STORY: This Tokyo brewery dates back to the days of the samurai.
It’s making sake, Japan’s traditional rice wine.
But the industry has been battling decades of declining sales at home, as locals switch to cocktails and other alternatives.
Now brewers are hoping for a boost this week, when UNESCO is set to officially recognise the process of making the drink as Intangible Cultural Heritage.
Koichi Maesako is head brewer at Ishikawa Brewery.
He says the sake in this tank will be ready in a week or so.
It’s made with ancient techniques that are the basis for the UNESCO listing.
That includes the use of special culinary mold known as koji.
And the use of a unique three-step process fermentation process.
Maesako says there’s precedent to hope the UNESCO move could help sales:
“Since our food was listed by UNESCO, Japanese cuisine has spread all over the world. I hope that the same thing will happen with sake. Our brewery is seeing an increase in exports, and we hope the UNESCO listing would accelerate this trend and lead to a bigger growth in overseas sales.”
But waning domestic demand isn’t the only challenge for Japan’s sake brewers.
Unseasonably warm weather has also seen a poor rice harvest, hitting the quality of the grain, and driving prices higher.
That has made it challenging to produce an affordable product.
Now UNESCO is due to formally endorse sake’s listing at a meeting in Paraguay this week.
With exports already rising, brewers hope that will see the drink follow sushi in conquering global markets.
