When you connect the dots along life's path, it is a wonderfully strange journey.
In June I conceived the idea to teach a two-part course on Japanese sake at the eikaiwa (conversation school) where I work. You might ask, "What does a gaijin know about nihonshu (sake)?" Well, I can answer, prior to this class, very little. But two weeks of serious research expanded my knowledge of the Japanese national beverage substantially.
The class ran in October. The students seemed to enjoy the lessons and after the last class we made a field trip to Fushimi - the sake brewery district of Kyoto - and did some nihonshu tasting, applying our new knowledge. That was that. Or so I thought.
In early November I received an e-mail from one of the students in my class. She wanted to organise an excursion to her family's sake brewery in Nishi-Akashi in Hyogo Prefecture. I said, yeah, great, I'm in!
So it was, recently, I found myself in Eigashima, a small seaside district of Akashi city, some 2-hours south-west of Kyoto. This is well off any tourist map. Even Japanese people would probably give this town a miss, roll right past on their way to more famous locales.
Eigashima Brewery was established in 1888 by Heikichi Urabe. Excellent local spring water and high-quality rice are essential to making good sake and this area has been famous for both since the Edo era (1603-1868). The company expanded, contracted and diversified over the years with the changing tastes of the Japanese people, and added whiskey and wine to its impressive portfolio. But the root of the business is nihonshu, for which it has won awards.
It was a cool gray morning the day we visited, the view of Awaji Island and the famous Akashi-Kaikyo Bridge was totally obscured. We were guided through the 55,000m² beachfront complex by the brewery's gregarious toji (master brewer), Nakamura-san. He has the double and rare distinction of toji and master distiller, overseeing the production of both sake and whiskey. The beautiful Meiji era (1868-1912) buildings were not surprisingly quiet, as the traditional sake brewing calendar ends in autumn when the latest batch is bottled and delivered to market. This meant we got to taste sake that had only just arrived in shops and restaurants around the Kansai region.
I'm still very much a novice when it comes to sake. But it is definitely something I am enjoying studying. Because…to know nihonshu is to know Japan.
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