、生き残りをかけて、あくなき挑戦を続けています。1人でも多くの人に日本酒の良さに気づいてほしい。味わってみてほしい。そして、日本文化を守り続けることができればと願います。
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